Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Parental Leave Pay (PPL) customer/child going overseas 007-02080000
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Centrelink International Services (CIS) - customer contact details
Centrelink International Services (CIS) - staff contact details
Manual Intervention Team (MIV)
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Table 1
System | FTB Residence Override |
Customer First/Customer Record | ICT security portal access. FAORESO (Mainframe App-Income Security) |
Process Direct | SAP access. ESS role: WPIT PORTABILITY OVERRIDE |
Examples of impact of leaving Australia
Table 2: this table describes examples of Portability of PPL and the application of the 56 week absence rule.
Example | Description |
1 | Parental Leave Pay customer leaves Australia to live in another country If a customer is in receipt of PPL advises they will be or have left Australia to live in another country, they cease to be residentially qualified from the date of their departure and will no longer be eligible for PPL from that date. |
2 | Application of 56 week absence rule after a brief return to Australia Celeste is an Australian resident who was overseas before returning to Australia on 1 August after a temporary absence of 44 weeks. On 15 August, Celeste gives birth to a child and becomes eligible for PPL. On 1 September of the same year, Celeste and the child leave Australia temporarily. Celeste returned to Australia for less than 6 weeks (from 1 August to 1 September) and is deemed to have not returned to Australia. The 56 weeks will expire on the 24 October. If Celeste is still overseas at this time, PPL will cease on this day. If Celeste returns to Australia before their child’s 2nd birthday and satisfies residence requirements again, they may claim their remaining PPL days. If Celeste remains in Australia from 1 August to 12 September, it is deemed to have been a return to Australia as the return period is greater than 6 weeks. In this case, a new 56 week period of absence starts on 12 September. |
3 | Child born overseas Maria has been temporarily overseas since 1 August 2024 and gives birth to a child Layla on 1 February 2025. Maria claims and is granted PPL due to continuing to reside in Australia. Maria nominates their first PPL day to be 11 July 2025, 5 months after the birth. As PPL is only payable outside of Australia for 56 weeks from the original date of departure, if Maria has not returned by 27 August 2025 (56 weeks from 1 August 2024), PPL will cease. Maria may be entitled to claim the unpaid PPL days if Maria returns to Australia before Layla’s second birthday. |
4 | Cancellation of PPL due to return rules Helena is an Australian resident who was temporarily overseas before returning to Australia on 1 July after an absence of 60 weeks. On 1 August, Helena gives birth to a child and becomes eligible for PPL. While in receipt of PPL, Helena leaves Australia temporarily on 10 August. Helena leaves Australia less than 6 weeks after the most recent arrival and is deemed not to have returned to Australia. As such, Helena does not satisfy the residence test for any day of being in receipt of PPL. Helena's payment will cancel and payments already received must be recovered. Helena cannot be re-granted PPL for the same child. Should Helena leave Australia on or after 12 August, Helena is considered to have returned to Australia as the return period is greater than 6 weeks. Helena's new 56 week period of absence in this case starts on 12 August and Helena remains residentially qualified for PPL. |
5 | Temporary absence from Australia and access to PPL days A customer’s residence status is checked each time they claim a PPL day. Anna is an Australian resident who is travelling overseas for 4 months. Anna plans to claim some PPL days during the absence from Australia. Anna will be able to claim PPL days during the absence, provided that:
Any PPL days are not claimed within 2 years of the child’s birth or adoption will be forfeited. |
6 | PPL customer travels overseas without child for a holiday Tessa and David have a child, Oliver. Tessa has claimed PPL for Oliver. Tessa travels overseas for a holiday for 2 weeks. Oliver remains in Australia in the care of David. Tessa is not entitled to claim PPL days for Oliver during the absence. This is because PPL can only be paid on days Tessa is caring for Oliver. Tessa is not considered to be caring for Oliver when they are in different countries. As Tessa has given permission for David to claim PPL and shared PPL days, David claimed 10 PPL days while caring for Oliver. |
7 | CCS customer overseas for more than 6 weeks Ebony receives CCS for their child, Grace. Ebony travels overseas for 8 weeks. Grace remains in Australia with their father, Callum. After 6 weeks, Ebony’s CCS reduces to 0% and zero hours. When Ebony returns to Australia, their CCS can recommence without having to reclaim. Ebony will not be entitled to CCS for any days they were overseas in excess of the allowable portability period of 6 weeks. Because Grace is still attending child care in Australia and is in the care of Callum, he could apply for CCS for Grace, which could then be paid for the full duration of Ebony’s absence. |
Historical portability periods for FTB
Table 3: This table contains information about portability period changes affecting Family Tax Benefit (FTB).
Historical portability periods for CCB and CCR
Table 4: this table contains information about the historical portability periods of Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR).