LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 1 of 61
s22
New Zealand Agreement and foreign pension information 106-
04024000
Currently published version valid from 4/03/2025 3:30 AM
Background
s22
This document outlines information about the Agreement including the process of making a claim for Australian
payment under the Agreement and coding of New Zealand payments.
Start date
Social Security agreements with New Zealand (NZ) started in the 1940s. The latest version was implemented on 1
July 2017.
Claiming and benefits covered
The New Zealand Agreement generally allows customers to lodge a claim for payment from either country. It also
allows customers to add together periods of residence in Australia and periods of social security coverage in New
Zealand, to meet the minimum requirements for payment.
Australian payments covered:
•
Age Pension (AGE)
•
Disability Support Pension (DSP)
•
Carer Payment (CP)
Note:
•
DSP only applies to severely disabled customers who were:
o
resident in either Australia or New Zealand on the date they became severely disabled
and
o
resident in the other country for at least 12 months before the date of severe disablement
•
Carer payment is limited to carer partner of DSP customers only.
Customers can claim Australian payments under the Agreement by contacting Services Australia or the New
Zealand authorities.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 2 of 61
New Zealand payments covered:
• New Zealand Superannuation (equivalent of Age Pension)
• Supported Living Payment (formerly Invalids Benefit)
• Veterans Pension
Customers can claim a foreign pension by contacting Services Australia or the New Zealand authorities.
Information on International Agreements
Information on how International Agreements work and general concepts used in agreements is contained
in International Social Security Agreements.
The Resources page contains links to the:
• Residence and International program
• Centrelink International Services (CIS) and
• Services Australia website
Related links
International Social Security Agreements
Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements
Foreign pension claims
Foreign pension coding
Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information
Comparable Foreign Payment (CFP) lump sum arrears debts
Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand citizens
New Zealand Agreement debt recovery requests - action for International Services (CIS)
New Zealand Agreement debt recovery reconciliation - action for International Services (CIS)
Process
This page contains further information in relation to the Agreement with New Zealand, including Australian
payments and New Zealand payments.
General information
Social Security Agreement between Australia and New Zealand
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 3 of 61
Category title
Description
New Zealand Social
New Zealand Social Security System + Read more ...
Security System
In New Zealand, social security is similar to Australia in that entitlement to payments is
based on residence in New Zealand.
Like Australia, New Zealand also has private pension superannuation-like schemes through
deductions from paid employment. However, New Zealand Superannuation is the equivalent
of Australian Age Pension and not to be confused with superannuation-like payments in
Australia. New Zealand Superannuation is not income tested in New Zealand.
New Zealand has a general direct deduction policy for any pensions from other countries,
including from Australia. New Zealand's social security agreements with other countries
may modify this in some circumstances. New Zealand therefore has similar provisions to
Australia requiring a person to claim any entitlement to a pension from another country.
This direct deduction policy is reflected in the Agreement and means that Australia will
direct deduct pensions from third countries in some circumstances. See Rate calculation.
New Zealand has a general portability scheme based on residence. Special arrangements
apply for some Pacific Island countries and provisions of New Zealand's social security
agreements still apply.
Like the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) in Australia, Veterans' Affairs New
Zealand (VANZ) also pay pensions to people who have served in the military. New Zealand
Veterans' Pension can be paid instead of New Zealand Superannuation but is not a VANZ
payment and not to be confused with other payments such as War Disablement Pension paid
by VANZ. See Assessment and exempt payments and Other known payments.
History and previous
Widow B Pension, Wife Pension and Bereavement Allowance + Read more ...
Agreements
Widow B Pension and Wife Pension were sunsetted in 1995 and, along with Bereavement
Allowance, ceased to be paid from 2020. See:
• Widow B Pension
• Wife Pension, and
• Bereavement Allowance
Original Agreement - 1944 + Read more ...
Agreements with New Zealand have been in place since the 1940s and have been revised
and amended many times.
Full revision - 1 January 1995 + Read more ...
This version of the Agreement was host country style, meaning that only the country in
which the person was resident paid the person's pension, which precluded entitlement to a
pension from the other country.
Generally, a person could use a period of residence in one country exclusively to meet the
requirement for payment in the other country, for example, 10 years residence in New
Zealand was used to meet the qualifying residence requirement for Age Pension in Australia.
The 1995 Agreement covered:
• Age Pension
• Disability Support Pension (DSP)
• Widow B Pension
• Sole Parent Pension - is now Parenting Payment Single (PPS)
• Wife Pension
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 4 of 61
• Partner Allowance
• Parenting Allowance - now Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP)
• Additional Family Payments
Note:
• Also covered unemployment benefits until removed by protocol in October 2000.
Carer Payment was also subject to the Agreement through the partner related
provisions (Article 6.1)
• There was no requirement for DSP customers to be severely disabled
• Partner Allowance and PPP were only payable to the female partner of an Age
Pension or DSP recipient
As a host country agreement, reimbursement provisions applied under the 1995 Agreement.
In an annual reconciliation process, each country would reimburse the other for its
customers living in the other country based on the customer's residence. Due to most
customers living in Australia, the result was always an amount paid by New Zealand to
Australia.
In recognition of these provisions in the 1995 agreement and existing customers,
reimbursement was projected and agreed amounts scheduled in the transitional provisions of
the 2002 Agreement (Article 26).
Provisions under the 1995 Agreement that continue to apply + Read more ...
Payments granted under the 1995 Agreement
continue to be subject to the provisions of
that Agreement but may transfer to the current version of the Agreement if they meet the
necessary requirements. A person may not transfer back to the 1995 Agreement.
As a host-country agreement, payment would be cancelled if the person departed
permanently. Portability was limited to temporary absences only:
• Age Pension - 26 weeks
• DSP, Wife Pension, Widow B Pension, PPS - 4 weeks
• Partner Allowance, PPP - same as partner
Note: Carer Payment deemed to be paid under the Agreement was not portable outside
Australia (s11 Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999).
Any foreign pension from a third country received by a person paid under the 1995
Agreement is treated as a direct deduction in all cases. Each member of a couple is taken to
receive half the total amount of foreign pension received by both the customer and their
partner.
Any NZ pension received by a person paid under the 1995 agreement or that person's partner
is not assessed. In some cases, a person who is paid under the 1995 Agreement whose
partner receives a NZ pension may be better off by staying under the 1995 Agreement even
if it means a period of non-payment, e.g. for portability.
Full revision - 1 July 2002 + Read more ...
This version of the Agreement was shared responsibility in nature, meaning that the
responsibility for supporting mutual customers was shared between the signatory countries.
The 2002 Agreement covered:
• Age Pension
• Disability Support Pension (DSP) for the severely disabled, and
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 5 of 61
• Carer Payment for carer partners of DSP customers
Lodgement
The 2002 Agreement allowed a NZ citizen residing in Australia as a temporary visa holder
(for example non-protected SCV holder) to be regarded as an Australian resident. This
enabled customers affected by the Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand citizens to
claim payments covered by the Agreement.
Qualification
It also allowed customers to totalise to meet any necessary qualifying residence period using
Australian historical residence and NZ Working Age Residence.
See Residence and Working Age Residence (WAR)
Note: from 1 November 2012, following a Federal Court decision, DSP customers ceased
having to meet the 10-year qualifying residence rule if their Continuing Inability to Work
(CITW) occurred when they were residing in Australia (including as an SCV holder who is
not protected). If the CITW occurred when the customer was a resident of NZ, the 10-year
qualifying residence period still had to be met.
However, this could be met by totalising
Australian historical residence periods (including those as an SCV holder who is not
protected) with New Zealand
historical residence. This decision was not incorporated into
the 2017 Agreement revision.
Rate
The main difference from the 2017 Agreement is that customers affected by the 2002
Agreement were paid the NZ proportional rate based on their Working Age Residence if
they were long-term outside Australia and present in New Zealand. The direct deduction rate
was paid inside Australia unless they were paid the NZ proportional rate and were not long
term inside Australia.
This led to anomalies where a customer would 'pass-through' either Australia or New
Zealand and become affected by the Agreement and uncertainty as to the application of the
rules when the customer went to a third country from Australia.
For example:
• The NZ proportional rate would apply to a person if they went to NZ for just one
day and continue for 26 weeks on departure and then revert to the ordinary rate
payable, if any
• A person on a direct deduction rate who left Australia would remain on the direct
deduction rate indefinitely in some cases
• A person with NZ pension who was living in a 3rd country would immediately
become affected by the direct deduction rate for any return to Australia regardless
of the duration of the return
Other differences between the 2002 and 2017 rates were:
• Assessment of NZ benefits:
o Under the 2002 Agreement most payments from New Zealand were
ignored in all situations
• Assessment of 3rd country pensions:
o Under the 2002 Agreement most 3rd country pensions were directly
deducted
See Rate calculation.
Portability
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 6 of 61
Portability under the 2002 Agreement for travel between Australia and New Zealand was
indefinite.
Portability under the 2002 Agreement for travel to 3rd countries was for a maximum of 26
weeks, regardless the intended duration of the absence. That is for both permanent and
temporary departures, portability was 26 weeks.
Provisions of the 2002 Agreement that continue to apply + Read more ...
Customers paid under the 2002 Agreement were transferred to the 2017 Agreement from 1
July 2017. While a person could not lose qualification for payment, any rate change due to
the change in calculation methods was applied immediately.
Unless they lost qualification for any other reason, customers absent from Australia on 1
July 2017 were able to continue to receive their payment until the end of the portability
period under the 2002 Agreement (26 weeks) or their return to Australia or New Zealand,
whichever occurs first. Any subsequent departure on or after 1 July 2017 will be assessed
under the 2017 rules. See Portability.
Effect of NZ Agreement
Rate Calculation + Read more ...
on autonomous and other
agreements
The provisions of an agreement normally only apply to payments made under that
agreement with some beneficial provisions also applying to autonomous customers.
The rate calculations under the NZ Agreement will apply to
any customer who receives a
NZ pension or any Age Pension, Disability Support Pension (DSP) or Carer Payment (CP)
who is long-term in New Zealand.
This means that an autonomous customer may become 'affected' by the NZ Agreement in
various situations and then may subsequently become free of the effect after a period of time
because of a further change in circumstances. See Rate calculation.
Concession Cards + Read more ...
Because of the Australian residence rules for New Zealand citizens there are provisions in
the social security law that allow a customer who is paid under the Agreement to receive a
Pensioner Concession Card.
Where the customer is a special category visa holder (SCV) who is not protected, there is an
additional income test for concessions cards that is performed after the NZ Agreement rate
calculation that determines the rate of the customer's income support payment.
See:
• Qualification/Totalisation
• Rate calculation
• Pensioner Concession Card (PCC)
Assumed Rate + Read more ...
Under the Agreement, the rate of Australian pension may also affect the rate of NZ pension.
In some cases, the rate of a third country pension affects the rate of both the Australian and
NZ pension simultaneously.
Because of the process and delays involved between the two countries, this may involve a
series of negative and positive adjustments, which ultimately affects customers. To avoid
this, using an Assumed Rate of NZ pension may be required when processing an Australian
new claim or at the same time as the coding of the third country pension.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 7 of 61
Foreign Pension System + Read more ...
Like Australia, New Zealand applies a policy of requiring a customer to claim any
'comparable foreign payment' to which they are entitled. This only applies to customers in
New Zealand so normal Foreign Pension System (FPS) processing is deferred by six (6)
months to allow New Zealand to require the customer to make a claim. There is no deferral
for customers in Australia.
See Foreign Pension System (FPS) statuses and reviews.
NZ Agreement specific
AU Actual Rate + Read more ...
terms
This is the rate that is actually paid after considering any direct deduction or exemption of
NZ pension. In Australia, this is the rate that is paid after the NZ direct deduction is applied.
In New Zealand, NZ pensions are exempt so this is the same as the Australian Notional
Rate.
This rate is used by New Zealand as a direct deduction for customers who are present long-
term in New Zealand.
AU Notional Rate + Read more ...
This is the rate that would be paid if not for the NZ pension direct deduction.
• in Australia, this is the rate that would have been paid before the NZ direct
deduction is applied
• in New Zealand, NZ pensions are exempt so this is the same as the Australian
Actual Rate
This rate is used by New Zealand to limit (cap) the proportional rate of NZ pension paid in
Australia (Article 9.3 and Article 10.2) and is manually advised to New Zealand at grant of
Australian pension and thereafter when a change occurs through the automatic liaison
process. See Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.
Note: where Centrelink International Services (CIS) rejects a new claim for Australian
pension due to lack of NZ working age residence (NZWAR) to totalise and the person is in
receipt of a NZ pension and has at least 12 months NZWAR, it has been agreed to provide a
deemed Australian Notional Rate on the liaison (Service Decision) to New Zealand as they
may then still pay a proportional rate into Australia. See Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and
exchange of information.
s47E(d)
Capping + Read more ...
Capping refers to the limitation of the proportional rate of NZ pension in Australia to no
more that the Australian Notional Rate (Article 9.3 and Article 10.2).
Current Zero Rate (CZR) + Read more ...
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 8 of 61
Where the customer has an Australian Notional Rate greater than zero but an Actual Rate of
zero because of the NZ pension direct deduction (including pensions from third countries in
some cases), the customer remains current for all other purposes, e.g. concession cards,
Residential Care Assessments (RCA) This is referred to as Current Zero Rate (CZR).
CZR Override + Read more ...
Where a customer is CZR and the Australian Notional Rate increases, for example when the
Australian CPI is applied in March and September, a small rate may become payable.
However, as New Zealand will increase their proportional rate based on the increase in the
Australian Notional Rate, system processing compares the increased Australian Notional
Rate to the NZ Notional Rate. If the increased Australian Notional Rate remains less than
the NZ Notional Rate, system processing forces the CZR to remain in place. This is referred
to as the CZR Override and displays on the
screen as 'New
s47E(d)
Zealand zero rate override'.
The CZR Override rules for partnered cases are:
• if both members of a couple have the same Australian Notional Rate, and
• both customers' NZ Notional Rate is higher than the Australian Notional Rate
Note: there are known system errors in the processing for partnered cases. If CZR Override
is confirmed as applying incorrectly, the approved workaround is to delete the NZ Notional
Rate.
Date of Severe Disablement (DoSD) + Read more ...
Not to be confused with the
date the customer became severely disabled (see below), the
Agreement defines the Date of Severe Disablement (Article 1.1(e)) as either:
• the date first assessed under the Agreement, or
• an earlier date if agreed between Australia and New Zealand
The DoSD is recorded in the s47E(d)
field on the
s47E(d)
screen and is used by the system to:
• see if the customer became severely disabled in Australia or New Zealand (Article
2.2(b))
• see if the customer has 12 months residence in 'the territory of the other Party'
(Article 2.2(c)), and, where appropriate
• mark the end date of a customers’ period of Working Age Residence
If the customer was residing in AU or NZ on the date, they became severely disabled, DoSD
is the date from which the customer's payments commence under, or they become impacted
by, the Agreement.
If the customer was residing in a 3rd country on the date, they became severely disabled,
DoSD is the
date the customer became severely disabled (see below).
Note:
• The DoSD is required for
all DSP customers who are present long-term in NZ
(and who therefore receive a proportional rate)
• The DoSD should normally only be set once and used for all future purposes
unless the customer goes off payment and is subsequently assessed and found to
be severely disabled for a
different condition or claim
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 9 of 61
Date the customer became severely disabled + Read more ...
This is the literal date the customer became severely disabled, for example, at birth, from
date of accident, etc., and is used to determine whether the customer meets Article 2.2 of the
Agreement.
If the customer was residing in AU or NZ on the literal date the customer became severely
disabled, they may meet the Scope of the Agreement, in which case the Date of Severe
Disablement (DoSD - see above) is set to the date of grant/transfer/departure.
If the customer became severely disabled while residing in a third country, the customer
fails the legislative scope of the Agreement and cannot use the Agreement to claim
Disability Support Pension (DSP) (Article 2.2(b)). In this case the Date of Severe
Disablement (DoSD - see above) is set to the literal date.
NZ Actual Rate + Read more ...
This is the rate of NZ pension that is actually paid to the person after the consideration of the
capping in Australia or the direct deduction of Australian pension in New Zealand.
NZ Assumed Rate (ASR) + Read more ...
Customers are generally paid NZS for up to 26 weeks after leaving NZ. To continue being
paid, they will need to lodge a ‘portable’ claim, noting the AU claim = FP claim principle
applies. See Lodgement rules and start day.
The ‘portable’ rate of NZS will be lower than the ‘domestic’ rate of NZS. If Services
Australia continue to maintain the ‘domestic’ rate of NZS, the customer will be adversely
affected as it can take some time for NZ to determine the correct rate of ‘portable’ NZS to
apply and Services Australia are unable to pay the customer arrears to account for the
difference.
The NZ Assumed Rate (ASR) is a calculation of what proportional rate of NZ pension can
be paid in Australia. It is used to adjust the Australian rate, in recognition of the fact that the
rate of NZ pension will reduce, ensuring the customer receives their full social security
entitlement. The ASR must be coded in a new claim if the customer is in Australia and
receiving NZS. This is to ensure the arrears issued from the new claim are calculated using
the portable rate of NZS.
The ASR is also used where a non-protected special category visa (SCV) holder who is paid
a direct deduction rate of Australian pension is granted a third country pension.
That is in recognition of the fact that the rate of NZ pension that is being paid will reduce
because of the grant of the third country pension.
Using the ASR offsets any problems with arrears debt calculations or a requirement to make
negative adjustments and then positive adjustments of the same value.
The NZ Assumed Rate Calculator is available to Centrelink International Services (CIS)
staff through the Residence and International program homepage. See the Resources page
for a link.
Note: the Assumed Rate needs to be updated in line with the NZ CPI. The NZ CPI occurs
on 1 April each year.
NZ Notional Rate + Read more ...
This is the theoretical maximum rate of NZ pension that could be paid before capping is
applied. It is determined by the information provided by New Zealand, i.e. the rate of NZ
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 10 of 61
pension that is compared to the Australian Notional Rate and is manually coded with the NZ
Actual Rate when a NZ pension is granted.
The NZ Notional Rate is used in Current Zero Rate (CZR) processing to avoid paying small
rates of Australian pension in the time between increases in the Australian Notional Rate and
when New Zealand authorities update the NZ Actual Rate.
This term is only used by Australia and so is not included in the automatic liaison process.
Pension age + Read more ...
Pension age is defined in the Agreement (Article 1.1(j)) as the qualifying age for Australian
age pension or New Zealand Superannuation, whichever is the higher.
It is used to determine the minimum qualifying age for both Australian age pension and New
Zealand Superannuation (NZS), and the corresponding upper age for Australian Disability
Support Pension (DSP) and New Zealand Supported Living Payment (NZI) where the
Agreement is required for lodgement or qualification.
For example, an NZS claimant present long-term in Australia requires the Agreement for
lodgement and therefore needs to be the higher age.
Present long-term + Read more ...
'Present long-term' is defined in the Agreement (Article 1.1(l)). A person is considered
present long-term in a country if they:
• move permanently, or
• travel temporarily with the intention to remain for more than 12 months, or
• have been physically present for continuous period of 26 weeks
This is based on the New Zealand policy of accepting a person as ordinarily resident in New
Zealand.
The country of long term presence on the s47E(d)
field on the
screen is used to determine the base rate calculation to apply.
s47E(d)
See Rate calculation.
System rules exist which automatically determine the present long-term country based on
combination of confirmed movement data from the
s47E(d)
and
screens and residence data from the
s47E(d)
screen:
s47E(d)
• The s47E(d)
field on the s47E(d) screen will be set to the
s47E(d)
where a move is permanent. That is, the country of
residence matched the confirmed country of location from
s47E(d)
• Where a customer is travelling temporarily, that is the country of residence
s47E(d) and the country of presence
s47E(d)
) do not align, the system will
set a review to mature 26 weeks after departure. On maturation of the review, the
system will update the
s47E(d)
: field on the s47E(d) screen to the
country of presence if the customer has remained continuously in that country for
the entire 26 weeks. If the customer has not remained present in that country, the
review is cancelled with no update
Note: there is no mechanism for recording a customer's intent in relation to travel. Where a
customer is travelling temporarily but intends to remain in the other country for a period
exceeding 12 months, the
s47E(d)
: field on the s47E(d) screen will need to
be manually updated. This can only be done by an authorised staff member in International
Services.
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Social Welfare Number (SWN) + Read more ...
The SWN is the New Zealand client/ reference number. It is 9 digits long. The correct
format is nnnnnnnnn.
Take care when coding SWNs to ensure the automated liaison process occurs correctly.
See Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.
Note: Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) may ask staff to update customer records
with a SWN so they can access the s47E(d)
, also as known as
the portal).
Staff must not create a record on the
s47E(d)
screen just to record a
NZ reference number (SWN).
Only record a SWN on the s47E(d) screen:
• where an s47E(d) record exists
• to key an Assumed Rate, or
• to process a NZ Service Decision
In all other cases, on the
s47E(d)
screen, code the s47E(d) in
the
s47E(d)
field.
Special Banking Option (SBO)/Direct Payment Method (DPM) + Read more ...
There are two banking options available to customers present long-term in NZ:
• Special Banking Option (SBO), which is an account in the customer's name but is
managed by the NZ authorities, or
• Direct Payment Method (DPM), which is an ordinary bank account in the
customer’s name
SBO may be used due to New Zealand's general policy of direct deduction of pensions from
other countries. Payments from other countries, including Australia, are deposited into the
SBO account and the NZ authorities pay the person a full rate of NZ pension into a separate
account owned by the customer. The NZ authorities retain the amounts deposited into the
SBO account, offsetting their outlays, and avoiding the need for NZ to work out how much
‘top up’ they need to pay the customer each pay.
Any queries about setting up, or issues with, SBO accounts should be referred to the NZ
foreign pension authorities.
Note:
• SBO may be managed by the NZ authorities, but Services Australia treats SBO as
a normal bank account provided by the customer
• SBO has a BSB of s47E(d) and resolves to WESTPAC SPECIAL BANKING
OPTION when coded on the
s47E(d)
screen
• Older SBO accounts have a BSB of s47E(d) If new SBO bank account details are
provided to Services Australia with the older BSB, for example via a new claim
or
AUS178:
o confirm the correct BSB with the NZ foreign pension authority before
coding s47E(d)
o it is very unlikely that a new SBO account will have the older SBO BSB
SBO cannot be used in all circumstances. If any of the following apply, DPM
must be used
instead:
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 12 of 61
• If a customer does not want to be paid into SBO
• If the total amount rate of ‘foreign’ pensions received, including Australian
pension, is higher than the maximum NZ rate, or
• If a customer has an existing Australian debt, or debt shell, when they are assessed
as being present long-term in New Zealand
Note:
• Where a customer who is paid into SBO incurs an Australian debt that would
normally be recovered by withholdings, it may be possible for the NZ authorities
to return amounts through the Arrears Debts Schedules. This is only possible
where the customer was paid into SBO for the
entire debt period. See New
Zealand Agreement debt recovery requests - action for International Services
(CIS)
• Arrears generated by an Australian claim grant
must not be released to a customer
who is paid via DPM. Arrears must be embargoed within the new claim on the
s47E(d)
screen. See Claims for Australian payments under International
Agreements.
Information for International Services (CIS) is available through the Centrelink International
Services (CIS) homepage. See the Resources page for a link.
Special Category Visa (SCV) + Read more ...
A special category visa (SCV) is generally automatically issued to a person who enters
Australia using a NZ passport. For the purposes of the social security law, SCV holders are
either 'protected' or not.
SCV holders who are not protected can only receive either:
• a payment covered by the Agreement, or
• a special once-only payment of up to 26 weeks of specific payments. For further
information, see Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand citizens
Note: various temporary visas may allow a person to remain in Australia, but only periods
where the person is or was the holder of a Special Category Visa (subclass 444) are deemed
to be Australian residence under the Agreement.
Third Country Pension (3CP) + Read more ...
This is defined in the Agreement (Article 1.1(r)) as any 'comparable foreign pension’ for
Australia or ‘an overseas pension’ for New Zealand.
• For New Zealand, 3CPs are either a direct deduction (according to their domestic
legislation) or exempt (Agreement)
• For Australia, 3CP can be a direct deduction or ordinary income. See Rate
calculation
Working Age Residence (WAR) + Read more ...
Instead of periods of Working Life Residence (WLR), the Agreement with New Zealand
uses periods of Working Age Residence (WAR).
WAR is defined (Article 5.5) as a period of residence in either country starting from 20
years of age and ceasing when the customer turns pension age.
Note: for disability pensions, WAR ceases to accumulate at the Date of Severe Disablement
(see above).
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 13 of 61
• Australian working age residence is known as AWAR
• New Zealand working age residence is known as NZWAR
Residence
A summary of residence periods under the Agreement is available on the
s47E(d)
screen.
Australian resident + Read more ...
The Agreement allows NZ citizens who do not hold a permanent visa but are lawfully
residing in Australia to be taken to be an Australian resident for the purposes of the
Agreement only (Article 5.1).
This means that special category visa (SCV) holders who are not 'protected' can make a
claim under the Agreement and can count periods residing in Australia while not 'protected'
as periods of Australian residence. See Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand
citizens.
This also means that an SCV holder who is not 'protected' and who was residing in Australia
at the date they first met the continuing inability to work (CITW) criteria does not need to
meet the qualifying residence period for Disability Support Pension (DSP), i.e. does not
need to totalise. See Qualification/Totalisation.
For Australian pension purposes under the Agreement only, a person may be accepted as an
Australian resident if they have been present in Australia for 26 weeks or intend to remain
for 12 months or more that is, they are present long-term in Australia. See New Zealand
resident below.
New Zealand resident + Read more ...
New Zealand will generally accept a person as 'ordinarily resident' in New Zealand if the
person has been present in New Zealand for at least 26 weeks or intends to remain for 12
months or more.
For this reason, policy advice is that, for Australian pension purposes under the Agreement
only, a person may be accepted as a New Zealand resident if they meet the criteria above.
The Agreement excludes periods of residence in New Zealand if, at the time, the person was
unlawfully in New Zealand or held a:
• visitor's permit
• temporary work permit, or
• student permit
Note: on request, the NZ authorities may be able to confirm visas and permits held.
Under the Agreement, the territory of New Zealand excludes:
• Cook Islands
• Niue, and
• Tokelau
British citizens who arrived in New Zealand before 2 April 1974 were allowed to reside in
New Zealand without a visa or a permit. As such, they are covered by the agreement.
Authorities, Institutions
Contact details for foreign pension authorities are available in the CODES facility.
and Liaison Agencies
Competent authorities + Read more ...
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 14 of 61
For Australia:
Department of Social Services (DSS)
Note: New Zealand authorities maintain the toll free number 1800 150 479 for customers in
Australia to contact them directly.
For New Zealand:
Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
Competent institutions + Read more ...
For Australia:
Services Australia
For New Zealand:
Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
Note: the service delivery arm of MSD is called Work and Income (also known as WINZ).
Liaison agencies + Read more ...
For Australia:
Centrelink International Services (CIS)
For New Zealand:
International Services within MSD
Exchange of information
See Agreement Country Document Catalogue (ACDC) for samples of forms, foreign
and liaison forms
documents and translations.
Exchange of information + Read more ...
Under the Agreement with New Zealand, information held about customers may be
exchanged between the liaison agencies to determine entitlement to payments under the
Agreement and under either country's domestic legislation (Article 18.3).
Note: family assistance is outside the scope of the Agreement for both the exchange of
information and recovery of debts.
An automated liaison process applies with New Zealand. Certain types of changes in
circumstances (CICs) for mutual Australian and New Zealand pensioners are extracted and
sent between the countries daily. See Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of
information.
s47E(d)
For information on bulk data exchange, see International Data Exchange Program and auto-
indexation of foreign pensions.
Australian liaison form + Read more ...
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 15 of 61
The following liaison form is completed by Centrelink International Services (CIS) and sent
to New Zealand:
•
AUS187NZ -
Australia/ New Zealand Agreement on Social Security
For help with creating and completing the liaison form, see Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs
and exchange of information.
New Zealand liaison form + Read more ...
The following liaison forms are completed by New Zealand and sent to CIS.
s47E(d)
See Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.
Medical assessments
See Agreement Country Document Catalogue (ACDC) for samples of forms, foreign
documents and translations.
Medical assessments + Read more ...
As the definition of severely disabled applies to both countries, the domestic process and
reports used in Australia are used by both countries under the Agreement. Specific forms are
used to replicate the Australian domestic process in New Zealand.
Medical examinations may also be undertaken upon request for foreign pension claim
purpose. The liaison agency contacts Services Australia and request this. There is no
provision for reimbursement of costs to either country.
The customer should contact Services Australia if they receive a direct request from the
liaison agency to undertake a medical examination. The customer must be advised to
undertake Services Australia’s foreign pension medical assessment process. Where the
customer has already undertaken a medical examination based on a direct request from the
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 16 of 61
Agreement partner without consulting Services Australia, the customer should contact the
liaison agency to discuss any reimbursement options.
If a customer is claiming reimbursement of costs based on undertaking a medical
examination requested by Services Australia for foreign pension purpose, consider all
evidence provided. For example, if incorrect advice was provided to the customer by
Services Australia that caused them to seek an independent medical examination which
caused the customer to be out of pocket.
See Customer compensation and Act of Grace.
Double
See general information about early release of superannuation, refunds of contributions,
coverage/Taxation and
double coverage, taxation and health insurance.
Healthcare
Double coverage/certificates of coverage + Read more ...
There are no double coverage provisions in the Agreement with New Zealand.
Any enquiries about double coverage or certificates of coverage should be directed to
the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website.
Taxation + Read more ...
Any queries about taxation of pensions or the requirement to lodge a tax return should be
directed to:
• In the other country - the tax authority in the other country directly
• In Australia - the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website
See general taxation information, including issuing Australian payment summaries.
Tax treaty
Australia has a double tax agreement with New Zealand, which avoids the need to pay tax in
both countries.
A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement)
generally only pays tax on pensions in that country.
Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable
in the other country.
Note: DSP is not taxable income in Australia but any New Zealand Supported Living
Payment received in Australia is subject to taxation.
Tax deduction
NZ pensions:
• may be taxed at the source in New Zealand
• are not taxed in Australia as there is a limit in the Agreement which effectively
means a person cannot receive more NZ pension in Australia than the taxed
pension rate in New Zealand (Article 9(b)(i) and (ii) and Article 10(1)(b)(i) and
(ii))
The gross rate of NZ pension, before
any deduction is maintained.
New Zealand tax year
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 17 of 61
New Zealand uses the period 1 April - 31 March as the tax year.
Health Insurance/Medicare + Read more ...
Australia has a Reciprocal Health Agreement (RHCA) with New Zealand.
See general information on health insurance and Medicare coverage.
Any queries about:
• Health insurance coverage in the other country – direct the customer to contact the
health insurance authority in the other country
• Medicare coverage - direct them to Medicare
Additional information
Languages + Read more ...
New Zealand has two official languages – English and Maori
See Maori naming conventions and pronunciation.
Address and contact details + Read more ...
Telephone country code is +64
Fixed telephone region codes:
• North Island: 9, 7, 6 ,4
• South Island region code: 3
Street address
Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]
195A Halifax Street [Street]
Tahunanui [Suburb]
Nelson 7011 [Town and postcode]
NEW ZEALAND
Street address with unit/flat
Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]
12/455 Sydenham Street [Unit identifier, Street]
Northland [Suburb]
Wellington 6012 [Town and postcode]
NEW ZEALAND
Rural address
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 18 of 61
Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]
220A Lynwood Avenue [Street number and street name]
RD 1 [‘RD’ + RD number]
Otaki 5581 [Town and postcode]
NEW ZEALAND
Post Office Box address
Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]
PO Box 17999 [PO Box and number]
Greenlane [PO Box town]
Auckland 1546 [Town and postcode]
NEW ZEALAND
Note:
• The town or city, followed by the postcode, is mandatory for all addresses, e.g.
Auckland 0620
• If the postcode has a zero at the front, include the zero
• Wherever possible, spell in full each word of the address, including words like
‘Street’ and ‘Road’
Same sex relationships + Read more ...
New Zealand's Civil Unions legislation recognises registered same sex couples to ensure
that the registered couples have the same rights and entitlements as legally married couples
under New Zealand law.
New Zealand also allows same sex couples to be married.
Australian payments
Rules for Australian payments
Category title
Description
Payments covered
Payments covered under the Agreement + Read more ...
For Australia, the Agreement with New Zealand (Article 2.1) covers:
• Age Pension
• Disability Support Pension (DSP)
• Carer Payment (CP)
Note:
• A person must be pension age for Age Pension (Article 11.2 and Article 12.4)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 19 of 61
• DSP is only covered where the customer:
o is severely disabled (Article 2.2(a)),
and
o was resident in either Australia or New Zealand on the date the
customer became severely disabled (Article 2.2(b))),
and
o was resident in the territory of the other party for at least one year
prior to the date of severe disablement (DoSD) (Article 2.2 (c)). For
example, if resident of New Zealand at lodgement/transfer to
Agreement the customer must have accrued 12 months historical
residence in Australia (residence periods as non-protected SCV
holder is included) and vice versa. See Australian Residence Rules
for New Zealand Citizens
• CP for carer partners of DSP only (Article 2.1(a)(iii)), noting the partner
does
not have to be paid by virtue of the NZ Agreement but can receive their
payment under autonomous conditions or by virtue of an agreement with a
third country
• Additional child amounts, also known as Overseas Child Component and
Additional Child payment, are not included in the proportional rate
calculation (s14A Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999).
See Rate calculation
For further information, see:
• NZ Agreement specific terms
• Residence and
• Working Age Residence (WAR)
Claim forms and processes
See Agreement Country Document Catalogue (ACDC) for samples of forms, foreign
documents and translations.
In Australia + Read more ...
Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements use the same methods
and processes as domestic claims.
Note: New Zealand requires a person to reclaim their NZ pension when they move
between Australia and New Zealand on a long-term basis.
In New Zealand + Read more ...
New Zealand has similar legislation to Australia, which requires NZ pensioners to
claim any foreign pension they are entitled. They usually issue the forms to the
customer automatically.
Forms to claim an Australian payment in New Zealand can be obtained by:
• downloading the form from the Services Australia website. See
the Resources page for a link
• contacting Centrelink International Services (CIS)
• contacting the New Zealand authorities
Australian forms needed:
The customer is to complete and provide the following:
All claims
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 20 of 61
For all payments:
•
AUS140NZ - Australian Pension Claim – Social Security Agreement
between Australia and New Zealand
DSP only:
•
AUS142 - Work Capacity - Customer Information
•
AUS109 - Treating Doctor's Report - outside Australia
•
AUS175 - Medical Assessment Report - Disability Support Pension (Outside
Australia)
Note: New Zealand arranges for the AUS175 to be completed on a case-by-case basis.
CP only:
•
AUS156NZ - Assessment for Carer Payment - New Zealand
•
AUS156NZa - Health Professional Assessment for Carer Payment - New
Zealand
Note: other forms may be required. See Medical assessments
Forms can be lodged at any Work and Income office in New Zealand.
Under Section 4 of the Administrative Arrangements, New Zealand will:
• accept and date stamp the AUS140 form
• accept the ModiA form and any other Australian forms and/or supporting
documentation
• verify the customer's identity and personal details
• if necessary, arrange medical forms to be completed, and
• send the form(s) and any supporting documentation to Services Australia
with a liaison form specifying periods of coverage in New Zealand and
information regarding New Zealand pension and any third country pension
See Exchange of information and liaison forms.
Embargo of Australian
Embargo of Australian arrears + Read more ...
arrears in a new claim
Where New Zealand is paying a pension and Australia grants a corresponding payment
in New Zealand, New Zealand will recalculate their rate in accordance with the
Agreement. Due to the direct deduction policy in New Zealand, this results in an
overpayment for a period in the past. New Zealand always requests an embargo of the
arrears of Australian pension to recover any debt.
Arrears paid to SBO do not need to be embargoed as money paid into SBO accounts is
‘kept’ by NZ. Arrears paid to DPM
must be manually embargoed on the s47E(d)
screen within the new claim. Do not release arrears to a customer paid into a
DPM account.
The arrears amount is directed to a holding account by coding in the new claim activity.
Embargoed amounts are sent to New Zealand every month. The Finance Tasmania
Team is responsible for making payments and sending a schedule containing
information about individual arrears payments to New Zealand.
See New Zealand embargoes.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 21 of 61
Lodgement rules and start day All claims for Australian payments under International Agreements are assessed by
Centrelink International Services (CIS).
Residence rules for claims + Read more ...
If a person is not an Australian resident and in Australia on the date the claim is made,
they may use the Agreement to meet the residence rules for claims if, on that date, they
are:
• an Australian resident (Agreement definition) or a resident of New Zealand
(Article 11.1(a)) and
• present long-term in Australia or New Zealand (Article 11.1(b))
Note: person must be at least pension age (Agreement definition) to claim Age Pension
(Article 11.2).
Claim lodgement + Read more ...
Claims under the New Zealand Agreement
Claims for Australian payment under the New Zealand Agreement may not be lodged
in other Australian Agreement country.
See Claim Lodgement Matrix (CLM).
Accepting other Agreement claims
New Zealand will not accept claims for Australian benefits under other Australian
Agreements.
Claim lodgement consideration
There are no specific considerations under the New Zealand Agreement.
Date the claim is 'made' and start day + Read more ...
The normal rules for working out the date a claim is 'made' and the start day apply to
claims under the Agreement with New Zealand. However, the Agreement also allows:
• the date of lodgement of a claim for an Australian payment in New Zealand
to be used as the date of lodgement in Australia (Article 17.2), or
• the date of lodgement of a claim for a NZ payment in New Zealand to be
used as the date of lodgement of a claim for the corresponding Australian
payment (FP claim = AU claim) (Article 17.4) if:
o the customer requests the NZ claim to be considered as an
Australian claim, or
o the person declares periods of residence in Australia at the time of
claiming the New Zealand payment, and
o the Australian claim is received within 12 months of the NZ claim
being lodged
For coding help see:
• Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements. and
• Start Day (CLK)
Qualification/Totalisation
Totalisation of Qualifying Periods + Read more ...
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 22 of 61
The Agreement allows:
• totalisation of periods of Australian residence (Agreement definition) and
periods of working age residence in New Zealand (NZWAR) to meet any
minimum periods to qualify for an Australian pension, for example, 10 years
for Age Pension (Article 12.1)
• the total of any non-continuous periods of NZWAR to be considered to be
continuous to meet any continuous residence requirements (Article 12.3)
Note:
• CP has unique totalisation rules (see below)
• Overlapping Australian and New Zealand residence periods are only counted
once (Article 12.2)
• Adjoining periods of Australian residence and periods of NZWAR can also
be considered to be continuous (Policy)
See:
• Resources in International Social Security Agreements for examples of
totalisation
• Residence and Working Age Residence (WAR) for further information
Age Pension + Read more ...
A person must be at least pension age (Agreement definition) to be able to totalise for
Age Pension (Article 12.5).
Disability Support Pension (DSP) + Read more ...
For DSP, a person who was an Australian resident (Agreement definition) when they
first met the continuing inability to work (CITW) criteria does not need to meet the 10
year qualifying residence requirement. This means that they do not need to totalise.
Carer Payment (CP) + Read more ...
CP does not ordinarily have a minimum qualifying residence period however when
claimed under the NZ Agreement, CP is only payable to a person if they have lived in
New Zealand or Australia for a combined total of two or more years (Article 11.4).
This clause effectively imposes a residence requirement but may also allow a customer
to overcome any Newly Arrived Residence Waiting Period (NARWP) that might
ordinarily apply to them if they are inside Australia and claiming CP.
See Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) and Qualifying Residence
Period.
Note: a person who is resident and present outside Australia has not entered Australia
and therefore does not have a NARWP.
Minimum Working Age Residence (WAR) to totalise + Read more ...
To be able to use the totalisation provisions, a person who is not an Australian resident
at the date of lodgement must have at least 12 months Australian Working Age
Residence (AWAR) in Australia of which 6 months must be continuous (Article
12.3(a)).
Note: unlike AWAR for rate, this period cannot be rounded.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 23 of 61
No minimum AWAR is required if the person is an Australian resident at the date of
lodgement (Article 12.3(b)).
Ongoing requirements + Read more ...
The Agreement allows the ongoing residence requirement for DSP and CP to be met.
Concession Card entitlement + Read more ...
Entitlement to a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) normally requires a person to be an
Australian resident. However, customers paid under the Agreement with New Zealand
are entitled to a pension provided they are in Australia, even if they are not residing in
Australia (s1061ZA(4) Social Security Act 1991). To issue a PCC to a NZ Agreement
customer who is temporarily in Australia, see Pensioner Concession Card (PCC).
Note: there is an additional income concession card test that applies to special category
visa (SCV) holders who are not 'protected' under Rate Calc B. See Rate calculation.
Rate calculation
The New Zealand Agreement is unique in that it affects autonomous
customers
and customers paid under other agreements who:
• receive:
o NZ Superannuation
o Supported Living Payment, or
o NZ Veterans' Payment, and/or
• are present long-term
in New Zealand and receiving:
o Age Pension
o Disability Support Pension (DSP), or
o Carer Payment (CP)
Rate calculation method + Read more ...
Consistent with agreements, there are two rate calculation types paid under the New
Zealand Agreement. Each type has several different variations which are known by the
different system codes that are applied:
• Direct Deduction
Including Rate Calc A and B
•
Proportional
Including Rate Calc C, D, E and F
See information below on the rate calculation method codes.
The rate calculation method that applies is determined by the country in which the
customer is present long-term as recorded in the
s47E(d)
field on
the
s47E(d)
screen. A value of:
• ‘AU’ will cause the direct deduction rate to be paid
• ‘NZ’ will cause a proportional rate to be paid
• ' ' (i.e. blank field) will cause a non-New Zealand Agreement rate to be paid
(where payable).
Present long-term in New Zealand + Read more ...
The Agreement with New Zealand contains specific proportional rate calculations
where the person is present long-term in New Zealand (Article 13). Additional child
amounts are
excluded in these proportional rates.
This means:
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 24 of 61
• customers paid under the Agreement who are outside Australia are paid a
proportional rate according to their Australian Working Life Residence
(WLR), and
• the Rate Limiter/Limited Rate does not apply
Unlike Australia's other social security agreements that use Australian Working Life
Residence (WLR), the New Zealand Agreement uses Working Age Residence (WAR)
to calculate the proportional rate when one applies. The Rate Limiter/Limited Rate does
not apply.
There are several proportional rate calculations defined in the New Zealand Agreement.
The calculation which applies depends on whether the customer receives
• Age Pension or Disability Support Pension (DSP) or Carer Payment (CP),
and
• whether the customer has 10 years historical residence in New Zealand or not
In all proportional rate calculations for customers present long term in New Zealand,
the NZ pension is disregarded in the rate calculation.
The reason for this is that if a customer has lived in New Zealand for less than 10 years,
they cannot qualify for NZ pension without the Agreement, so Australia takes
responsibility for periods of residence in third countries (for Age Pension only) and
changes the assessment of third country pensions (Agreement definition).
This may have a significant impact on the rate paid in New Zealand. Care must be
taken when providing advice to customers, see below.
The New Zealand Agreement does
not include the proportionalisation of any NZ
defined benefit in the income test (Randisi concession).
Although a person may be qualified for an Australian payment or portable outside
Australia, if the customer has no WAR the rate of payment outside Australia will be nil.
When a person is paid a proportional rate under an agreement, Rent Assistance
(RA) cannot be paid. Other add-ons such as Energy Supplement and Pension
Supplement are payable under normal add-ons portability rules.
Examples of when a customer is paid a proportional rate includes (but not limited to):
• permanently overseas
• temporarily overseas longer than 26 weeks for age pension
• former resident transferring to the agreement for portability
Age Pension
•
Rate Calc C - If the customer has lived in New Zealand for less than 10
years:
o (540 - NZWAR)/540 (Article 13.5(a))
o any third country pension (Agreement definition) is assessed as a
direct deduction (Article 13.7(b))
o no minimum AWAR period
•
Rate Calc D - If the customer has lived in New Zealand for 10 years or
more:
o AWAR/540 (Article 13.5(b))
o any third country pension is assessed as ordinary income
o customer requires a minimum of 12 months AWAR
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 25 of 61
Disability Support Pension (DSP)
•
Rate Calc E - If the customer has lived in New Zealand for less than 10
years:
o AWAR/(AWAR + NZWAR) (Article 13.6)
o any third country pension (Agreement definition) is assessed as
a direct deduction (Article 13.7(b))
o customer requires a minimum 12 months AWAR
•
Rate Calc F - If the customer has lived in New Zealand for 10 years or more:
o AWAR/(AWAR + NZWAR) (Article 13.6)
o any third country pension is assessed as ordinary income
o customer requires a minimum 12 months AWAR
Carer Payment (CP)
CP receives the same proportion as the DSP partner (Article 13.8).
Note: this also applies during any bereavement period. There are known issues with
system processing for these cases. The approved workaround is to place the customer
on a manual rate.
Returns to Australia
The NZ Agreement proportional rate continues to apply until the customer is present
long-term in Australia (Article 13.9).
Note: a customer who is paid under the NZ Agreement is entitled to a Pensioner
Concession Card (PCC) while they are temporarily in Australia. See Pensioner
Concession Card (PCC).
Present long-term in Australia + Read more ...
Customers in Australia who receive a defined NZ benefit (NZ superannuation (NZS)),
NZ Supported Living Payment (NZI) or NZ Veterans' Pension (NZV)) are paid a New
Zealand Agreement specific direct deduction rate (Article 13.2).
Note:
• the direct deduction of any defined NZ benefit applies to
any Australian
Social Security income support payment
• defined NZ benefits are halved and applied equally to both members of a
couple. Where both members of a couple receive a defined NZ benefit,
the direct deduction amount is the combined total of both amounts which are
then halved and applied equally to each person
Direct deductions generally reduce the maximum amount payable before the income
and assets test is applied. Under the New Zealand Agreement, the income or assets test
is applied first, giving the Australian Notional Rate. The direct deduction of any
defined NZ benefit then applies.
If the person is not payable after the income or assets test is applied, that is their
Australian Notional Rate is nil, the person is not entitled to income support. If
the Australian Notional Rate is greater than nil but the rate is nil after the NZ direct
deduction is applied the person is considered to be Current Zero Rate (CZR) (Article
15.3).
All income support payments
•
Rate Calc A - If the customer is an Australian resident:
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 26 of 61
o NZ benefits covered by the Agreement are ignored as income and
direct deducted after the income or assets test (Article 13.2(c)), and
o third country pensions (3CP) are assessed as for autonomous
customers
•
Rate Calc B - If the customer is a special category visa (SCV) holder who is
not protected:
o NZ benefits covered by the Agreement (Article 13.2(c)) and third
country pensions (3CP) (Article 13.7(a)) are ignored as income and
direct deducted after the income or assets test
The reason for Rate Calc B is that a SCV holder who is
not protected will not qualify
for Australian pension without the Agreement. New Zealand takes responsibility for
periods of residence in third countries and changes the assessment of these payments.
Because the grant of a 3CP affects both the Australian and the New Zealand rates,
the NZ Assumed Rate must be applied.
Rate Calc B additional income test for concession cards
Current zero Rate (CZR) customers may still get a Pension Concession Card (PCC), to
avoid providing an advantage over autonomous customers, there is an additional
income test for concession cards for customers paid Rate Calc B under the Agreement.
This additional income test applies Rate Calc A, that is, re-introduces third country
pensions as income to see if the customer would have had an Australian Notional
Rate under that calculation.
If so, the customer is eligible for the concession card but if not, their concession card
entitlement will be end dated. This is shown on the
s47E(d)
screen where the reason for the end date of a concession card will be s47E(d) .
Departures to New Zealand
The NZ Agreement direct deduction rate continues to apply until the customer
is present long-term in New Zealand (Article 13.3).
Departures to third countries + Read more ...
Where a customer receives a NZ Agreement rate and that customer departs Australia or
New Zealand for a third country, the rate calculation method that applies immediately
prior to departure, i.e. proportional or direct deduction, generally remains the same for
the period the Australian payment is portable under the terms of the Agreement (Article
13.10). That is, it will change immediately for permanent departures or after a defined
period for temporary departures. See Portability.
Once the NZ Agreement rate calculation method ceases to apply, customers who
remain payable, that is autonomous customers or those payable by virtue of another
agreement, will revert to the rate that would otherwise have been payable.
This may be a non-proportional rate with or without supplements or a proportional rate
based on Working Life Residence (WLR) etc.
Third country pass through situations
If a customer travels to New Zealand from Australia, or vice versa, and subsequently
travels to a third country
before the payment method changes, the payment method
continues unchanged in that third country for the period of portability of the payment
under the NZ Agreement, i.e. the payment method period resets. See Portability.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 27 of 61
Assessment of defined NZ benefits + Read more ...
Regardless of the rate calculation method that may apply, the assessment of defined NZ
benefits (NZ Superannuation (NZS)), NZ Supported Living Payment (NZI) or NZ
Veterans' Pension (NZV) is dependent on the portability of that payment under New
Zealand’s portability rules.
Note: this can lead to some unusual situations, such as the
following where the direct deduction rate may not apply but the NZ pension is still
being directly deducted. For example:
An autonomous DSP customer with indefinite portability who receives NZS departs
Australia for a third country for a temporary period of 9 months. In this case:
• The direct deduction rate under the NZ Agreement continues to apply for the
period of Australian DSP portability under the Agreement (28 days in 12
months)
• After 28 days the NZ Agreement rate calculation method ceases to apply and
changes to the ordinary portability rate (non-proportional with supplements)
but the NZS continues to be assessed as a direct deduction as the NZS
portability period under the Agreement is 26 weeks
• At 6 weeks the supplements cease to be payable and NZS is still directly
deducted
• At 26 weeks the DSP becomes proportional according
to WLR (CITW occurred while resident outside Australia) and the NZS is
ignored
In general, any defined NZ benefit paid to a person residing in a third country, will be
assessed as income. However, in certain countries both the direct deduction or income
testing of defined NZ benefits cease to apply (Article 13.1). This is because New
Zealand has special arrangements, or Agreements of their own with these countries,
which may alter the way they assess any Australian pension.
The countries in which defined NZ benefits are ignored, for both temporary and
permanent departures, are:
• American Samoa (AS)
• Cook Islands (CK)
• Fiji (FJ)
• French Polynesia (PF)
• Greece (GR)
• Guam (GU)
• Guernsey (GG)
• Ireland (IE)
• Jersey (JE)
• Kiribati (KI)
• Marshall Islands (MH)
• Micronesia (FM)
• Nauru (NR)
• New Caledonia (NC)
• Niue (NU)
• Northern Mariana Islands (MP)
• Papua New Guinea (PG)
• Pitcairn (PN)
• Samoa (WS)
• Solomon Islands (SB)
• Tokelau (TK)
• Tonga (TO)
• Tuvalu (TV)
• Vanuatu (VU)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 28 of 61
• Wallis and Futuna (WF)
Effect on Autonomous
Effect on Autonomous payments + Read more ...
payments
The Agreement with New Zealand specifies the rate calculation that applies where an
Australian benefit is payable, 'by virtue of this Agreement
or otherwise to a person
who is present long-term:
• in New Zealand (Article 13.5/13.6)
• in Australia (Article 13.2)
Note: or otherwise refers to autonomous customers.
Portability
Portability to New Zealand + Read more ...
Payments under the Agreement
The Agreement with New Zealand does not alter the allowable portability period for
autonomous customers, or customers paid under other agreements, though the rate
payable may be affected, depending on the length of stay in New Zealand. See Rate
calculation.
Provided the customer remains qualified, customers paid by virtue of the NZ
Agreement, are payable indefinitely in both countries, that is, for temporary or
permanent absences.
Note: a customer present long-term in New Zealand may be qualified but not payable
due to insufficient Working Age Residence. See Rate calculation.
Third country portability under the Agreement + Read more ...
Portability to third countries for a customer paid under the Agreement is limited to
temporary absences only. Payments will be suspended immediately for permanent
departures from either Australia or New Zealand. Portability for temporary absences is
as follows:
• Age Pension – for the period that the payment is payable at a non-
proportional rate under domestic rules. That is, 26 weeks (Article 14.5)
• Disability Support Pension – for the period that the payment is portable under
domestic rules, disregarding any exceptions or unlimited periods. That is,
four weeks in a rolling 12 month period (Article 14.6)
• Carer Payment – for the period that the payment is portable under domestic
rules, disregarding any exceptions. That is, six weeks (Article 14.7)
Customers paid by virtue of the Agreement will cease to be payable at the end of the
Agreement portability period.
Note:
• Customers paid Disability Support Pension by virtue if the NZ Agreement are
portable for Approved Temporary Absences for up to four weeks, These
absences are in addition to any portability period available under the
Agreement See Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer going overseas
• From 1 July 2021, legislation passed to allow Age Pension customers paid by
virtue of the NZ Agreement extended for specific circumstances, such as ill
health or hospitalisation. See Discretion to extend portability period
• Portability extensions are not available under the NZ Agreement for DSP or
Carer Payment in any circumstances
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 29 of 61
• There is no indefinite portability for Disability Support Pensioners paid by
virtue of the NZ Agreement
Pass through situations
If a customer who is paid by virtue of the NZ Agreement travels from one country to
another (e.g. Australia to New Zealand) and subsequently travels to a third country, the
third country portability period applies from the date of departure from the other
country, e.g. New Zealand.
Transfers to/from Agreement
Transfers to the New Zealand Agreement + Read more ...
If necessary, a customer receiving an autonomous payment covered by the Agreement
may be able to transfer to the Agreement if they are in New Zealand when their normal
portability period expires.
Note: the customer must meet the transfer requirements and satisfy any payment
specific requirements under the Agreement, for example, being severely disabled for
DSP. This means that non-severely disabled customers cannot transfer to the
Agreement to extend portability to New Zealand.
If transferred to the Agreement, all Agreement rules apply to the customer,
including portability and rate of payment.
See:
• Portability
• Rate calculation
• Transfer to international social security agreements
Transfer to autonomous + Read more ...
A person who would be autonomously qualified but is paid under the Agreement can
transfer from the Agreement to autonomous only if they are a permanent resident and
in Australia.
Note: this is the normal version of Australian resident under s7 of the Social Security
Act 1991, not the amended version under the Agreement. See Residence.
On return to Australia, system processing will automatically transfer from the
Agreement to autonomous if the person is an Australian resident who has only used the
Agreement to extend their portability while outside Australia.
Former resident provisions may affect customers who transfer to autonomous if they
leave Australia again within 2 years of becoming an Australian resident.
Paying customers in New
Australian payments to overseas bank account + Read more ...
Zealand
Australian payments may be issued to customers outside of Australia. If the customer
intends to be outside of Australia:
• long-term (12 months or longer), their Australian payment may be issued to
an overseas bank account. See
Overseas Bank Account Details (OBAD
) for
payment requirements by country
• for less than 12 months, payment will continue to their normal Australian
bank account every 2 weeks. See
Delivery of payments to Centrelink
customers outside Australi
a
NZ has unique payment arrangements, including the
Special Banking Option (SBO
).
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 30 of 61
New Zealand payments
Rules for New Zealand payments
Category title
Description
New Zealand payments
Payments covered under the Agreement + Read more ...
Defined NZ benefits are only paid while present long term in Australia under the
Agreement and may be limited by the capping provisions (Article 9.3 and Article 10.2),
see NZ Agreement specific terms.
Defined NZ Benefits
New Zealand Superannuation (NZS):
• is the equivalent to Age Pension and not to be confused with other private
contributory pensions or superannuation in Australia
• is not income tested
• partners recipients who are not yet NZS age may receive a 'non-qualified
spouse' payment. This is paid at the equivalent of NZS but is not payable
long-term in Australia. If a 'non-qualified spouse' payment is received, the
customer's NZS is income tested
Note: if a customer needs to use the Agreement to qualify for NZS, that is, if they are
present long term in Australia or they need to totalise, the customer needs to be pension
age (Agreement definition).
Supported Living Payment (NZI):
• is equivalent to Disability Support Pension (DSP)
s47E(d)
•
s47E(d)
o care needs to be taken to determine if the partner qualifies for NZI
in their own right
• cannot be paid under the Agreement where the customer was living in a third
country on the date, they became severely disabled
• recipient who reaches pension age and is entitled to NZS is no longer entitled
to NZI (Article 6.8). For members of a couple, NZI ceases to be payable once
both are of NZS age (Article 6.9)
• recipient to transfer to NZS will generally require a new claim form
Veterans Pension (NZV):
• is the same as NZS with war service criteria
• is not to be confused with NZ War Disablement Pension or Surviving Spouse
Pension paid by the New Zealand equivalent of Veterans' Affairs (VANZ).
See Other known payments below.
Other known payments + Read more ...
The following known payments are paid by the New Zealand authorities but are not
covered under the Agreement:
• War Disablement/Surviving Spouse Pensions
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 31 of 61
• Exempt payments administered by the Ministry of Social Development
(MSD)
o Accommodation supplement
o Disability allowance
o Home help payment
o Special benefit
o Temporary additional support (formerly Special benefit)
o Employment and work readiness assistance (formerly Training
incentive allowance)
• Private NZ income streams - DATACOM/AXA/ING
• KiwiSaver
• Other payments administer by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
For help with:
•
Assessment of NZ pensions, see Assessment
•
Coding of NZ pensions, see Eligibility and Coding
Comparable Foreign Payment Requirement to claim CFP + Read more ...
(CFP)
The requirement to claim New Zealand pensions applies to NZS and NZI.
Note: the CFP requirement to claim NZ pension does not apply to a person who has
been continuously in receipt of Australian income support payments, including if
transferred between payments, since 1 July 2002 (Article 26.4).
See Foreign pensions claims.
However, such a person who goes long-term to New Zealand and claims a NZ pension
must maintain that pension if they return to Australia long-term or deprivation of
income rules apply.
Note: there are known issues with system processing to apply this exemption. Cases
identified are to be corrected manually by selecting the relevant entry on the s47E(d)
screen and coding s47E(d)
in the
s47E(d)
field on
the
s47E(d)
screen.
Foreign Pension System (FPS) screening for NZ pensions is largely automated
although an MFU to determine whether the customer is severely disabled applies for
Disability Support Pension (DSP) before a claim is issued. See Foreign Pension System
(FPS) statuses and reviews.
Eligibility for New Zealand payments + Read more ...
The Eligibility and coding of foreign pensions tab has detailed information on New
Zealand payments that are subject to CFP legislation.
New Zealand claim forms and
See Agreement Country Document Catalogue (ACDC) for samples of forms, foreign
processes
documents and translations.
In Australia: + Read more ...
To be paid in Australia, New Zealand law required a person to make a claim for NZ
pension, even if they are already receiving the payment in New Zealand and then travel
to Australia long term. Under the Agreement, a person who receives a NZ pension in
New Zealand and then travels to Australia long term must claim that NZ pension again
within a period based on the portability of the NZ payment:
• 26 weeks for NZ Superannuation (Article 6.4)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 32 of 61
• 26 weeks for NZ Veterans Pension (Article 6.4), and
• 4 weeks for Supported Living Payment (Article 6.5)
In practise, the 'claim for one equals claim for the other' provision allows the Australian
pension claim to be taken to be the claim for NZ pension (Article 17.4) to meet this
requirement.
However, as the rate of NZ pension in Australia is limited to the Australian Notional
Rate, before the NZ pension claim can be processed, customers must either:
• have their claim for an Australian pension finalised, or
• if they already receive an Australian pension and are returning to become
long term in Australia, must have their rate changed to the 'in Australia' rate
New Zealand claim packs:
Claim packs are automatically issued through the Foreign Pension System (FPS) at the
appropriate time. See Assisting customers to claim a foreign pension.
• NZ claim packs may be reissued (via the s47E(d) screen) if necessary but
generally should
not be issued manually
• Customers should be informed of the requirements for Services Australia to
determine the Australian Notional Rate before the NZ pension claim can be
finalised. This can affect the timeliness
Specific requirements for New Zealand claims:
The customer is to complete and provide the following:
All claims:
• Application for New Zealand Benefit or Pension (NZ1)
o NZ uses a combined claim pack, that is, it covers New Zealand
Superannuation (NZS), Veterans Payment (NZV) and Support
Living Payment (NZI)
• Appointment of Agent (ASSA 20) - only if appointing agent
• Redirection of Benefit Payment (ASSA 21) - only if appointing an agent
• Official Bank Statement
• ‘Authorisation’ for recovery of partner debt by embargo
Note:
• New Zealand will accept certification by Centrelink International Services
(CIS) staff if the bank account indicated in the NZ pension claim matches the
account being used for Australian payments. See Exchange of information
and liaison forms
• If completed, the ‘Authorisation’ must not be sent to New Zealand but must
be uploaded to the customer record if received and the result always noted in
the
s47E(d)
DOC
Requests for additional information
If information provided with the claim for New Zealand pension is incomplete, New
Zealand will send requests for information direct to customers.
Receipt of foreign pension claim by Services Australia
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 33 of 61
Under the Administrative Arrangements, New Zealand forms can be lodged in
Australia at any service centre. See Processing a foreign pension claim.
•
All foreign pension claims and supporting documents
must be scanned, and
• The original foreign claim form and (copies of) supporting documents
must
be sent in paper form to Centrelink International Services (CIS).
See Processing a foreign pension claim
Centrelink International Services (CIS) only:
CIS will complete the following or arrange for the following to be completed as
necessary and attach the documents to the foreign pension claim to send to the
agreement country. See Agreement Liaison Detail (ALD) for method of transmission.
All claims
•
AUS187NZ - Australia/ New Zealand Agreement on Social Security
For assistance with creating and completing the liaison form, see Agreement liaisons,
NZ CICs and exchange of information.
Supported Living Payment (NZI) only:
• copy of existing Australian medical information
In New Zealand: + Read more ...
Enquiries regarding claims for NZ pensions in New Zealand should be directed to
the NZ social security authorities.
Payment method and
Payment method + Read more ...
Indexation (CPI)
NZ pensions are paid by direct deposit in Australia.
Any queries about the non-payment of NZ pension should be directed to the NZ
pension authorities.
Frequency + Read more ...
Agreement pensions are paid:
• 4 weekly payments in Australia and
• fortnightly in New Zealand
NZ usually advise weekly rates.
Other benefits or private pensions are paid weekly, fortnightly, monthly or annually
and coded.
Currency + Read more ...
New Zealand pensions must be recorded in the source currency – New Zealand dollars
(
NZD). Official statements provide the foreign currency amounts.
Amounts recorded in source currency on the
s47E(d)
screen
must
not be changed to the Australian dollar amount.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 34 of 61
Note: payments into Australia are made in Australian dollars.
Indexation (CPI) + Read more ...
NZ payments are increased for Consumer Price Index (CPI, or cost of living) from 1
April each year.
NZ CPI increases are usually updated via automated liaison. See Agreement liaisons,
NZ CICs and exchange of information.
Assessment
Agreement pensions (NZS/NZI/NZV) are generally: + Read more ...
• directly deducted (Article 13.2) and ignored in the income test (Article
8(8)(zc) Social Security Act 1991) for customers paid autonomously or under
the New Zealand Agreement who are present long-term in Australia
• exempt income for customers paid autonomously or under the New Zealand
Agreement who are present long-term in New Zealand (Article 13.1)
• ordinary income (not proportionalised) for customers paid autonomously or
under the New Zealand Agreement or under another agreement, who are
residing in a third country (Article 13.1)
Note:
• the direct deduction rate:
o under the NZ Agreement does not apply in the same way as other
agreements
o or income testing of defined NZ benefits does not apply in certain
countries. See Rate calculation
• the assessment of defined NZ benefits continues to apply in third countries
for the NZ portability period under the Agreement
• each member of a couple is deemed to receive half of the total amount
received by the couple (Article 13.4)
• the NZ Notional Rate is used in Current Zero Rate (CZR) processing and
the NZ Assumed Rate (ASR) is used in certain circumstances
Third country pensions (e.g. UK pension) are:
• Directly deducted (Article 13.2) and ignored in the income test (Article
8(8)(zc) Social Security Act 1991) for customers paid under the New Zealand
Agreement who are present long-term in Australia and who are non-protected
SCV holders
• Directly deducted (Article 13.7) and ignored in the income test (Article
8(8)(zc) Social Security Act 1991) for customers paid autonomously or under
the New Zealand Agreement who are present long-term in New Zealand and
have less than 10 years New Zealand historical residence
• Exempt or ordinary income depending on the payment type in all other
circumstances. See the relevant country file for assessment rules for the
specific payment
The following payments are assessed as ordinary income: + Read more ...
War Disablement and Surviving Spouse Pensions
War Disablement Pension and Surviving Spouse Pension may be paid in Australia to a
person:
• who was injured during military service in New Zealand, or
• the surviving spouse of such a person
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 35 of 61
These payments are made by the New Zealand Veterans' Affairs (VANZ).
These payments are indexed on 1 April each year.
Other payments administer by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
Any other non-Agreement or non-exempt payment administered by MSD is to be
assessed as ordinary income.
Private NZ income streams - DATACOM/AXA/ING
DATACOM, AXA and ING are contributory pension schemes similar to
superannuation in Australia. DATACOM is usually for ex-government employees.
They are indexed on 1 April each year. See Foreign income and assets.
KiwiSaver
KiwiSaver is a non-compulsory savings scheme. Most members will build up their
savings through regular contributions from their pay. Members can choose which
KiwiSaver scheme provider they join. Most KiwiSaver accounts are cashed in when the
member ceases work and has turned 65.
When provided as a:
• bank statement showing the balance: Code on the
s47E(d)
screen as an overseas bank account
• managed investment statement: Code on the
s47E(d)
screen
The following payments are exempt: + Read more ...
These payments are exempt income test in all circumstances.
Exempt payments administered by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
include:
The following payments are exempt income as per Section 8(8)(zd) SSA: 1991:
• Accommodation supplement
• Disability allowance
• Home help payment
• Special benefit
• Temporary additional support (formerly Special benefit)
• Employment and work readiness assistance (formerly Training incentive
allowance)
Arrears debts, embargos and
Arrears debts and embargo of defined NZ benefits + Read more ...
non-arrears debt recovery
The Agreement with New Zealand includes embargo provisions (Article 19.3).
Claims for NZ pension lodged in Australia generally include a request for embargo of
any NZ pension arrears when sent by Centrelink International Services (CIS).
However, if the customer is reclaiming their NZ pension when moving long term to
Australia, the NZ Assumed Rate of NZ pension is applied and there is no embargo.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 36 of 61
If requested, New Zealand will normally hold the arrears amount and send a Service
Decision advising CIS of the details of the grant.
New Zealand send embargoed arrears on a monthly basis and send a schedule of the
individual amounts via Liquid Office. See the Exchange of information and liaison
forms. Tasmania Finance Team confirm receipt to CIS for amounts to be recorded on
customer records.
See New Zealand embargoes.
Note:
• The rate of NZ pension for the arrears period is converted to Australian
dollars using the exchange rate applicable to the month the payment is
advised and is coded. The resulting debt amount (if any) is then retained with
the remaining arrears (if any) sent to the customer
• Partner debts may be recovered from the customer’s NZ pension arrears only
if the ‘Authorisation’ has been completed and noted on the customer record.
The authorisation form is included in the NZ claim package
• Where New Zealand convert the NZ dollar value of the arrears to Australian
dollars using their own conversion rates and pay that amount to CIS, the debt
is considered to be fully repaid, regardless of any difference in the amounts
calculated and received
Where any individual embargo action fails, arrears debts for customers and their
partners are raised under s1228A Social Security Act 1991 and recovered by normal
methods under the Act. See Comparable Foreign Payment (CFP) lump sum arrears
debts.
A
contravention debt:
• may also occur if the customer does not advise of the grant of their New
Zealand payment within their notification period. See Foreign pension coding
• or any other debt as a result of arrears of foreign pensions not resulting from
a grant of a pension, cannot be recovered by embargo
Debt recovery (non-arrears) + Read more ...
The Agreement with New Zealand is unique in allowing debts from one country to be
recovered from the ongoing payments of the other country (Article 19.4). For the
purposes of this part of the Agreement, payments are extended to mean any social
security income support payment (Article 19.2).
Note: family assistance is outside the scope of the Agreement for both the exchange of
information and recovery of debts.
Under the Schedule to the Agreement and the Administrative Arrangements, there are a
number of conditions that must be met before a debt can be recovered, including:
• minimum amounts (A$400) and
• the date the debt was first found to be owing (less than 5 years prior to the
date of request for recovery)
A Debt certificate is used to request recovery action from the other country. for
requests made by Australia the AUS187 liaison form is used. See Agreement liaisons,
NZ CICs and exchange of information.
See New Zealand Agreement debt reconciliation - action for International Services
(CIS).
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 37 of 61
Life certificates, notices and
See Agreement Country Document Catalogue (ACDC) for samples of forms, foreign
documents
documents and translations.
Life certificates + Read more ...
Life certificates are not used by New Zealand in Australia.
s47E(d)
Notices and documents + Read more ...
Customers in Australia are sent notices at grant and for changes of rate each year for
indexation.
Eligibility and coding of foreign pensions
Eligibility criteria for New Zealand Superannuation (NZS)
Table 1
Category title
Description
Claim limitations
Resident in Australia, New Zealand or country with which NZ has agreement.
Note: Only required to claim in Australia
Age
Male 65 years in NZ, pension age in Australia.
Female 65 years in NZ, pension age in Australia.
Note: if in NZ and totalisation needed, customer can only qualify by virtue of the
Agreement and therefore needs to be pension age
Qualifying periods
Domestic minimum: 10 years (120 months) of NZ historical residence after age 20,
including 5 years after age 50.
From 1 July 2024, the minimum historical residence required is gradually increasing
from 10 to 20 years. See the Resources page for details of the increases.
or
Agreement totalisation: can totalise with AWAR to meet the domestic minimum.
Minimum of 12 months NZWAR required to be paid in Australia.
Expiry
Death of pensioner, portability.
Compatibility
Can only receive NZS.
Eligibility criteria for Supported Living Payment (NZI)
Table 2
Category title
Description
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 38 of 61
Claim limitations
Resident in Australia or New Zealand only.
Age
16 years
Qualifying periods
Domestic minimum: 2 years (24 months) of NZ historical residence.
or
Agreement totalisation: Can totalise with Australian historical residence to meet the
Domestic minimum. Minimum of 12 months NZWAR is required to be paid in
Australia.
Note:
• must be severely disabled (Article2.2(a)), and
• was resident in either Australia or New Zealand on the date the customer
became severely disabled (Article 2.2(b)), and
• was resident in the territory of the other party for at least one year prior to
the date of severe disablement (DoSD) (Article 2.2(c)). For example, if
resident of Australia at lodgement/transfer to Agreement the customer must
have accrued 12 months historical residence in New Zealand
Expiry
Ceases when turns pension age if qualified for NZS. If partnered, ceases when younger
member of the couple reaches pension age.
Note: a claim is needed.
Compatibility
Can only receive NZI.
Agreement pension coding
Table 3: This table has coding of New Zealand agreement pensions on the
s47E(d)
screen.
s47E(d)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 39 of 61
s47E(d)
Other payment coding
Table 4: This table has coding of other New Zealand payments on the
s47E(d)
screen.
Note:
s47E(d)
s47E(d)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 40 of 61
References
Policy
Social Security Guide, 10.2, Agreement with New Zealand
Social Security Guide, 10.1, General Principles of Agreements
Legislation
Links to the Federal Register of Legislation site go to a 'Series' page. Select the 'Latest' version.
Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999, Schedule 3, New Zealand
Social Security Act 1991
• section 8, Income test definitions
o subsection 8, 'Excluded amounts - general' and then 'a payment made to the person'
(paragraph j)
Resources
Intranet links
Residence and International program
Centrelink International Services (CIS)
Contact details
Centrelink International Services (CIS) - contact details for staff
Centrelink International Services (CIS) - contact details for customers
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Services Australia website
Services Australia
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 41 of 61
Medicare phone numbers
Qualifying periods for New Zealand Superannuation
Increases to minimum historical residence
Date of birth
Minimum residence required since turning 20
On or before 30 June 1959
10 years
1 July 1959 – 30 June 1961
11 years
1 July 1961 – 30 June 1963
12 years
1 July 1963 – 30 June 1965
13 years
1 July 1965 – 30 June 1967
14 years
1 July 1967 – 30 June 1969
15 years
1 July 1969 – 30 June 1971
16 years
1 July 1971 – 30 June 1973
17 years
1 July 1973 – 30 June 1975
18 years
1 July 1975 – 30 June 1977
19 years
On or after 1 July 1977
20 years
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 42 of 61
s22
Eligibility and new claim procedures for Special Benefit (SpB) 003-
08030020
Currently published version valid from 28/02/2025 5:16 AM
Background
s22
This document explains eligibility and new claim processes for all SpB claims, including non-Australian
Citizen/permanent resident child and Australian Citizen/permanent resident child.
Qualification and eligibility for SpB
SpB is paid to eligible people who are in financial hardship due to circumstances beyond their control.
To be paid SpB, customers must meet the qualification and payability requirements.
To qualify for SpB, a customer must meet
all of the following criteria:
• be in financial hardship
• be unable to earn a sufficient livelihood for themselves or their dependants by reason of age, physical or
mental disability or domestic circumstances or for any other reason over which they have no control
• not be receiving or entitled to receive income support payment, pension or benefit from Services Australia or
a Service Pension, Veteran Payment or Income Support Supplement (ISS) from the Department of Veterans'
Affairs (DVA)
• not be able to receive sufficient ongoing support from any other source
• be an Australian resident or the holder of an approved visa, and
• be residing in Australia at the date of claim and during the period of payment except under certain
exceptional circumstances
Although payments under the Parental Leave Pay scheme wil not be treated as income when working out the rate of
SpB, it may be included when assessing a customer's eligibility for SpB under the 'unable to earn a sufficient
livelihood' criteria.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 43 of 61
SpB customers are subject to the available funds test and the asset test is applied by considering whether the
person's assets are accessible.
Newly arrived residents
Newly arrived residents are subject to a Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) and/or a Qualifying
Residence Period.
Unless the customer meets the NARWP exemption criteria, they must serve the full NARWP.
If the customer holds or has held a certain temporary protection visa (subclasses 060, 070, 449, 785, 786, 790 and ZB
951
s47E(d)
they are exempt from the NARWP for SpB.
See:
•
NARWP and Qualifying Residence Period
•
NARWP and Qualifying Residence Period Exemptions
•
Residence assessment for customers claiming Special Benefit
Substantial change in circumstances
Some newly arrived persons may qualify for SpB during the NARWP if they have experienced a substantial change in
circumstances beyond their control after arrival in Australia and they satisfy the available funds test.
Newly arrived persons are required to have attempted to obtain support from al possible alternative sources before
being granted SpB. Before SpB can be paid, the delegate must be satisfied that:
•
the change in circumstances is substantial and beyond the person's control and occurred after arrival in
Australia,
and
•
they are in financial hardship and are able to satisfy the available funds test,
and
•
they have attempted to obtain a sufficient livelihood,
and
•
their available funds or support options were depleted because of the change in circumstances
All newly arrived persons claiming to be in hardship due to substantially changed circumstances must substantiate
their claim with documents.
s47E(d)
The Resources page has examples of substantial changes for SpB.
SpB for other circumstances and customers under 16 years
In some circumstances, SpB may be payable to a disaster victim. In such cases, payment is usually made for one
fortnight only. SpB should only be considered after a claim for Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) has been assessed
and the claimant deemed not eligible.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 44 of 61
SpB may be payable for people under 16 years of age whose parent, guardian or someone else who has taken on the
long term role of a parent or guardian, can no longer provide support.
Customers aged under 16 years who do not meet the minimum school leaving age in their state must be referred to a
social worker for:
• assessment of their entitlement, and
• a thorough assessment of their support needs
See Assisting a customer aged under 16.
Australian Citizen Children (ACC) and Australian Permanent Resident Children
Custodial parents or guardian's seeking to claim Special Benefit for an ACC or Australian permanent resident child,
claim form (Claim for Special Benefit on behalf of a child who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident SU721) is
available on the intranet and external y on the department's website for customers to complete. It is a PDF fil able
form that can be completed and returned by post or delivered to a service centre.
In certain circumstances, SpB may be paid to a child who:
• is under 16 years, and
o an Australian citizen, or
o the holder of a permanent visa, or
o the holder of certain temporary visas that qualify customers for some payments
• resides in Australia, but whose custodial parent or guardian cannot receive any social security payment
because they are not a permanent resident of Australia
SpB can
only be paid if:
• the family is in hardship, and
• the parent/s or guardian has no means of adequately supporting the child
In all cases, SpB can be granted if the:
• child is an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa or the holder of certain temporary visas that
qualify customers for some payments,
and
• child is residing in Australia,
and
• child is in the care of the non-Australian Citizen/Permanent resident parent(s) or guardian
• parent has taken al reasonable action to pursue child support from the non-custodial parent
and
• parent/s or guardian has no means of adequately supporting the child
Note: a non-protected Special Category visa (SCV) holder (subclass 444) custodial parent or guardian who has lived in
Australia continuously for at least 10 years may be eligible to receive JSP or YA for a one-off period of up to 6
months. An SCV holder parent or guardian is regarded as having a means of supporting their child while they are
receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Al owance (YA). Therefore the child would not be eligible to receive SpB
for this period, see New Zealand 10 year residence exemption.
Victim-survivors of human trafficking
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 45 of 61
s47E(d)
Submitting claims
A customer and/or their nominee can make a claim for SpB by submitting:
• an online claim
• Assisted Customer Claim (ACC), or
• a completed Claim for Special Benefit (SU004) form
For claim progress, vulnerable customers and hardship claim escalation, see Progress of claim or Immediate new claim
and non-new claim priority processing.
No early claims
SpB does not have any early claim provisions. If the customer is not qualified for SpB on the date they claimed, the
claim must be rejected, outlining the reason(s). If the customer appears to qualify for SpB at a later date, tell them
they can test their eligibility for SpB by submitting another claim on or after the potential eligibility date.
Identity Confirmation and supporting documentation
Customers are required to provide identity documents when making a new claim. A Service Officer wil confirm the
customer's identity documentation. If the customer cannot achieve a Confirmed Identity status, Alternative Identity
must be assessed at the
first point of contact. This wil help customers to
establish their identity when they are
vulnerable and cannot confirm their identity.
Service Officers must make sure that al supporting documents are provided when the claim is lodged.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 46 of 61
If the outstanding documents have not been provided, remind the customer and/or correspondence nominee of what
they need to provide and that any delays in providing these documents wil delay the processing of their claim and
may result in rejection of the claim. The paper claim must still be accepted.
Mutual obligation requirements for SpB
SpB customers who are capable or working are subject to mutual obligation requirements.
Exemptions can apply for some customers. To determine which requirements apply, see Mutual obligation
requirements for SpB.
If a claimant is a Nominated Visa Holder and has recently ceased suitable employment voluntarily or is unemployed
due to misconduct as a worker generate compliance action using the Participation Compliance Workflow before
granting payment, except if they have self-served the non-payment period. Participation Solutions Team (PST)-skilled
Service Officers undertake all compliance investigations and determinations. Service Officers who have the
Unemployment Non-Payment Period security resource, make decisions to apply or reject unemployment failures. The
new claim cannot be finalised until the PST Service Officer makes a determination about the compliance action. This
may affect the date of eligibility for payment.
More information can be found in Table 1 > Step 15 of Processing Special Benefit (SpB) claims.
Parent Pathways
Eligible SpB customers can volunteer for Parent Pathways. This service focuses on offering flexible and individualised
support to parents and carers with children under the age of 6 to plan for or pursue their study, training and work
goals.
Note: if undertaking studies the Parent Pathways provider must approve this.
Income test for SpB
Customers receiving SpB are subject to the SpB direct deduction income test and do not have access to Working
Credit, Student Income Bank or Work Bonus.
If the customer receives a disability payment from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), do not reject their claim
due to income before checking if they may be entitled to Defence Force Income Support Al owance (DFISA).
Customers on a nil rate of payment may stil be entitled to the DFISA payment. The system wil identify these
customers if the claim is correctly coded, including DVA Disability Payment details. A zero rate reason of s47E(d) will
display. Payment of s47E(d) does not on its own affect the payability of SpB.
Rates of SpB
The rate of SpB is not a set amount and is paid taking into account the customers individual circumstances. The rate is
also determined by the customer's age. This should not exceed the Youth Al owance (YA) or Jobseeker Payment (JSP)
rate that the person would otherwise receive relevant to their age.
These include:
• income received from all sources (including partner income and any income earned or unearned)
• in kind support
• free board and/or lodgings (1/3 or 2/3 rules)
• Parental Income Test for under 22 dependant customers
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 47 of 61
Note: all personal income from any source for SpB is assessed on a direct deduction basis. The direct deduction
Income Test reduces the rate of SpB on a dollar for dollar basis. There is no allowable income free area and no taper.
Differing rules apply for partner income, parental income and free board and/or lodgings.
For more information, see Rates of payment for Special Benefit (SpB).
Financial hardship
Customers do not usual y qualify for SpB if they have available funds of more than $5,000, including combined liquid
funds (if partnered).
s47E(d)
Depending on the customer's circumstances, they may qualify for payment under the short term or long term
available funds test for SpB.
See Special Benefit (SpB) available funds test.
Circumstances leading to hardship
SpB is only payable where a person is unable to earn a sufficient livelihood. The person's circumstances must be
carefully considered to determine whether their inability to earn a sufficient livelihood was unavoidable or reasonable
or whether they have placed themselves in financial hardship by:
• persevering with an unprofitable business venture
• spending their money on unnecessary items, or
• disposing of money, by gifting or other means without adequate return
s47E(d)
s47E(d)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 48 of 61
Contents
Special Benefit (SpB) categories
Special Benefit (SpB) for Australian Citizen Child (ACC) and Australian permanent resident children
Assisting a customer aged under 16
Residence assessment for customers claiming Special Benefit (SpB)
Special Benefit (SpB) available funds test
Special Benefit (SpB) income and assets tests
Victim-survivors of trafficking
Social worker involvement with Special Benefit (SpB)
Special Benefit (SpB) discretionary decisions
Related links
Identity Confirmation
Alternative Identity
Rate of payment for Special Benefit (SpB)
Processing Special Benefit (SpB) claims
Mutual obligation requirements for Special Benefit (SpB)
Unemployment due to a voluntary act or misconduct
Immediate new claim and non-new claim priority processing
First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow
Intent to claim and vulnerable customers
Tier 0 technical support - self-sufficiency
Parent Pathways
Process
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 49 of 61
This document explains eligibility and new claim processes for all SpB claims, including non-Australian
Citizen/permanent resident child and Australian Citizen/permanent resident child.
On this page:
Determining suitability to claim SpB
Other factors to consider
Claiming Special Benefit
Determining suitability to claim SpB
Table 1
Step
Action
1
Determining if a customer is qualified for Special Benefit (SpB) + Read more ..
For Australian Citizen Child (ACC) claims, see Special Benefit (SpB) for Australian Citizen Child (ACC) and
Australian permanent resident children.
Before claiming SpB, investigate if a customer is eligible for another income support payment or
pension.
Check the customer's visa sub class as they may satisfy residence requirements for other payments. For
specific payment residence information, see Australian residence requirements for payments.
Note: customers on a bridging visa subclass 010 to 099 do not qualify for SpB, unless it is the Bridging
(Removal Pending) visa subclass 070.
Customers who have been receiving Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) Payment and have
subsequently been granted a temporary protection visa or temporary humanitarian visa are encouraged
to test their eligibility for SpB. See the Resources page for more information.
Taking into account the customer's circumstances, is the customer qualified for any other income
support payment, pension or benefit, and that payment is payable?
•
Yes, see Table 2 > Step 9
•
No, go to Step 2
2
Assurance of Support (AoS) + Read more ..
Is the customer an assuree under a current Assurance of Support (AoS)?
•
Yes, go to Step 3
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 50 of 61
•
No, go to Step 4
3
Assurer able to provide support + Read more ..
Has it been determined that the assurer is wil ing and able to support the customer and it is reasonable
to expect the customer (assuree) to accept support from the assurer? See Assuree makes a claim for an
Assurance of Support (AoS) recoverable payment.
Note: social worker involvement may be necessary to make this determination.
•
Yes, see Table 2 > Step 9
•
No, go to Step 4
4
Disqualified from Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP) or JobSeeker Payment (JSP) + Read more ..
Is the customer disqualified from PPP or JSP because they are unemployed due to engaging in industrial
action?
•
Yes, see Table 2 > Step 9
•
No, go to Step 5
5
Customer qualified for other payments + Read more ..
Customer may be qualified for JSP, Parenting Payment (PP) or Youth Al owance (YA) (job seeker) but not
payable due to any of the following:
• failure to enter into or comply with a Job Plan
• is subject to a mutual obligation failure post-cancellation non-payment period
• is subject to a serious failure period for persistent non-compliance
• voluntary unemployment and subject to an unemployment preclusion period or post-
cancellation non-payment period or Unemployment Non-Payment Period (UNPP)
• unemployment due to misconduct and subject to an Unemployment Non-Payment Period
(UNPP)
• refusal of a job offer or failure to start suitable work and subject to a work refusal post
cancellation non-payment period or serious failure period
• failure to provide requested information
• failure to comply with a notification requirement
• Seasonal Work Preclusion Period (SWPP)
• Move to Area of Lower Employment Prospects (MALEP)
Is the customer qualified for JSP, PP or YA (job seeker) but it is not payable because of any of the above
reasons that may be applicable to the customer?
•
Yes, see Table 2 > Step 9
•
No, go to Step 6
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 51 of 61
6
Disqualified from Austudy or Youth Al owance (YA) + Read more ..
Is the customer disqualified from Austudy or YA (student) because they have failed to satisfy the mutual
obligation requirements?
•
Yes, see Table 2 > Step 9
•
No, go to Step 7
7
Austudy qualified but not payable + Read more ..
Is the customer qualified for Austudy but it is not payable because of any of the following?
The application of a mutual obligation requirements non-payment period
• Failure to comply with a notification obligation
o
Yes, see Table 2 > Step 9
o
No, see Table 2 > Step 1
Other factors to consider
Table 2: other factors to consider for qualification, such as residency and financial hardship.
Step
Action
1
Residence requirements satisfied + Read more ..
Does the customer satisfy the residence requirements for SpB?
•
Yes, go to Step 2
•
No, go to Step 9
2
Customer is a victim of a disaster that is not gazetted + Read more ..
Is the customer claiming SpB as a victim of a disaster?
•
Yes, go to Step 3
•
No, go to Step 4
3
Declaring a major disaster + Read more ..
Disaster payments can only be paid where the relevant Minister has made a determination by gazetted
notice that a disaster is a major disaster for the purpose of the Social Security Act 1991.
Has the disaster been gazetted by the relevant Minister?
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 52 of 61
•
Yes, go to Step 4
•
No, each case is assessed on its own merits. If assistance is required, contact Local Peer
Support. See Tier 1 technical support - Local Peer Support (LPS). Go to Step 4
4
Determine if the customer is unable to earn a sufficient livelihood for themselves and their
dependants + Read more ..
It is not enough that the customer is not earning a sufficient livelihood. They must be unable to earn a
sufficient livelihood and the situation must be unavoidable.
s47E(d)
s47E(d)
Is the customer unable to earn a sufficient livelihood for themselves and their dependants?
•
Yes, go to Step 5
•
No, go to Step 9
5
Available funds over $5,000 + Read more ..
Does the customer have more than $5,000 in available funds?
s47E(d)
Financial investments such as shares should be included in the Available Funds Test.
s47E(d)
Discretion should be applied to these vulnerable customers.
Any remaining funds will be included in the available funds test.
•
Yes, go to Step 9
•
No, go to Step 6
6
Sufficient support from other sources + Read more ..
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 53 of 61
s47E(d)
7
Avoidable financial hardship + Read more ..
s47E(d)
8
Customer may qualify for SpB + Read more ..
If the customer has:
• lodged a claim for SpB, refer to Progress of claim or to determine if the claim should be
escalated, see Immediate new claim and non-new claim priority processing. Procedure ends
here
• not lodged a claim, tell them to lodge a claim for SpB. See Table 3 > Step 1
9
Customer may not qualify to receive SpB + Read more ..
If the customer has not lodged a claim, it is not possible to determine their eligibility unless a claim is
lodged.
Tell the customer to test their eligibility by lodging a claim.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 54 of 61
Record a
DOC on the customer's record with details of the conversation.
If the customer is enquiring about a previously lodged SpB claim, see Progress of claim.
Claiming Special Benefit
Table 3
Step
Action
1
Customer wishes to claim SpB + Read more ..
Has customer already lodged a Claim for Special Benefit?
•
Yes, see Progress of claim
•
No, go to Step 2
2
Online claim, Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) or paper claim + Read more ..
The easiest way to claim SpB is online. Customers must be registered with myGov and have a linked
Centrelink online account.
ACC should be used for customers deemed unable or unsuitable to complete an online claim or
nominees.
The SpB online claim and ACC are located under:
s47E(d)
Note: non-resident parents or guardians claiming on behalf of an Australian citizen or permanent
resident child cannot claim online. They must complete the paper Claim for Special Benefit on behalf of a
child who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident (SU721). Scan the claim onto the custodial
parent's record and convert the child's record to an adult record. If the child does not have their own
record, see Adding a customer to the system.
Tel the customer to lodge claim with al supporting documents as soon as possible. This wil make sure
the payment can start from the earliest possible date.
If the customer is under minimum school leaving age, or in crisis and has not yet seen a social worker,
refer them to a social worker immediately.
Eligible customers will receive payments or concession cards from the date they submit a complete claim
with al relevant supporting documents. Different processes apply for customers in vulnerable
circumstances.
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 55 of 61
References
Policy
Social Security Guide, 3.7.2.40, SpB for People not Residential y Qualified for Other Payments
Social Security Guide 3.7.2.80, SpB for Australian Citizen Children & Australian Permanent Resident Children in the
Custody of a Non-permanent Resident
Social Security Guide, 3.7.2.90, SpB for Disaster Victims
Social Security Guide, 3.7.2.100, SpB when Partner is Unable to Provide Support
Social Security Guide, 3.7.2.20, Substantial Change in Circumstances for SpB
Social Security Guide, 3.7.2.10, SpB for Newly Arrived Residents
Social Security Guide, 3.11.10, Mutual obligation requirements for people receiving SpB
Social Security Guide, 3.7.1.70, Long term available funds test for SpB
Start days
Social Security Guide, 8.3.3.10, Backdated Start Days - General Provisions
Social Security Guide, 8.3.2, Start Days for Early Claims
Social Security Guide, 8.1.1, Claim Lodgement Provisions
Qualification for Special Benefit (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 3.7.1.10, Qualification for SpB
Assessment of SpB claims
Social Security Guide, 3.7.1.30, Assessment of SpB Claims
Common situations where SpB is claimed
Social Security Guide, 3.7.2, Common Situations where SpB is claimed
Substantial change in circumstances for SpB
Social Security Guide, 3.7.2.20, Substantial change in circumstances for SpB
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 56 of 61
Definitions for Special Benefit (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.E.140, Exceptional or unforeseen expenses (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.I.160, Insufficient livelihood (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.R.40, Reasonable means of support (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.S.290, Sponsor (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.M.120, Member of a couple
Social Security Guide, 1.1.B.70, Board and Lodging (RA, SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.I.120, Industrial action (JSP, YA, Austudy, PP & SpB NVH recipients)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.L.60, Liquid funds (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.L.90, Long term available funds test (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.P.65, Partial capacity to work (JSP, YA (job seeker), PP & SpB (NVH))
Social Security Guide, 1.1.S.230, Special Benefit homeless person (SpB)
Social Security Guide, 1.1.A.320, Australia
Legislation
Links to the Federal Register of Legislation site go to an 'Al versions' page. Select the 'Latest' version.
Claims
Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
• schedule 2, Backdated start day
• section 15, Incorrect or inappropriate claims
Qualification for Special Benefit
Social Security Act 1991, section 729, Qualification for Special Benefit
Resources
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 57 of 61
Examples of multiple SpB rejections and reasons
s47E(d)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 58 of 61
s47E(d)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 59 of 61
s47E(d)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 60 of 61
Intranet links
National Restricted Access
Services Australia website
Special Benefit
Information in your language
Claim for Special Benefit (SU004)
Contact details
Social worker - referrals
Level 2 Policy Helpdesk
Useful websites
Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA)
Department of Home Affairs
Further eligibility for SpB
s47E(d)
LEX 83859 - Administrative Release - Page 61 of 61
s47E(d)
