Living overseas while on a benefit

You may be able to keep getting Supported Living Payment. All other main benefit payments from us will stop.

For your Supported Living Payment to continue, you need to do certain things. What you need to do depends on whether you already get Australian Disability Support Pension or not.

You don't already get Australian Disability Support Pension

Your Supported Living Payment will continue after leaving NZ if you:

• qualify for the Australian Disability Support Pension
• apply for the Australian Disability Support Pension within 4 weeks of leaving NZ, and
• apply to get your Supported Living Payment Overseas - you need to apply within 1 year of applying for Australian Disability Support Pension.

Who can get Disability Support Pension - Services Australiaexternal

After 4 weeks your Supported Living Payment will stop.

If you don't apply for the Australian Disability Support Pension within those 4 weeks, you will need to pay back any money you received from the day you left NZ.

If you apply for the Australian Disability Support Pension within those 4 weeks, you must also apply for the Supported Living Payment Overseas within 1 year. If you don't, you'll need to repay any payments you received from us from the day after you left NZ.

You already get Australian Disability Support Pension

You must apply to continue to receive your Supported Living Payment within 4 weeks of leaving New Zealand or you’ll need to pay back any payments received after leaving New Zealand.

After 4 weeks your payment may stop, and you may experience a gap in payments. However, if you apply within the first four weeks your payment will be backdated.

How to apply

You need to:

1. contact our International Services team before you leave NZ. Let them know the date you're leaving.
2. contact Services Australia within the first 4 weeks of leaving NZ to either:

• claim an Australian Disability Support Pension from them - if you're not already receiving it, or
• apply to continue to get your Supported Living Payment - if you're already receiving Australian Disability Support Pension.

Contact our International Services teamexternal

Contact Services Australiaexternal

Once Services Australia have processed your Australian Disability Support Pension form, they will send you a NZ payment application form. This form is to apply for your Supported Living Payment Overseas. You need to complete this form and send it back to Services Australia.

We'll get a copy of the form and use it to work out:

• if you qualify for Supported Living Payment Overseas, and
• how much you can be paid.

If Australian Disability Support Pension is declined

If your Australian Disability Support Pension application is declined because of:

• your income or assets, we'll most likely decline your NZ payment application.
• not meeting Centrelink’s definition of ‘severely disabled’, we’ll most likely decline your application.
• another reason, e.g. residency requirements, we may still approve your NZ payment application.

If we decline your NZ payment application, your Supported Living Payment will stop from the date your Australian Disability Support Pension is declined. We'll then review the NZ payments you received since you left NZ. We do this to make sure you were getting the right amount of payment during this time.

Contact International Servicesexternal

How much you can get

You’ll get your Supported Living Payment at the same rate you would get if you lived in NZ for the first four weeks you are in Australia.

Changes to this rate will start once:

• your Australian Disability Support Pension is approved, and
• your NZ payment application is approved.

How much you get depends on how long you've lived in New Zealand since you were 20 years old. If you get SLP and have a partner, they can be included in your payments

These rate changes will then be backdated to the date you applied for Australian Disability Support Pension. For example, if you applied for this within one week of leaving NZ, your rate change will be backdated to week one.

More information

More information about getting Supported Living Payment in Australia can be found on our Australian Social Security Agreement page.

Social Security Agreement with Australia - living in Australiaexternal

You may be able to keep getting either the:

• Supported Living Payment (SLP), if you're getting this because you have a health condition, injury or disability
• Sole Parent Support (SPS) if you're getting this because you're a widow or widower, or
• Orphan's Benefit, if you're going to Greece or Ireland.

All other main benefit payments from us will stop.

If you have been living in Greece there may be eligibility for a Funeral Grant

How much you get for SLP or SPS depends on how long you've lived in New Zealand since you were 20 years old. If you get SLP and have a partner, they can be included in your payments.

What you need to do

You need to apply to keep these payments going. To apply, contact our International Services teamexternal at least 4 weeks before you leave NZ. You and your partner (if you have one) will need to provide:

• your passport/s
• another form of ID, and
• your travel itinerary or tickets.

More information

More information about getting SLP or SPS in these countries can be found on our Social Security Agreementexternal pages.

Your benefit payment will stop.

The Maltese Department of Social Security decides who can get a pension for retirement or widowhood and how much will be paid. You’ll need to contact them when you get to Malta.

Visit the Department of Social Security – Malta websiteexternal

Your benefit payment will stop.

If you're 60 or older, you may be able to get the Korean Old Age benefit. This is paid by the South Korean National Pension Service in South Korea. They'll decide who can get this pension and how much you’ll be paid. 

If you want to apply for this pension, contact International Servicesexternal before you leave New Zealand.

In most cases you can’t get any payments.

You may be able to get payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the United Kingdom (UK). It depends what payments you're getting from us.

If you're getting:

• Jobseeker Support from us, you may be able to get Jobseeker's Allowance or Statutory Sick Pay from DWP. Statutory Sick Pay is paid for up to 28 weeks.
• Supported Living Payment from us because you have a health condition, injury or disability, you may be able to get Employment and Support Allowance from DWP.
• Sole Parent Support from us because you're a widow or widower, you may be able to get Widowed Parent's Allowance or Bereavement Allowance from DWP.

The DWP in the UK decides who can get these payments and how much will be paid.

If you want advice or guidance about what to do, you can contact International Servicesexternal.

If you want to apply for a DWP payment, you need to contact the DWP.

Visit DWP websiteexternal