Age Pension customer going overseas 065-03070000

Autonomous Age Pension customers who travel overseas may remain eligible for payment indefinitely.

A customer generally does not have to remain an Australian resident to continue to receive Age Pension while overseas and the overseas absence can be for any reason. For temporary departures and departures where the customer will no longer be residing in Australia, the rate of payment after 26 weeks will be paid at a proportional rate calculated by using the person's own Australian Working Life Residence (WLR), unless the customer is:

• travelling to New Zealand
• paid under an International Agreement, or
• saved under the pre 20 September 2000 portability rules

A customer can lodge an early claim in Australia within 13 weeks of reaching Age Pension age and then go overseas; the start date for payment will be the date they qualify for payment. Claims lodged from outside Australia must meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule.

Age Pension is not portable if the customer is:

• affected by former resident rules, or
• leaving Australia to live in another country and currently qualifies for Age Pension solely due to a qualifying residence exemption as the holder or former holder of a refugee visa (does not otherwise meet Age Pension residence requirements). For more information, see Residence assessment for customers claiming Age Pension

For temporary departures the basic pension plus Pension Supplement, or the transitional pension rate inside Australia, will be paid for up to 6 weeks from date of departure. Add-on payments may continue, if qualified, for a limited period. After 6 weeks absence, the customer will receive the basic pension plus Pension Supplement Basic amount or the transitional pension rate outside Australia. After 26 weeks the basic pension will continue and be paid according to the person’s Australian working life residence (WLR).

If a customer has more than the maximum working life residence, the rate of pension is not affected. If a person has no WLR, for example, they arrived in Australia after reaching Age Pension age, the proportional rate will be nil and payment will cease 26 weeks after departure from Australia.

From 1 July 2021, legislation passed to allow the discretion to extend the period of portability for customers receiving Age Pension, if they are not able to return to Australia within 26 weeks due to unforeseen circumstances such as hospitalisation or ill health. If granted, this extension enables the customer’s payment to continue for an agreed period, without reducing to a proportional rate. It also allows certain add-on payments to continue for the period of the extension. These add-on payments include:

• Pharmaceutical Allowance, and
• Rent Assistance

To determine whether an Age Pension customer with indefinite portability may be assessed under the discretionary portability extension provisions, see Discretion to extend portability period.

Note: if a customer remains outside Australia after their payment has ceased to be portable, their payment can be restored if they return to Australia within 13 weeks of their payment ceasing. However, if they received a transitional rate of pension, they will lose entitlement to this rate and will be paid under the current income and assets tests upon restoration.

If a customer is leaving Australia to live in another country or the customer is paid under the 20 September 2000 portability rules, only the basic pension and Pension Supplement basic amounts are paid. Transitional rate customers will receive the transitional pension rate outside Australia from the date of departure. Any add-on payments received, such as Rent Assistance (RA), will be cancelled from the date of departure.

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.

The Portability Script - Departures and Returns will correctly assess the customer's entitlement to payment while outside Australia and record details on the customer's record. If the customer advises in advance, the departure is recorded but the absence is not assessed until the customer actually leaves Australia. If the script is available, use it to code the absence from Australia.

A letter can be sent to the customer confirming the advice and providing contact details for Centrelink while outside Australia.

The portability period starts on the day the customer leaves Australia. For portability purposes, a person 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 they are considered to be inside Australia on that day (regardless of the time of return) and no longer affected by portability. If they leave and return on the same day, for example, airline crew, this is not considered a departure from Australia for portability purposes.

Customers who continue to receive payment into their Australian bank account must arrange access to their money while overseas.

If a customer goes overseas for more than 26 weeks, Centrelink International Services (CIS) will administer payments. Customers going overseas for longer than 12 months can continue to have their payment paid into their Australian bank account, or have their payment made to an overseas bank account.

Customers receiving Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) or Carer Payment may be affected by the portability and/or rate provisions of the New Zealand Agreement if they are:

• travelling to New Zealand
• in receipt of a defined New Zealand benefit, or
• paid their Australian payment by virtue of the Agreement

For more information, see New Zealand Agreement and foreign pension information.

CIS customers must contact Centrelink on their return to Australia to ensure their payment and concession entitlement are correctly assessed.

If a customer remains outside Australia after their payment has stopped for a portability related reason, continuation of payment on their return to Australia may be possible. Generally, their payment can be restored automatically or manually if they return to Australia within 13 weeks of their payment stopping.