Australian residence rules for New Zealand citizens 106-06010020

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Holders of New Zealand passports arriving in Australia

Since 1 September 1994, people using their New Zealand passport have travelled to Australia without a visa but they have been automatically issued with a Special Category visa (SCV) to stay in Australia on arrival.

Unlike other visitors and migrants to Australia, there is no formal application process for the visa. A New Zealand citizen is taken to have made an application for an SCV by presenting a valid New Zealand passport and a completed Incoming Passenger Card at immigration clearance. An electronic SCV is granted to New Zealand passport holders, and as such it is no longer recorded in a person's New Zealand passport.

Before 26 February 2001, it was possible for a person arriving in Australia on a New Zealand passport to gain Australian resident status, as long as they intended to remain in Australia, and were considered to be residing in Australia - that is, this is where their established home is. For people arriving in Australia from any other country, they must obtain permanent residence status, i.e. obtain Australian citizenship or a permanent visa.

Since 26 February 2001 only protected SCV holders can have Australian resident status.

These changes do not affect the right of New Zealand citizens to travel freely or to live and work in Australia. It will, however, affect their legal status in the country, and therefore their qualification for and payability of Australian social security payments.

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People in Australia on the date of the announcement

Every Special Category visa (SCV) holder who was physically present in Australia on the date of the announcement (26 February 2001) is a protected SCV holder. They will continue to satisfy the legal definition of Australian resident in section 7 of the Social Security Act and will never lose this protected status regardless of whether (and for how long) they go overseas.

In order to verify residence in Australia on 26 February 2001, a direct link to the Department of Home Affairs is available, so that for all cases where the record can be located, a customer's (or potential customers) presence in Australia on that date can be confirmed.

This check is automated wherever possible.

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The 'twelve months in two years' rule

A provision is available for New Zealand citizens who were not actually in Australia on 26 February 2001, but who were physically present in Australia for 12 months in the 2 years immediately before the date of the announcement - that is, between 26 February 1999 and 25 February 2001 inclusive. The 12 months period does not have to be continuous, it can be made up of any number of broken periods.

Every Special Category visa (SCV) holder in this group is also a protected SCV holder, and will never lose their protected status.

This check is automated wherever possible.

4

The 'arriving within three months of announcement' rule

To cover those New Zealand citizens who were intending to move to Australia when the announcement was made, there was a transitional period, during which Special Category visa (SCV) holders were able to arrive in and start residing in Australia and still be able to be considered legal Australian residents. The transitional period covered 3 months from the date of announcement.

This meant that if a person arrived in Australia and started residing here between 27 February 2001 and 25 May 2001 inclusive, they were considered legal Australian residents if before 26 February 2004 they:

• requested a determination on their residence status, or
• made contact with Services Australia about claiming a social security payment

These customers are issued with a 'Certificate of Australian Residence' AUS223 form (formerly XOB073) to recognise their residence status

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'Residing in Australia' on date of announcement

A transitional provision was included to cover any New Zealand citizen who was an Australian resident, but who was not in Australia on the day of the announcement (26 February 2001), and who was not physically in Australia for 12 months in the 2 years immediately before the day of the announcement, that is, between 26 February 1999 and 25 February 2001 inclusive.

This meant that if a person was an Australian resident on 26 February 2001, but temporarily absent on that day, they were considered legal Australian residents provided that before 26 February 2002 they:

• requested a determination on their residence status, or
• made contact with Services Australia about claiming a social security payment

These customers are assessed as having a Transitional New Zealand Residence Status and issued with a 'Certificate of Australian Residence' AUS223 form (formerly XOB073) to recognise their residence status

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Not saved elsewhere but customers overseas temporarily on 26 February 2001

A small number of New Zealand citizens are assessed as having a Transitional New Zealand Residence Status as they:

• were customers on 26 February 2001, and
• were temporarily outside Australia on 26 February 2001, and
• were not in Australia for at least 12 months between 26 February 1999 and 25 February 2001 inclusive, and
• returned to Australia within 26 weeks of 26 February 2001 or before the end of the extended portability period (if the person's portability period had been extended)

They were issued a 'Certificate of Australian Residence' AUS223 form (formerly XOB073) to recognise their residence status.

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Reissue of Certificate of Australian residence

If CIS has determined that the customer met one of the transitional provisions, a 'Certificate of Australian Residence AUS223' form (formerly XOB073) will have been issued to the customer.

Customers can be identified by checking the New Zealand Residence Status: field on the RSLEG screen.

Where the status is Transitional (TRA) and the customer has lost or misplaced their 'Certificate of Australian Residence', a replacement can be issued.

Contact CIS to issue a replacement. For contact details, see Centrelink International Services (CIS) - contact details for staff.

Note: it is not appropriate to issue a certificate for GRF or NOT cases.

8

Residence exemption available to SCV holders who have lived in Australia for at least 10 years commencing on or after 27 February 2001

A non-protected SCV holder who has lived continuously in Australia for at least 10 years immediately before claiming may qualify for JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (YA) for a single continuous payment of up to 6 months (182 days).

See New Zealand 10 year residence exemption for further information.

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Example

Jess, an international flight attendant, lodges a claim for Carer Payment on 3 March 2024. Her Centrelink record is matched with her immigration record. Jess was granted a 444 visa in 1997 which automatically populates on the RSLEG screen via the Immigration Datalink.

As the system has a limit of 80 immigration movements in one transaction, her 80 most recent travel movements have populated on the RSIM screen. The earliest movement visible on the RSIM screen is an arrival into Australia on 5 May 2005. The New Zealand residence status: field has automatically coded Jess as ‘non-protected’ as the system is reading that she was outside Australia until 5 May 2005.

An 80+ immigration movement MFU is generated. A CIS Service Officer examines the earlier travel movements in the Department of Home Affairs Movement Reconstruction (MR) database and determines that Jess had an arrival into Australia on 20 June 1998 and then did not leave again until 16 November 2002.

As Jess was in Australia on 26 February 2001 she is a protected SCV holder. The Service Officer manually updates her New Zealand residence status: to ‘protected’.