Double Orphan Pension (DOP) overseas absences 007-02080020

DOP is not payable from departure if the customer/child leaves Australia to live in another country. If a customer's circumstances change during what began as a temporary absence, and they are found to be residing in another country, then any family assistance or Paid Parental Leave scheme payments stop from the date the customer is determined to have stopped residing in Australia.

Note: if the customer and child are going to live in an agreement country, DOP may be payable under that agreement.

An absence is considered to be temporary if the customer/child continues to reside in Australia.

A customer leaving Australia temporarily will generally continue to be entitled to DOP for the maximum portability period of up to 6 weeks from the original date of departure from Australia.

If the customer or child is unable to return at the end of their maximum portability period, Services Australia has the discretion to extend the period of portability under certain circumstances.

A person or child who is absent from Australia for more than 6 weeks, who returns to Australia and leaves Australia again less than 6 weeks later, is deemed not to have returned to Australia.

If a customer or their child leaves Australia temporarily within 6 weeks of their last return to Australia and the previous absence was longer than 6 weeks, their DOP is cancelled as soon as they leave Australia again.

These return rules do not impact the customer's entitlement to DOP while they, or their DOP child/ren, are physically in Australia between overseas trips.

Customers who hold a visa subclass 309, 785, 790 or 820 and leave Australia temporarily, continue to satisfy the DOP residence test if they are absent from Australia for no more than 6 weeks and their absence is for an approved reason.

The approved reasons are:

• eligible medical treatment not available in Australia
• humanitarian reasons (such as custody or adoption proceedings)
• an acute family crisis (such as the death of a family member or where a family member is suffering a serious illness)

DOP is not payable during any overseas absence for any reason for customers who hold a visa subclass 070, 449, 786 and 785 (granted before 16 December 2014).

The Department of Home Affairs generally advises when a customer or child leaves or returns to Australia. The Centrelink system uses the information to assesses the portability of payments and concession cards. The assessment will happen regardless of whether the customer has told Services Australia their travel details. Note: do not cancel Department of Home Affairs datalink activities.

Where the customer gives evidence they travelled on different dates, the agency should consider using those different dates, if both the following apply:

• the new dates are logical
• the results will be a better outcome for the customer

This most often happens if a customer passes through Australian customs on one day but the flight leaves the next day.

In many cases, customers do not have to tell the agency if they are leaving Australia temporarily for less than 6 weeks, or when they have returned from a temporary absence.

When customers do need to tell us about a departure before leaving Australia or when they have returned to Australia they can use the Travelling outside of Australia service. This service is in their Centrelink online account. If the travel or portability assessment is complex the online service will ask them to contact the agency.

Services Australia website lists when customers must tell the agency they are leaving or returning to Australia. The Resources page has a link.

A person's portability period starts on the day they leave Australia. For portability purposes a customer is not considered to be inside Australia for any part of the day they departed Australia regardless of the time of departure. If the customer is travelling outside Australia on a cruise the date of departure is the date the ship leaves the last Australian port.

The day a person returns to Australia is not included as part of their absence as they are considered to be inside Australia on that day and therefore no longer affected by portability.