Centrelink and residency

[patsmb 14]

Not sure if this is the right forum but ! 

Asking for a friend re Centrelink pensions

The friend who has been a citizen for years returned to Australia after living in the UK in December 2021 and claimed her Age pension from that date

She recently went on holiday for 2 weeks  Jan 29th  to Feb 12th 2023 and her pension was stopped as was her Centrelink card ( she did think it would be stopped as she knows there is a 2 year rule )

She received a new card in the mail and its dated from her return date in February 23

But does that mean her residency period also has to start from that date again -so it would be another 2 years before she can leave the country ?

I thought her residency start date would stay as December 2021 plus 2 weeks for the 2 she left the country on holiday

Any ideas please as its very confusing

[Marisawright 10,232]

Best bet is for her to ask Centrelink herself.  However I fear the two years will start again from her return date.   The rule is that you must be in Australia for a full two years either before or after you claim your pension.

[patsmb 14]

Thanks Marissa she is going to do that I was just trying to get some ideas -she wasnt though in Oz for 2 years before she claimed bit of a ping pom actually 

[Marisawright 10,232]

11 minutes ago, patsmb said:

Thanks Marissa she is going to do that I was just trying to get some ideas -she wasnt though in Oz for 2 years before she claimed bit of a ping pom actually 

You don't have to be resident in Oz for 2 years before claiming.   You can claim the day you arrive in Australia, but the catch is that you've then got to stay for 2 years, or it gets stopped.  

[patsmb 14]

I did find this online so it might be the case that the original date does not get changed as the pension was suspended not stopped as she didn’t have to reclaim after the holiday She actually rang Centrelink prior to going on holiday to ask if she had to inform them she going away and was told no 

There is no discretionary power to allow portability of Age or DSP during the 2-year period (note, some exceptions to the 2-year rule apply - see below).

Payment may be suspended for short overseas absences during the 2-year period and does not have to be reclaimed on return to Australia. A short absence from Australia (as long as the person is still classed as an Australian resident) will not impact on the end date of the 2-year period (i.e. the absence still counts towards the person's 2-year period