7.2.3 Portability determinations, dates of effect & transfers while overseas

Introduction

This section contains information on portability determinations, including suspensions, cancellations, rate reductions, and restorations, and the date-of-effect rules for these determinations. It also contains information on transfers between payments while overseas or moving from an autonomous pension to an agreement pension.

On this page:

• Departure and arrival dates and times
• Suspensions and cancellations while overseas
• Rate reduction while overseas
• Discretionary extension instead of suspension, cancellation or rate reduction
• Date of effect rules for adverse portability determinations
• Rate increase on return to Australia
• Re-claiming on return to Australia after cancellation
• Claims and grants while overseas
• Transfers between payment types while overseas
• Transfer to age pension while overseas
• Where transfer is not in a recipient’s best interest
• Transfer between pension types under an agreement
• Moving from an autonomous pension to an agreement pension

Departure & arrival dates & times

Services Australia uses the date of departure and arrival provided by the Department of Home Affairs through a data sharing arrangement. This is based on the date of clearance through immigration.

If a person's actual departure or arrival date is different to the date they clear immigration, Services Australia may consider using the alternative date if it would result in a beneficial outcome for the recipient.

Suspensions & cancellations while overseas

If a person is receiving a payment with limited portability and they exceed the allowable portability period for the payment, or their payment is not portable in relation to the absence, their payment will be suspended, unless they are eligible for a discretionary portability extension (extensions are not available if the payment is not portable).

Where a payment has been suspended, it can be restored once the person returns to Australia without needing a new claim, provided they return to Australia within 13 weeks of the suspension date.

If the person remains outside Australia more than 13 weeks from the date of suspension, their payment will be cancelled and they will need to reclaim the payment on return to Australia.

Rate reduction while overseas

After 26 weeks outside Australia, payments with unlimited portability (for example, age pension and, in some circumstances, DSP) will be subject to a proportional rate calculation using the pension portability rate calculator in the SSAct, unless the recipient has an exemption from the proportional rate, or is entitled to a discretionary portability extension. If this calculation results in a lower rate of payment, their payment will be reduced.

A person’s rate may also be reduced if an ancillary payment paid with the primary payment is reduced or ceased because it is not portable for the absence or the portability period for the ancillary payment is exceeded.

Discretionary extension instead of suspension, cancellation or rate reduction

It is possible that a recipient of a payment with limited portability whose payment has been suspended or cancelled would have been granted a discretionary portability extension as a result of an event that occurred during their allowable portability period, had their circumstances been known before the time of suspension or cancellation.

This may also be the case for a pensioner with unlimited portability who has had their rate reduced as a result of the proportional rate calculation. In such cases, the original suspension, cancellation or rate reduction can be overturned and the new decision (that a discretionary portability extension is granted) applied. Payment of any arrears as a result of the new decision is subject to date of effect rules (see below).

Date of effect rules for adverse portability determinations

The date-of-effect rules for adverse portability decisions, including suspensions, cancellations or rate reductions, are based on the standard date-of-effect rules in the SS(Admin)Act. These rules determine when a decision takes effect and whether a person is entitled to arrears following a review of a decision. These rules provide the following:

• If a recipient’s payment is suspended for portability reasons, the suspension will generally take effect from the date the suspension determination is made (subsection 118(13)), regardless of if or when the customer notified of their travel. In the case of a payment being suspended because the person exceeds the allowable portability period, this will generally be the day after the portability period ends, in the case of a payment being suspended because it is not portable, this will generally be the day of departure.
• If a recipient’s payment was suspended for portability reasons and subsequently cancelled because the person remained outside Australia more than 13 weeks after the date of suspension, the cancellation will take effect from the date of suspension (subsection 118(11)).
• If a recipient’s payment rate is reduced in relation to an overseas absence, the reduction will generally take effect from the date the determination is made (subsection 118(13)). In the case of a reduction due to the proportional rate calculation, this will generally be the day they have been absent for more than 26 weeks, in the case of a reduction relating to the reduction or cessation of an ancillary payment, this will generally be the day after the portability period for the ancillary payment ends.
• If the recipient was notified of the suspension, cancellation, or rate reduction, applies for a review within 13 weeks of when the notice was given and a favourable decision is made as a result of the review (for example, that the payment should not have been suspended, cancelled or reduced), the favourable decision will take effect from the date of the suspension, cancellation or rate reduction (subsection 109(1)). This means they will be entitled to full arrears back to the date of suspension, cancellation or rate reduction.
• If the recipient was notified of the suspension, cancellation or rate reduction, applies for a review more than 13 weeks after the notice was given and a favourable decision is made as a result of the review (for example, that the payment should not have been suspended, cancelled or reduced), the favourable decision will take effect from the date they requested the review (subsection 109(2)). This means they will only be entitled to arrears from the date of the request for a review.
• If the recipient was not notified of the suspension, cancellation or rate reduction, applies at any time for a review and a favourable decision is made as a result of the review (for example, that the payment should not have been suspended, cancelled or reduced), the favourable decision will take effect from the date of the suspension, cancellation or rate reduction (subsection 109(3) and subsection 237(3)). This means they will be entitled to arrears back to the date of the original suspension, cancellation or reduction decision. This would include where no advice was sent, or the advice was not sent to the last known mailing address.

Note: A favourable decision made as a result of a decision to grant a discretionary portability extension in relation to age pension or DSP (with unlimited portability) can take effect on a day earlier than would otherwise be permitted under normal date-of-effect rules.

Rate increase on return to Australia

Where a person returns to Australia after a rate reduction, their payment may be increased to the normal rate. This could be because the recipient's rate is no longer subject to the proportional rate calculation and/or ancillary payments are once again payable.

Decisions to increase a person’s rate after they return to Australia are governed by the 'favourable determination' date-of-effect provisions.

If the favourable determination is made as a result of the person advising Services Australia of an event (for example, the return to Australia), the date of effect is the date of receipt of the advice, or the date of the event, whichever is later.

Otherwise, the date of effect is generally the date on which the favourable determination is made (unless an earlier or later date is specified in the determination, if an earlier date is specified, it can be no earlier than 13 weeks before the determination is made). If the favourable determination is made based on arrival or departure of the flight rather than the immigration clearance data provided by the Department of Home Affairs through the data sharing arrangement, the date of the favourable determination will generally be the date of arrival or departure.

Re-claiming on return to Australia after cancellation

Where a recipient's payment is cancelled (for example, because they have been outside Australia for more than 13 weeks following suspension of their payment) and they return to Australia after that cancellation, the recipient must lodge a new claim if they wish to return to payment. A new claim is appropriate in order to establish that the person's circumstances have not changed and they are qualified for the payment.

Claims & grants while overseas

Australian payments can generally only be claimed by people who are an Australian resident (1.1.A.330), and in Australia when they lodge their claim.

However, a person can be granted a payment while overseas in the following circumstances:

• A cancelled payment is restored after a successful review.
• A claim is lodged under an international social security agreement (1.1.A.120).
• A person is transferred from one payment to another under SS(Admin)Act section 12 without the need to lodge a claim (see below).

Note: Family assistance and PPL payments can be claimed from outside Australia (time limits apply), provided the person is an Australian resident or qualifying temporary visa holder residing in Australia.

Transfers between payment types while overseas

Generally, a person needs to be residing in Australia and physically present in Australia to lodge a claim under SS(Admin)Act section 29. However, SS(Admin)Act section 12 allows transfers from one payment to another, without the requirement that a new claim be lodged, if the person becomes qualified for the new payment while they are receiving their existing payment or immediately after ceasing to receive their existing payment. This will generally apply where determining qualification for the new payment is a decision that can be made without a new claim, that is, where Services Australia already holds the relevant information to determine qualification for the new payment. All other qualification criteria still need to be satisfied.

The payment to which the recipient has been transferred must still be payable under the portability provisions for that payment. For example, a PPS recipient who went on a holiday overseas for 2 weeks and whose child turns 14 while they are outside Australia will generally not be able to transfer to JSP because JSP is only portable in limited circumstances. However, if the PPS recipient went overseas for one of the allowable reasons for portability of JSP, they may be able to transfer to JSP.

Note: Different rules may apply for recipients in countries with which Australia has a social security agreement. This is because they are able to lodge claims in those countries, provided the agreement covers that payment type and category of person. See Part 10.

Transfers to age pension while overseas

A recipient of an income support payment can be transferred to age pension, under SS(Admin)Act section 12, when they become qualified for age pension, including where they become qualified for age pension while overseas. For this to apply, they must become qualified for the age pension while receiving the original payment or immediately after ceasing to receive the original payment.

In order to be transferred to age pension while overseas, individuals are required to meet the 10-year qualifying residence requirement for age pension or be able to use a social security agreement to meet that requirement.

Individuals who do not have 10 years' qualifying Australian residence may use the totalisation provisions of a social security agreement to meet the 10-year residence requirement. These individuals can transfer to age pension while outside Australia as an agreement pensioner and will be subject to the provisions of the relevant agreement. They will remain agreement pensioners until such time that they qualify for the age pension autonomously. For those residing overseas, transfer to an autonomous pension only occurs if the recipient returns to Australia as an Australian resident, with a clear intention to remain long term.

Note: People receiving WidB, PA or WA when they otherwise became qualified for age pension were not required to have 10 years' Australian residence. WidB ceased from 20 March 2020 and recipients were transferred to age pension under separate provisions.

Where transfer is not in the recipient's best interest

A recipient should not be disadvantaged by a transfer. For example, a DSP recipient may have unlimited portability and may be exempt from the proportional rate (for example, they are saved under the 1 July 2004 changes (7.1.7) or they became unable to work or permanently blind while an Australian resident). They should not be transferred to age pension if they would become subject to the proportional rate after 26 weeks outside Australia as a result of the transfer. However, if their AWLR is 420 months or more they can be transferred to age pension if they wish to as their rate would not change.

Note: If a recipient is in receipt of a DVA payment, the rate and duration of the social security payment should be checked carefully and the recipient should be given the opportunity to compare coverage between the social security and DVA payments before choosing their future entitlement.

Transfer between pension types under an agreement

Recipients receiving a pension under an agreement may be granted another pension type while outside Australia if the agreement has provisions for claim lodgement and covers the pension type to which the pensioner wants to transfer. In these circumstances the new pension granted will also be an agreement pension and will still be subject to the AWLR and portability provisions of the agreement. See Part 10 for more information on international social security agreements.

Moving from an autonomous pension to an agreement pension

In some cases, it may be appropriate to move a recipient from an autonomous pension to an agreement pension to enable them to maintain their entitlement to the pension. For example, if a recipient whose pension has limited portability goes to a country with which Australia has an international social security agreement and the agreement covers their pension type, they may move to be paid under the agreement as this will give them unlimited portability of their pension while in the agreement country. To move to be paid under the agreement, they must satisfy any other special conditions set out in the agreement (for example, their partner is deceased for PPS or they are severely disabled for DSP).

They will then receive a rate calculated under the agreement while outside Australia, which may mean they receive a proportional rate. This means the move should not generally be done until the recipient has received their full normal portability entitlement (for example, 6 weeks for PPS) during their period of absence, as this will be at the non-proportional rate.

They will also be subject to the portability rules in the agreement if they then go to another country.

If they return to Australia and are still (or again become) an Australian resident, and there is a clear intention to remain long term in Australia, they can move back to receiving an autonomous (non-agreement) pension.