Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer going overseas 008-03120000

Example

Description

1

DSP customer's child has been critically injured overseas

A DSP customer attends a service centre to advise their child was in a tuk-tuk accident in Thailand and is critically injured. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFaT) have contacted the customer advising the child is in a critical state.

The Service Officer runs the Portability Script - Departures and Returns, which identifies the DSP customer has already travelled overseas for 3 weeks in a rolling 12 month period. There is only 1 week of general portability remaining. The script will ask the user why the person is travelling, and the user can advise it is due to an 'acute family crisis'.

As a result, the script advises to refer the customer to CIS to make the decision on the customer's eligibility for ongoing payments while overseas. Only CIS have the delegation for approved reason portability decisions.

Upon receiving the referral, CIS Service Officer has heard about this situation on the news, or calls DFaT to confirm and approves portability for 2 weeks for the customer to travel to Thailand and visit the child. DSP will be paid for 2 weeks due to the Approved Temporary Absence, and may be paid for 1 more week due to accessing the remaining general portability period while outside Australia.

2

Manifest customer leaves Australia indefinitely

Jarrod has been on DSP since 16 years of age due to a congenital birth defect considered a manifest condition, with reason INT under the manifest guidelines. On 14 August, Jarrod called to advise he is travelling overseas with parents for an indefinite period and is leaving Australia 21 August.

Jarrod's DSP will be payable for the full absence due to satisfying the 'no future work capacity' portability provisions, and a medical assessment is not required. However CIS will need to code the RSCD screen with an identifier for the system to assess the unlimited portability if it has not previously been coded.

3

Customer leaving Australia indefinitely with a terminal illness

Terry is an Australian born customer receiving DSP who has never lived outside Australia. Due to having a terminal condition, Terry is not expected to live more than a year or 2 and decides to spend an indefinite period of time with their child and family in France.

Terry's DSP is portable indefinitely and:

• will not be proportional due to his inability to work occurring in Australia, and
• is considered to be leaving Australia to live in another country (ceasing Australian residence) to be with a family member

Terry will receive the Pension Supplement Basic Amount from the date of departing Australia.

4

Severely disabled customer leaving Australia before 1 July 2004

Elizabeth was born in Canada and arrived in Australia to live in 1987. Elizabeth was in a car accident and badly injured in 1992, while travelling home from work (the DSP qualifying event). Elizabeth was granted DSP in 1997 after the compensation preclusion period and is unable to work again. The medical review indicated Elizabeth is severely disabled. Elizabeth went to Canada to live (ceased Australian residence) in December 2003 and has not returned to Australia as a resident since. At that time, the DSP was portable indefinitely due to Elizabeth being considered severely disabled.

Since 2008, Elizabeth has returned to Australia every three years for a short holiday. DSP continues to be portable indefinitely because Elizabeth was outside Australia on 1 July 2004 and is therefore paid under the pre 1 July 2004 portability rules.

Note: if Elizabeth returned to Australia for residence, Elizabeth would lose the savings provision. If Elizabeth then left Australia to live in Canada, the pension would only be portable for a temporary absence up to the maximum portability period unless the 'no future work capacity' portability provisions are satisfied. However, Elizabeth would be able to transfer to the Canadian Agreement if remaining severely disabled.

5

Customer ceasing to reside in Australia and going to an agreement country

Marco was born in Italy in 1950 and arrived in Australia in 1975. Marco lived and worked in Australia for 10 years then returned to Italy in 1985. Marco worked in Italy for 4 years before ceasing work because of an accident (the DSP qualifying event) and returned to live in Australia in 1989. In 1990, Marco was granted DSP with add-ons, Rent Assistance, Pharmaceutical Allowance and Telephone Allowance. In November 2012, Marco advised of the intention to return to live in Italy (ceased Australian residence).

Marco is neither terminally ill, nor satisfies the 'no future work capacity' portability provisions, so the pension will cease immediately on departing Australia.

Marco is returning to Italy and has been assessed as severely disabled. Therefore, Marco can be transferred to a pension under the Italian Agreement on the departure from Australia. Marco's pension will be paid the agreement rate according to the Australian working life residence.

Example

Description

1

Payable for 4 weeks absence

Customer departs Australia 1 March 2021 and returns 29 March 2021:

• payable 1 - 28 March 2021 outside Australia
• payable on 29 March 2021 as this is counted as a day inside Australia and no break in payability
• customer has used all 4 weeks (28 days) payability outside Australia
• first day customer can depart Australia and remain payable is 1 March 2022; 28 days of portability will be allowed:
  • Explanation: As at this date the customer has used 27 days of portability in the previous 12 months so has 1 day of general portability available; if they depart on this day, will continue to accrue (and deplete) available days of portability for 28 days outside Australia.

2

Loss of payability after 4 weeks absence

Customer departs Australia 1 March 2021 and returns 15 April 2021:

• payable 1 - 28 March 2021
• customer's payment is suspended on 29 March 2021 as outside Australia for more than 4 weeks (while current DSP) in previous 12 months
• first day customer can depart Australia and remain payable is 1 March 2022 as at this date customer has had 27 days (while current DSP) outside Australia in previous 12 months

3

Payable for second absence

Customer is outside Australia 1 - 20 March 2021 and again 15 - 24 August 2021. The customer returns to Australia on 20 March and 24 August.

• payable 1 - 20 March 2021 using 19 days of the 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period
• payable 15 - 24 August 2021 using 9 days of the 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period
• customer has used all 4 weeks (28 days) payability outside Australia
• first day customer can depart Australia and remain payable is 1 March 2022; as at this date customer has had 27 days (while current DSP) outside Australia in previous 12 months
• if the customer does depart on 1 March 2022 they can be paid for 19 days to (and including) 19 March 2022. As at 20 March 2022 the customer has had 28 days (while current DSP) outside Australia in previous 12 months - 19 days immediately before and 9 days 15 - 25 August 2021

4

Loss of payability: second absence

Customer is outside of Australia 1 - 29 March 2021 (returns 29 March) and departs again 15 February 2022:

• payable 1 - 28 March 2021
• payable on 29 March 2021 as inside Australia and no break in payability
• customer's payment is suspended on 15 February 2022 as outside Australia for 28 days (while current DSP) in previous 12 months

5

DSP already suspended overseas when 28 days re-accumulates

Customer is outside of Australia for a holiday 5 September 2022 – 10 October 2022 and is paid DSP for the first 28 days of their absence.

They depart Australia again 1 September 2023 for a 2 month holiday. Payment suspends on departure as they have already used their allowable 28 days within the last 12 months.

On 5 September 2023, 12 months after they started to use their allowable days, the customer’s 28 days of general portability starts accumulating again. As the customer is outside Australia and DSP is already suspended, payment cannot resume from 5 September.

To access portability for their DSP, the customer needs to return to Australia and depart again.

6

Approved portability and payability for later absences

A DSP customer contacted the agency on 1 June 2021 to arrange portability for forthcoming overseas holidays. The customer will depart 2 June 2021 and return 23 June, using 21 days of portability. Later they plan to travel for another 7 day holiday from 3 October 2021, returning 10 October 2021.

The Service Officer ran the Portability Script - Departures and Returns for the first absence, which identified the customer could be paid for the whole of that absence.

The customer contacted on 23 July 2021 to say they had just returned from visiting their child for 10 days who was in a tuk-tuk accident in Thailand and critically injured. A CIS Service Officer approved portability for 10 days 13 - 22 July 2021 and the customer was back in Australia on 23 July 2021 without loss of payments.

The customer did not make further contact; on 3 and 10 October 2021, the agency received advice via the Immigration Datalink that the customer had completed their October absence as originally planned. On 10 October the agency could see the customer was:

• payable 2 - 22 June 2021 using 21 days of the 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period
• payable 13 - 22 July 2021 using 10 days of an approved absence (these days are not counted towards the 28 days, as the absence was for an acute family crisis)
• payable on 3 - 10 October 2021 using 7 days of the 4 weeks in a rolling 12 month period

Based on the above details on the 10 October 2021:

• the customer has used all 4 weeks (28 days) payability outside Australia, and has actually been paid for 38 days in the previous 12 months, and
• the first day they can depart Australia and remain payable is 2 June 2022; as at this date they have had 27 days (while current DSP) outside Australia in the previous 12 months (3 June 2021 - 2 June 2022 being exactly 12 months). Days paid: 3 - 22 June 2021 being 20 days, plus 3 - 10 October was 7 days)