Residence assessment for customers claiming Disability Support Pension (DSP) 008-03050010

A customer has lodged a claim for DSP. To qualify for DSP as an Australian resident, the customer must:

• be an Australian resident
• generally must be in Australia at the time the claim is lodged, and
• generally must remain an Australian resident throughout the period of payment

Note: there are exceptions to these requirements.

The new claim workflow will present the Immigration Enquiry (RSIMME) screen.

Make sure the customer's country of birth and any travel documents are recorded.

The system will automatically link to the Department of Home Affairs database through the Immigration Datalink and update the customer's residence and movement information.

If more information is needed, see Activating the Department of Home Affairs datalink and contingency procedures if datalink is unavailable.

Check the:

• Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen if necessary to see if the customer was in Australia at the time the claim was lodged
• Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen for citizenship and/or visa details for the customer
• Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen and 'Countries lived' information provided in the claim. This will help to identify if the customer has recently returned to Australia after a period of time they may have been living overseas, and must also be considered along with all other relevant factors when making a residence decision. See the Assessing residing in Australia table
• Country of Residence (CRES) screen to make sure the period they have been residing in Australia is recorded
• Periods of Australian Residence (RSPAR) screen to confirm the customer has 10 years qualifying residence. Note: this screen may incorrectly display an additional year of Australian historical residence when a person has acquired Australian citizenship. Cross-check the calculation on this screen with the date of grant of Australian citizenship to ensure it is correct. If an extra year is calculating and this impacts payment qualification, escalate to the CIS Helpdesk for correction

If the customer is:

• in Australia as:
• an Australian resident, go to Step 7
• a non-resident (for example, a temporary visa holder), go to Step 5
• not in Australia, go to Step 3

Generally, a customer can only lodge a legal claim for DSP while they are outside Australia if they:

• are eligible to use an international agreement that covers DSP, or
• meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule

Does the customer meet an exception to the lodgement inside Australia rule?

• Yes, and they are
• an Australian resident, go to Step 7
• not an Australian resident (for example, a temporary visa holder), go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 4

Some agreements also allow claims to be lodged under that agreement in a third country. That third country needs to be an agreement country that accepts claims for Australian pension under another agreement.

Is the customer in an agreement country that covers DSP?

• Yes, see Step 7 in Table 2
• No:
• tell the customer to lodge a claim if they return to Australia in the future
• code the customer's address as overseas on the Address Details (AD) screen
• continue to assess the claim. The claim will reject for a residence related reason
• procedure ends here

Only New Zealand citizens can be the holder of an SCV. The RSLEG screen will indicate whether someone is a protected (GRF or TRA) or non-protected (NOT) SCV holder.

For more information on SCVs, see Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand citizens.

Is the customer a non-protected SCV holder?

• Yes, see Step 7 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 6

Key the customer’s:

• correct citizenship and visa subclass on the RSLEG screen
• country of residence on the CRES screen

Is the customer a resident of an agreement country that covers DSP?

• Yes, see Step 7 in Table 2
• No, see Step 8 in Table 2

Does the customer have 10 years qualifying Australian residence?

• Yes, the customer is residentially qualified for DSP
• continue to assess their claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone Centrelink International Services (CIS)
• procedure ends here
• No, see Step 1 in Table 2

A customer who is a refugee or former refugee has an automatic exemption from the 10 years qualifying Australian residence requirement.

To determine if the customer is a refugee or former refugee:

• go to the Legal Residence Details (RSLEG) screen. If the customer's current or previous visa subclass was a refugee visa, the system should have automatically recorded it from the Immigration Datalink
• the QRE Visa (Refugee) field on the Residence Results Display (RSRD) screen will display with a 'Y'

To determine refugee visas use:

• Chapter 9 of the Social Security Guide, or
• Refugee, Humanitarian and Permanent Protection Visa sub-classes

If the customer advises they are or were a refugee and this is not evident on the RSLEG screen or from their passport:

• contact CIS, or
• refer to CIS via the Immigration Match Questionnaire (IMQ)

Is the customer a refugee or former refugee currently residing in Australia?

• Yes, the customer does not need to have 10 years qualifying residence:
• make sure the visa details are recorded correctly on the RSLEG screen
• continue to assess their claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone CIS
• procedure ends here
• No. If the customer:
• is permanently blind, go to Step 2
• is not permanently blind, go to Step 3

Check if the customer’s permanent blindness happened while they were an Australian resident.

The Medical Assessment Team (MAT) or Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) assesses where a customer’s permanent blindness happened. See Streaming a new claim for Disability Support Pension (DSP).

Did the customer’s permanent blindness happen while they were an Australian resident?

• Yes, the customer does not need to have 10 years qualifying residence:
• make sure exemption code 'AUS' is recorded in the CITW/Blind Residence field on the Pensions Disability Information (PDI) screen
• continue to assess their claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone CIS
• procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

The Medical Assessment Team (MAT) or Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) assesses where a customer’s CITW happened. See Streaming a new claim for Disability Support Pension (DSP).

Note: if the claimant is a non-protected SCV holder they will not satisfy CITW as an Australian resident regardless of how long they have lived in Australia. Re-categorise the DSP claim to a CIS New Claim work item for assessment under the NZ Agreement - ZALL_DIS_CISNCL.

Did the customer's CITW happen while they were an Australian resident?

• Yes, the customer does not need to have 10 years qualifying residence:
• make sure exemption code 'AUS' is recorded in the CITW/Blind Residence field on the Pensions Disability Information (PDI) screen
• continue to assess their claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone CIS
• procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Was the customer:

• born outside Australia as a dependent child of an Australian resident when they became unable to work or permanently blind, and
• did they become an Australian resident while a dependent child?
• Yes, the customer does not need to have 10 years qualifying residence.
  Make sure the exemption coding of 'AUS' is recorded in the CITW/Blind Residence field on the Pensions Disability Information (PDI) screen
  Continue to assess the claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone CIS. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 5

Was the customer an Australian resident at the time they were a participant in a Supported Wage System (SWS)?

• Yes, the customer does not need to have 10 years qualifying residence:
• make sure exemption code 'AUS' is recorded in the CITW/Blind Residence field on the PDI screen
• continue to assess the claim. If the claim rejects NIA (Not in Australia) phone CIS
• procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 6

Note: where the MAT (SA479) has recommended to reject DSP for reason IME or NDT, do not refer the claim to CIS for agreement assessment. Reject the claim for the relevant medical reason. Do not reject the claim NRQ. If further medical evidence is provided, the claim can be assessed under an agreement. See the Assessing residence matrix on the Resources page of Rejecting a new claim for Disability Support Pension (DSP) including manifest rejections for the correct reason to use. Procedure ends here.

Has the customer lived or worked in an agreement country that covers DSP?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 8

A customer may use an international agreement to qualify for DSP if they meet any of the following:

• is claiming from an agreement country that covers DSP
• is residing in an agreement country that covers DSP
• has lived or worked in an agreement country that covers DSP

Make sure the agreement country is recorded on the Country of Residence (CRES) screen.

• Re-categorise the claim to a Centrelink International Services (CIS) new claim work item ZALL_DIS_CISNCL
• Do not refer the claim to CIS using Process Direct referral
• Make sure the claim is not on hold so it can be allocated
• Complete any supporting work items

See Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements.

Note:

• Edit E510RS ‘Assessment under agreement required before rejecting’ will show if Service Officer attempts to finalise the claim in Customer First/Customer Record
• Edit E510RS ‘Assessment under agreement required’ will show if Service Officer attempts to finalise the claim in Process Direct

Procedure ends here.

Tell the customer to consider lodging a claim in the future if:

• their residence status changes, or
• for those who are currently Australian residents, when they reach 10 years qualifying Australian residence.

Continue to assess the claim.

Make sure the correct details are recorded on the CRES and RSLEG screens. If the CITW happened overseas, code ‘OVE’ in the CITW/Blind Residence field on the Pensions Disability Information (PDI) screen. The claim will reject for a residence related reason. Do not reject the claim for reason NRQ.

The customer may still be eligible for some of the following and may be offered to the customer where appropriate:

• Special Benefit (SpB) may be payable in a number of circumstances including:
• to a person who holds a certain temporary visas that qualify customers for some payments a person who does not yet have 10 years qualifying residence if they are in hardship and have suffered an unexpected and significant change in circumstances
• if the person is not residentially qualified for any social security payments because they do not hold the required legal residence (for example they are a non-protected SCV holder) but they have a child who is an Australian citizen or permanent visa holder, they may be eligible to claim SpB for the child. See Special Benefit (SpB) for Australian Citizen Child (ACC) and Australian permanent resident children
• Parental leave payments, family assistance and concession cards
• if a customer who is not a resident of Australia (such as a temporary student visa holder) has any dependent children, they may still be eligible for Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• depending on the circumstances, the customer may also have eligibility to some assistance looking for work