Perhaps you’re wanting to visit family; maybe you’re planning a holiday to New Zealand; maybe a trip to Asia is part of your treatment plan. There are many reasons why people receiving DSP leave our shores, sometimes for a couple of weeks, sometimes for months, and they all want to know the one thing: will they continue to receive their payments while out of the country?
Under social security law, continuing to receive payments when travelling overseas is known as ‘portability’. There are different types of portability, and this means the amount of time you can spend overseas without your DSP payment being suspended or cancelled depends on your individual circumstances. In most cases, if you’ve been residing overseas and have recently returned to live in Australia, you will need to wait two years before you are eligible to be paid under the portability provisions unless an exemption applies.
Temporary DSP portability
DSP recipients are eligible for general temporary portability of up to four weeks in a rolling 12-month period. This can be used all at once, or multiple times across the 12-month period and there are no restrictions on where you travel to or why you are travelling. Even so, it is important to let Centrelink know when you are travelling and the dates you will be absent from Australia.
In certain circumstances, Centrelink can grant a further temporary portability period provided you satisfy the relevant criteria.
1. Approved absence
Centrelink can grant you additional portability for up to a four-weeks if you are seeking eligible medical treatment, attending an acute family crisis or for a humanitarian purpose. Each of these reasons has specific eligibility criteria. As such, to access additional portability under these provisions, you will need to contact Centrelink. Centrelink will then assess your request and decide whether to approve your reason for travelling and grant you additional temporary portability.
2. Discretionary extension
Centrelink has a discretion to extend portability if you are overseas and because of an emergency situation you are prevented from returning to Australia before your current portability period ends. As soon as you become aware that you may not be able to return to Australia as planned, you should contact Centrelink to advise them and ask then to grant you a discretionary extension. The Social Security Act 1991 lists the following circumstances where this discretion may be available:
- A serious accident involving the person or a family member of the person;
- A serious illness of the person or a family member;
- The hospitalisation of the person or a family member; ·
- The death of a family member;
- The person’s involvement in custody proceedings in the country in which the person is located;
- A legal requirement for the person to remain outside Australia in connection with criminal proceedings (other than criminal proceedings in respect of a crime alleged to have been committed by the person);
- Robbery or serious crime committed against the person or a family member;
- A natural disaster in the country in which the person is located;
- Political or social unrest in the country in which the person is located; ·
- Industrial action in the country in which the person is located;
- A war in the country in which the person is located.
3. Family member posted overseas for work
The Social Security Act 1991 also states that Centrelink may extend portability if someone is severely disabled (which means their disability makes them totally unable to work for at least the next two years), they are wholly or substantially dependant on a family member, their family member has been sent overseas for work and they will continue to live with their family member while overseas. Again, you will need to contact Centrelink to request portability under this provision before leaving Australia.
Unlimited DSP portability
Unlike the temporary portability provisions above, unlimited portability means there is no set period of time you can be paid DSP while travelling overseas. Generally, you need to be present in Australia when you apply for unlimited portability, and undergo a medical assessment before departure. If you are already overseas, you would need to return to Australia for the assessment unless you’re unable to return because of a serious accident or have been hospitalised before the end of your current portability period.
To be eligible for unlimited portability, you will need to provide medical evidence demonstrating you are either:
- terminally ill and returning to your home country or to be near a family member, or
- have a severe impairment (which means 20 points on one impairment table), that the impairment will continue for the next five years without any significant improvement and you will have no work capacity at all for the next five years because of the impairment.
The severe impairment eligibility criteria are a significantly higher threshold than the standard medical eligibility criteria someone must meet to qualify for DSP. As such, it is important to note that there is a risk your DSP could be cancelled following this assessment if Centrelink decide you no longer meet the general DSP eligibility criteria.
International Agreements
Australia has international agreements with certain countries under which someone can still access DSP if they have difficulty satisfying the DSP criteria. If someone is being paid DSP under an International Agreement and they are travelling to that country, then the portability provisions may be different and will depend on the specific agreement under which they are being paid.
What happen once portability has been exhausted?
Unless granted unlimited portability, once you exhaust your temporary portability period, Centrelink will generally suspend payments for up to 13 weeks before cancelling the payment. If you return to Australia during the 13-week suspension period, you can contact Centrelink and ask for your DSP payments to be restarted. If your payment ends up being cancelled, you would need to make a new application for the DSP when you return to Australia. You will likely need to re-establish your current medical eligibility for the DSP.
The suspension and/or cancellation decision can also be reviewed. Depending on the circumstances, there may be merit to seeking a review of the decision to suspend and/or cancel your DSP if you could have been eligible for an extension of your temporary portability.
Seeking review of a Centrelink decision
If Centrelink makes a decision to cancel or suspend your DSP, or reject an application for additional or unlimited portability, you can seek an internal review of the decision(s) by completing and uploading the SS351 form through your MyGov account or calling Centrelink to request an internal review.
You must ask for an internal review within 13 weeks of the original decision in order to preserve any back pay entitlement if a review is successful.
The review request will be allocated to a Centrelink Authorised Review Officer who will either affirm or change the original decision. They will also send a letter explaining the reasons for their decision.
Click here for a fact sheet produced by Economic Justice Australia providing more information about the Review process.
Getting help
The portability provisions are a complex and technical area of social security legislation, and their application is largely dependent on the individual’s circumstances. The information outlined in this article is general in nature and is not intended as legal advice.
We encourage you to contact our Worker Helpline or Legal Assistance Line if you or your client is planning to travel overseas to obtain advice on individual circumstances.
