This page gives some general information on changes which may affect New Zealand citizens (referred to here as ‘New Zealanders’) who are thinking about living in Australia. If you need more detailed information on the changes, there is a list of agencies you can contact at the back of the booklet.

What’s changing?

The New Zealand and Australian governments have recently agreed revisions to the Social Security Agreement between the two countries. The revised Agreement will come into effect on 1 July 2002.

The Australian Government has also announced changes to residency and citizenship arrangements for New Zealanders moving to Australia which took effect on 26 February 2001. These changes will not affect New Zealanders’ ability to visit, live and work in Australia, but will affect their access to a number of social security benefits.

You need to read this page if you are:

• A New Zealander about to move to Australia to live
• A New Zealander thinking about moving to Australia to live
• A New Zealander planning to or thinking about retiring in Australia
• A New Zealand citizen in Australia
• A New Zealander who wants to know how the new arrangements might affect family members living in or thinking about moving to Australia
• A New Zealander unsure about whether the new arrangements will affect you or your family
• An Australian living in New Zealand unsure about whether the new arrangements will affect you or your family

If you’re a New Zealander planning a holiday in Australia or about to leave for a holiday there, these changes don’t affect you.

If you are NOT a New Zealand citizen, these changes don’t affect you. You will still be required to apply for a visa to enter Australia, and the current rules which apply to you won’t change.

What the changes mean?

The Social Security Agreement

The revised Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia will affect a number of social security benefits paid to people who have lived in both countries. If approved by the New Zealand and Australian governments, the revised Agreement will change the way some benefits and pensions are paid, and affect eligibility for some other benefits. The changes will take effect on 1 July 2002.

People receiving benefits or pensions under the existing Agreement are not affected by the changes - they will continue to get their payments as they do now until they go off the benefit or pension they are receiving. People who apply for a benefit or pension under the existing Agreement before 1 July 2002 will also be covered by the current arrangements.

Residency and citizenship changes

Australia has also announced some changes to its residency and citizenship rules which mean that after 26 February 2001 New Zealanders moving to Australia to live won’t have the same social security entitlements as New Zealanders already living in Australia. It won’t affect New Zealanders’ ability to live and work in Australia.

• New Zealanders arriving in Australia after 26 February 2001 will need to apply for and be granted permanent residence in Australia before they can access a number of social security benefits or be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship.
• New Zealanders arriving in Australia after this date will continue to be automatically granted a Special Category Visa, a temporary visa which allows New Zealand citizens entry into Australia without first applying for permanent residence.
• New Zealanders who move to Australia between 26 February 2001 and 26 May 2001 may not be affected by the changes. There is more about this on page 4.

More details on the changes are given on the following pages, and some commonly asked questions are answered on pages 8 to 15. If you find you need more detailed information on the changes, the names and contact details of agencies in Australia and New Zealand are listed at the end of the booklet.

What’s changing and when?

From 26 February 2001 – changes to residency and citizenship rules

New Zealanders will still be able to live and work indefinitely in Australia. They will continue to be granted a Special Category Visa (SCV) on entry to Australia, providing they meet health and character criteria, as is the case now.

However, New Zealand citizens who arrive in Australia on a SCV after 26 February 2001 will need to apply for and be granted permanent residence status in Australia before they are able to access a number of Australian social security benefits or be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship.

Benefits affected by the changes include the Australian equivalents of the Community Wage, Emergency Benefit, Transitional Retirement Benefit and some categories of Domestic Purposes Benefit and Widows Benefit. Eligibility for the Australian equivalent of the Community Services Card is also affected for some people.

Not all New Zealanders are affected

There are some New Zealanders who are not affected by the changes and will continue to be treated as having permanent residence status, namely New Zealanders who:

• are in Australia on 26 February 2001
• are outside Australia on 26 February 2001 but have spent at least one year there on a SCV in the two years immediately before this date and return to Australia within 12 months of the changes taking effect.
  If you are not a New Zealand citizen you will still need a visa to enter Australia, and the rules which currently apply to you don’t change.

There is already a two-year waiting period for a number of benefits and pensions not covered by the Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia. This waiting period will continue to apply for people who have permanent residence status.

Other exceptions

There are some other exceptions to the new rules. New Zealanders who arrive in Australia after 26 February 2001 will be able to obtain an Australian social security benefit if they:

• are entitled to a payment that is covered by the existing Social Security Agreement between Australia and New Zealand or, after 1 July 2002, the revised Agreement
• have obtained a permanent residence status and have lived in Australia for a total of two years. People will be able to count all previous periods of time spent living in Australia towards the two year waiting period
• arrive in Australia on a SCV before 26 May 2001 and within three years of arrival apply for and are confirmed by the Australian agency Centrelink (the equivalent of Work and Income NZ) as having assumed residence in Australia. They must also have been living in Australia for two years.
  Australians living in or planning to move to New Zealand

Australians living in or planning to move to New Zealand will only be affected by the changes to the Social Security Agreement, which come into effect on 1 July 2002.

The current citizenship and residency rules will continue to apply to Australians living in New Zealand now or planning to move to New Zealand.

Answers to some commonly asked questions on Australia’s new residency and citizenship rules can be found on page 10. More detailed information is available by calling the NZ to OZ Helpline toll free on 0800 441 248 or visiting www.nz-oz.gov.au.

From 1 July 2002 – the revised Social Security Agreement

The revised Social Security Agreement will change the way the following benefits and pensions are paid to people who have lived in both New Zealand and Australia:

Under the revised Agreement New Zealand and Australia will each make a part-payment to people who have lived in both countries. The combined payment will be comparable to what people would get if they were receiving just the social security benefit or pension from the country they are living in, allowing for fluctuations associated with changes to the exchange rate.

New Zealanders living in Australia who apply for an Age Pension or Disability Support Pension after 1 July 2002 may be required to claim a part-payment of New Zealand Superannuation, Veterans Pension or Invalids Benefit from Work and Income NZ. Similarly, New Zealanders who have spent some of their working life in Australia and apply for New Zealand Superannuation, Veterans Pension or Invalids Benefit after they return to New Zealand may need to apply to Centrelink in Australia for a part-payment of the Australian Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, or Carer Payment (for the partners of Disability Support Pensioners).

Whether people receive payments from both Australia and New Zealand and how much they receive from each country will depend on how long they lived in each country:

• between the ages of 20 and 65 years for the Australian Age Pension, New Zealand Superannuation and Veterans Pension
• between the age of 20 years and the age at which the disability occurred for Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment (for the partners of Disability Support Pensioners) and some categories of Invalids Benefit.

The amount people are eligible to receive will depend on their individual circumstances.

Other benefits and pensions affected by the revised Agreement

When the revised Agreement takes effect, New Zealanders living in Australia will only be able to access some other benefits, including the Australian equivalents of Widows Benefit and Domestic Purposes Benefit, if they have permanent residence status and meet residency or citizenship criteria for the benefit concerned.

Access to Invalids Benefit and the Australian equivalent (Disability Support Pension) will also change. Under the revised Agreement only people who have lived in both countries before the qualifying disability occurred, whose disability is severe and whose qualifying disability occurred in New Zealand or Australia will qualify for the Invalids Benefit/Disability Support Pension. New Zealanders in Australia who don’t meet these criteria will only be able to access Disability Support Pension if they have permanent residence status and meet the residency criteria for this pension.

Australians who do not meet these criteria will only qualify for Invalids Benefit if they meet New Zealand residency criteria. However, they may be entitled to other social security assistance.

Australians living in New Zealand and New Zealanders returning to New Zealand will need to meet the New Zealand residency criteria for Widows Benefit or Domestic Purposes Benefit in order to qualify for these benefits. If they have no dependent children or their children were born outside New Zealand these people will only qualify for Widows Benefit or Domestic Purposes Benefit if they became a widow or sole parent while in New Zealand. However, they may be entitled to other social security assistance.

The changes that take affect on 1 July 2002 will only affect people who apply for one of these payments after this date.

Information on the current arrangements and the benefits affected by the revised Agreement is available in New Zealand from Work and Income NZ on 0800 777 577 or, if calling from outside New Zealand, +64-4-916 2437 (international call charges will apply).

Click here for some commonly asked questions

Clarification of pages 7 and 14 of the booklet
The revised Social Security Agreement

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