7.1.3.10 Portability provisions for recipients paid under the 1995 Agreement with New Zealand going to New Zealand or to another country

Summary

The 1995 agreement with New Zealand came into operation on 1 January 1995 and ceased on 30 June 2002 when the 2002 Agreement came into force.

The restrictions the 1995 Agreement imposed on the portability of Age, DSP, WP, WidB, PP and some PA paid to people who go to New Zealand were lifted, except for payments granted under that Agreement.

Full details of the portability of social security payments into New Zealand can be found in:

• 10.2.1.40 for payments made under the 1995 Agreement. The effects of the agreement are summarised in this topic, and
• 10.2 for all other payments including autonomous payments and payments made under the 2002 and 2017 Agreements.

Note: The portability provisions of the SSAct apply to payments not made under the 1995 Agreement and not covered under the 2002 and 2017 Agreements (i.e. payments other than Age, DSP (severely disabled) and CP (where paid to the partner of the disability support pensioner)).

Payments made under the 1995 Agreement

For payments made under the 1995 Agreement the following is a general guide.

Permanent departure

In general, recipients paid under the 1995 Agreement who depart permanently for New Zealand (or for another country, if paid under the Agreement with New Zealand) have their Australian payment cancelled. It is expected that recipients going to New Zealand will claim and receive a payment there, either by using the 2002 Agreement (for claimants between 2002 and 2017) or the 2017 agreement (for claimants from 2017 onwards) to qualify, or by having past residence in New Zealand that allows them to qualify without the agreement.

Note: Once payment under the 1995 Agreement is cancelled it cannot be reclaimed either in New Zealand or Australia under the provisions of the 1995 Agreement.

Temporary departure

If a recipient is temporarily going to New Zealand (or to another country, if paid under the 1995 Agreement with New Zealand), their payment can be paid for the following periods:

Note: PA for the female partner of a DSP recipient was previously portable for 4 weeks under the same rules as PPP, however, PA ceased from 1 January 2022.

Note: CP paid to a person who is the partner and carer of an Age or DSP recipient, paid under the 1995 New Zealand Agreement, is portable under the portability provisions of the SSAct.