New Zealand 10 year residence exemption 106-06010030

A non-protected SCV holder who has lived continuously in Australia for a single period of at least 10 years immediately before claiming may qualify for JSP or YA (includes job seekers, students and apprentices but does not apply to JSP or YA provisional) for a single continuous period of up to 6 months (182 days). Time spent in Australia before 27 February 2001 cannot count towards these 10 years.

To qualify for this residence exemption, a person must meet all of the following:

• have arrived in Australia on a New Zealand passport
• currently hold an SCV subclass 444
• have lived continuously in Australia for at least 10 years immediately before claiming
• have not previously received payment of JSP, Newstart Allowance (NSA), Sickness Allowance (SA) or YA under this residence exemption

A person who qualifies for payment under this exemption does not need to serve the Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP).

The 10 years must be a single period of residence in Australia - 2 or more periods of residence in Australia cannot be combined to make up the 10 years. The 10 years must occur immediately before the person claims. A temporary absence such as a holiday can be included in the 10 years, but any break during which the person ceases to reside in Australia will start the 10 years clock again.

A person can only receive a payment once under this exemption, even if they live in Australia for a second continuous period of 10 years.

Note: from 1 July 2016, non-protected SCV holders who have lived in Australia and/or Norfolk Island for 10 years continuously immediately before claiming may be eligible to access this exemption.

The JSP and YA online claim process will identify customers who may be eligible for this exemption, based on the information provided by the customer in the online claim. A keyword of NZ10YR will be added to the identified online claim activity or Manual Follow-up (MFU).

The First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow will also identify customers who may be entitled to this exemption from:

• the information already on the customer's record
• their immigration record, and
• the customer's responses to questions asked during FCSO

• Once a payment granted under this exemption has cancelled, there can be no further grant under the same exemption. If the customer does lodge a subsequent claim under this exemption the claim will automatically reject
• The 6 month period does not start until any relevant waiting and/or preclusion/exclusion periods have been served and payability commences. Only when a customer receives a payment are they considered to have used this exemption
• A customer's payments can be restored from a suspension or cancellation during the 6 month period as long as the restoration is from date paid to + 1 (if there is any gap between the date of suspension/cancellation and the date of restoration, payments cannot be restored). As this exemption can only be used once, if payment cannot be restored following a break in entitlement, the customer cannot be re-granted under this exemption
• If a customer's payment is suspended due to leaving Australia, the payment can only be restored if it is portable for the duration of the absence under approved reason for travel rules, that is, there is no gap in payment
• When a customer is precluded from receiving payment because of an employment income nil rate period or a compliance penalty period, they are considered to be in continuous receipt of payment. They can come back onto payment if the 6 month limit has not been reached
• A customer whose payment is granted under this exemption cannot transfer between payments during the 6 month payment period while still using the exemption to qualify, unless the transfer is between YA-Jobseeker and YA-Student
• If the customer is granted another visa or Australian citizenship, their payment will be cancelled as they will no longer be entitled to payment under these conditions. They can reclaim to see if they meet the normal eligibility for JSP or YA. However, if granted a permanent residence visa, they may be subject to a Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP)
• If the customer qualifies for payment immediately after cancellation (as they either have served or are exempt from the NARWP), a staff assisted claim can be completed. This is in order to get the customer back on payment without them having to lodge a claim

This residence exemption does not apply to JSP and YA (Provisional) pending Disability Support Pension (DSP) claims.

If an AEX exemption of Claiming DSP is recorded in the JSP or YA new claim for one of these customers, the claim will auto reject for reason Non-protected SCV holder (NSV).

Consider granting the customer another type of exemption if eligibility criteria is satisfied, otherwise the customer will need to fulfill their mutual obligation requirements. See Mutual obligation requirements exemptions.

A customer granted under the New Zealand 10 year residence exemption is entitled to add-ons such as Pharmaceutical Allowance and Rent Assistance, if qualified, while in receipt of JSP or YA.

Both protected and non-protected SCV holders are entitled to Low Income (LIC) and Health Care Cards (HCC) once they have served, or if they are exempt from, the NARWP. However, only a protected SCV holder can qualify for an Ex-Carer Allowance Health Care Card (EHC) and must serve, or have an exemption from, the NARWP.

Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) has different residence rules for qualification. Non-protected SCV holders do not meet the definition of an Australian resident for a PCC. They are not entitled to a PCC if granted under the New Zealand 10 year exemption, even if they are a principal carer or have a partial capacity to work.

Non-protected SCV holders may qualify for an advance payment and/or Crisis Payment if they meet qualification criteria.

Job seekers paid under this NZ 10 year residence exemption are registered as Fully Eligible Participant (FEP) job seekers. They have full access to Workforce Australia while in receipt of JSP/YA.

They have the same mutual obligations requirements as any other JSP or YA customer. However, they will not have access to Disability Employment Services (DES), Self-Employment Assistance or the Adult Migrant Education Program (AMEP).

Note: principal carers receiving JSP or YA (job seeker) are subject to Mutual obligation requirements for principal carers regardless of the age of their youngest child.