Living in Australia if you get NZ Super or Veteran's Pension

There are certain rules for what happens with your NZ Super and Veteran's Pension while living in Australia. These rules are set out in the Social Security Agreement (SSA) we have with Australia.

This page explains some of those rules. You'll need to read the information we have about the SSA with Australia for more detail around things like:

• how much you'll get paid
• how you'll be paid, and
• when you'll be paid.

When your payments can continue

Your NZ Super or Veteran’s Pension payment will keep being paid for up to 26 weeks after you leave New Zealand (NZ).

For these payments to continue, you need to do certain things. What you need to do depends on whether you already get Australian Age Pension or not.

You don't already get Australian Age Pension

For payments to continue, you need to:

• meet the criteria for Australian Age Pension (this includes meeting the age criteria on or before the day you leave NZ)
• apply for the Australian Age Pension (AAP) within 26 weeks of leaving NZ, and
• apply to continue getting your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension payment - you need to apply within 12 months of applying for AAP.

If you don't apply for these payments within the required timeframes, you'll need to pay back any payments you received after you left NZ.

If both of these applications are declined, your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension payments will stop from the date your AAP is declined.

You already get Australian Age Pension (AAP)

You have to apply to continue to get your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension payment. You need to apply within 26 weeks of leaving New Zealand.

If you don't apply within this timeframe, your NZ payment will stop after 26 weeks. You'll need to pay back the 26 weeks of NZ payment you received after you left NZ.

What passport to use when travelling to Australia

When you go to Australia, it’s best to travel on either your:

• New Zealand passport, or
• Australian passport, if you have one.

This will make it easier to work out whether you meet the criteria for Australian Age Pension.

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 26 weeks of leaving NZ. You need to apply for an Australian Age Pension (AAP) from them.

Once Services Australia have processed your AAP form, they will send you a NZ payment application form. This form is to continue your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension payments. 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:

• whether your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension payments can continue, and
• how much you can be paid.

If Australian Age Pension is declined

If your Australian Age Pension application is declined because of:

• your income or assets, we'll most likely decline your NZ payment application.
• another reason, e.g. residency requirements, we may still approve your NZ payment application.

If we decline your NZ payment application, your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension payments will stop from the date your AAP 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.

How much you can get

You’ll get your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension at the same rate you would get if you lived in NZ. This rate will continue until you apply for Australian Age Pension (up to 26 weeks). Then your rate of payment may change.

The amount we pay you may be less than what you got in NZ. This might be because:

• you have a partner included in your payment, as once you leave NZ they can no longer be included
• you get any other payments, eg, Disability Allowance or Accommodation Supplement, which you cannot get after you leave NZ
• you have lived in a country other than New Zealand or Australia, or
• you have income and/or assets that affect how much you can get for Australian Age Pension. (We can't pay more than what Services Australia tell us your Australian Age Pension would be).

If your application is approved, we'll review your 26 weeks of payments. We do this to make sure you were getting the right amount of payment during this time.

Details of how much you'll get are set out in the Social Security Agreement we have with Australia.

When your payment will start

You’ll get your NZ Super or Veteran's Pension at the same rate you would get if you lived in NZ. This rate will continue for up to 26 weeks.

Changes to this rate will start once:

• your Australian Age Pension (AAP) is approved, and
• your NZ payment application is approved.

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