Working Life Residence (WLR) 106-06030000

Has the agreement partner requested verification of the customer’s employment during their AWLR?

• Yes, for requests from:
• the United States of America (US), go to Step 2
• another agreement country e.g. Germany, Belgium, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

In Customer Record, use the Multilingual Letters Script to create a covering letter (GEN010) and advise the number of quarters/period the customer needs to verify, as per advice from the US Agreement partner.

Attach the GEN010 letter to AUS027US - Verification of working life residence and periods of employment in Australia form and send to the customer. Note: include the 14 or 28 day suspension warning.

In Customer First:

Create a Fast Note. Select Auto Text > use Centrelink International Services > Foreign Pension Claim > Intl - US claim. Record as many customer details as possible.

In Customer Record:

• Run the International DOC creation script
• Select WSI-US Claim DOCs
• Choose AUS027US posted to CUS

Put the Fast Note or DOC on hold awaiting return of form - 21 days inside Australia or 35 days outside.

If the customer fails to respond, suspend payment.

When the form is returned, see Table 2, Step 7.

Note: for foreign pension claims for Japan and Korea the employment periods during AWLR the form AUS027JP/KR - Verification of working life residence and periods of employment in Australia is included in the original foreign pension claim.

Where another country has requested Australian employment periods (e.g. Germany may request for customers who worked in mining):

If the customer was not in Australia during the period requested:

• Generate an AUS187 form
• Record Liaison Type as: AOT (Miscellaneous query to Australia)
• In the AUS187 form ‘Other information’ box, record 'The customer was not in Australia'
• Remove any pre-filled AWLR details. See Creating an agreement liaison

If the customer was in Australia:

In Customer Record, use the Multilingual Letter Script to create a covering letter (GEN010) and explain the request

If a customer has already provided sufficient residence data, advise that only the employment details questions needed to be answered in the form

• Attach the GEN010 letter to a AUS027US - Verification of working life residence and periods of employment in Australia form and send to the customer. This form can also be used for non-US countries. Note: include the 14 or 28 day suspension warning.
• Create an open Fast Note: select Auto Text, use Centrelink International Services > Foreign Pension Claim > Foreign Pension claim received
• Replace the auto text in the text box with appropriate details
• Put the Fast Note on hold awaiting return of the form - 21 days inside Australia or 35 days outside
• If the customer fails to respond, suspend payment
• When the form is returned, go to Step 4

The customer is asked to provide details of residence and copies of relevant evidence on any of the following forms:

• Agreement claim
• Mod O Module O - Life Residence in Australia and other countries
• AUS027 Verification of working life residence
• AUS027JP Verification of working life residence in Australia and periods of employment in Australia (Japanese translation)
• AUS027KR Verification of working life residence in Australia and periods of employment in Australia Korean translation)

An agreement country may also request the information for their claim and may provide another form with similar questions.

As a guide, it is reasonable for an absence under 3 years to be considered temporary, depending on all factors being considered. If it is confirmed through weighing up of evidence that the absence is temporary, this would not be recorded on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen For more information, see Assessing if a customer is an Australian resident.

If the customer is lodging a claim for a Survivor or Widows pension from an agreement country, the WLR needs to be calculated for the deceased partner. The forms should include details for the deceased partner.

Go to the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen to activate the datalink and obtain available details directly from the Department of Home Affairs.

Go to the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen. If the customer has immigration information from 1 September 1994, this screen provides information about the customer's legal residence status. For example, citizenship including date of grant, visa subclasses and NZ residence status.

The Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen gives details of any arrivals and departures in Australia since 1 September 1994. This information can help determine if the customer was residing in Australia during this period.

Was the customer or deceased partner born in Australia and state that they have never left Australia since then for any reason other than a holiday, and the information received via the Immigration Datalink does not contradict this?

• Yes, see Table 2, Step 3
• No, go to Step 6

As residence affects the rate of pension to which a person is entitled, it is preferable to obtain evidence of a customer or deceased partner's residence in Australia. This is not always possible. Staff must recognise this and help customers who lack supporting evidence and have limited access to information sources within Australia.

Check residence details provided by the customer in the claim form, Mod O or AUS027 forms and any supporting documents.

Is there adequate evidence that verifies all permanent arrivals to and departures from Australia?

• Yes, see Table 2, Step 3
• No, go to Step 7

• If access to the Immigration Movement Records (MR) database is available, search for the customer or deceased partner on this database. The database has visa and movement records since 1981
• When searching the customer or deceased partner's name, include name variations (if any) and date of arrival. Make sure that the Customer Person Detail (CPD) screen is updated with all names known by
• Arrivals before 1965 also require the customer or deceased partner's ship or flight details and the port at which they arrived
• Old Arrival Records can be searched in the National Archives:
• Go to www.naa.gov.au
• Select Go to RecordSearch
• Select Passenger arrivals tab
• Key the surname of the customer. It is not usually necessary to include extra details such as full name, year, ship, port or flight number. This may limit the search
• Select Search
• Results will show the passenger name and date of arrival
• Identify the correct customer by checking the linked digital information
• If the passenger name shows but has no date of arrival, select the digital copy of the passenger list manifesto. This has the date the ship/flight arrived. It is not necessary to scroll through the list to find the customer’s name
• CIS staff can also:
• check microfilm and microfiche if necessary, or
• request Passenger Card details. These provide details the customer completed upon arrival into Australia. It may help in determining the customer's intention to reside in Australia. Note: specific access is required to obtain Passenger Cards. See Resources for a link to the Passenger Card Image System intranet page

For more information, including how to send a request for verification of arrival to CIS, see Assessing if a customer is an Australian resident.

Hold the claim or activity pending return of the information.

Have all dates of arrival and departure been verified?

• Yes, see Table 2, Step 3
• No, go to Step 8

Is the customer lodging a claim under an International Social Security Agreement?

• Yes, compare residence with the period of contributions in the Agreement country. See the Resources page for tips to help verify residence. Go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 9

Check if names of referees have been given on any forms, such as the AUS027. Contact the referees to try to verify information. Record the responses in a DOC.

Go to Table 2.

Without supporting evidence, staff must decide whether to accept the customer's statement. See Resources page for tips to help verify residence.

As the customer's rate of pension is based on their residence, verifying this can be as important as a customer verifying income or asset information.

Have any of the customer or deceased partner's residence details been verified?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 2

Is the customer paid according to their current or former partner's WLR?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, tell the customer the decision and record all the details in a DOC as to the reasons for the decision. Procedure ends here

WLR is calculated automatically by the system.

• Make sure that the customer or deceased partner's correct country of birth is on the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen and country of citizenship is on the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen. Also make sure correct visa information is recorded for customers or deceased partners who were not born in Australia. Without correct information, the system will not be able to correctly calculate WLR. For help coding this information, see Recording legal residence status
• Enter the customer or deceased partner's residence information on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen.
• Make sure all advised permanent residence periods are entered. Do not record any temporary absences from Australia (for example, overseas holidays) as residence overseas and do not record any time spent in Australia as a visitor as Australian residence
• If the customer is departing permanently, record the departure on the CRES screen
• Once this information is correctly coded, the system will work out the WLR and show on the Australian Working Life Residence (AWLR) screen. The WLR will also default into the Aust Working Life Residence: field on the Additional Residence Details (ARD) screen

If the customer's record is linked to the partner's record, the system will take the higher of the 2 WLR if applicable. If the customer is paid according to their former partner's WLR, the system is unable to calculate the correct rate. The former partner's WLR must be manually recorded.

Will the customer be paid according to their current or former partner's WLR?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No,
• record how WLR was calculated in a DOC
• for Australian employment periods verification, go to Step 7
• otherwise, continue with agreement claim procedure, portability decision, liaison or foreign claim. Procedure ends here

If the deceased partner has a record, the WLR can be calculated using the CRES and AWLR screens. If no record exists, manually calculate the deceased partner's WLR

• Is the customer claiming:
• a Widow or Survivors pension from an agreement country, or
• receiving PPS under an international agreement?
• Yes, go to Step 6
• No,
• customer should use their own WLR. Record how WLR was calculated in a DOC
• for Australian employment periods verification, go to Step 7
• otherwise, continue with agreement claim procedure, portability decision, liaison or foreign claim. Procedure ends here

Is the customer lodging a foreign claim for a Widow or Survivors Pension from an agreement country?

• Yes, tell the agreement country of the deceased partner's WLR
• Record how WLR was calculated in a DOC
• Continue with the foreign pension claim
• Procedure ends here
• No, go to the Additional Residence Details (ARD) screen
• Record the higher of the customer's or their deceased partner's calculated WLR in the customer's Aust Working Life Residence: field
• If using the deceased partner's WLR, record the reason for the difference in the WLR and the residence information and calculation of the WLR for the deceased partner in a DOC
• Continue with agreement claim procedure or portability decision

Check if evidence of Australian employment has been provided and the dates of employment match the information on the evidence.

Note: evidence of employment includes tax returns (not Taxation Notices of Assessment), payment summaries (group certificates), payslips or other documents that verify actual employment.

Has evidence of Australian employment been provided?

• Yes,
• Generate an AUS187 form
• Record Liaison Type as AOT (Miscellaneous query to Australia)
• In the AUS187 form, employment periods are to be manually recorded in Section 4 - Australian periods for the purposes of Article X, instead of the auto-populated WLR details
• In the ‘Other information’ section of the liaison form, note the employment periods have been provided. If any employment periods could not be confirmed, note that in the ‘Other information’ section
• No,
• Make two genuine attempts to contact employer(s) to verify dates of employment by phone.
• If any employment periods could not be confirmed, note that in the ‘Other information’ section