Post by Banjo on Apr 3, 2010 8:34:02 GMT 7
First you have to decide whether it matters, if you have a job on the side, or can pick one up you may not care. Just remember you may have issues if you want to claim the Age pension later on.
You will receive a letter saying they know you are out of the country, you're in breach of the act, that your pension is suspended until further notice and instructing you to attend an interview at a certain place and time.
If your mail is going to an address in Australia make sure someone is reading the Centrelink mail for you and will keep you informed. The interview may be up to two weeks away.
When you attend the interview take someone with you, a witness. This will keep the interview going by the book. They will demand your passport which they will take a copy of.
You will then be informed your pension is cancelled, at this stage they must allow you to apply for the unemployment benefit, known as NewStart.
This will mean you have to follow the process as if you are seeking a job.
If you have overstayed outside of Australia, you will be told that you must repay the money you have been paid while overstaying.
You may also be told you may face criminal charges of defrauding Centrelink.
Don't argue or try to defend yourself at this stage, the people interviewing you are only the messengers.
Immediately apply for the DSP, you will have to have a medical assessment, make sure you have all the forms.
Remember that if you are polite at all times, the Centrelink people may even start helping you.
Remember you are entitled to legal advice, this is available free at Welfare Rights in your nearest State capital, discussed here in another section.
End part 1)
Part 2)
You will have to have an interview to discuss your debt to Centrelink. They will allow you to repay it in installments that you can negotiate. They're not really serious about getting the money back, it's all about being seen to enforce the law. Ten dollars a week over the next five hundred years is perfectly possible. After a couple of years you can apply for the debt to be excused on hardship grounds.
The threat of criminal prosecution is usually just that, a threat. You were going to be paid the money if you stayed in Australia anyway.
Never admit you live overseas unless you actually own a property in your own name. Always insist that you are an Australian who likes to spend time out of the country. If they deem you’re no longer an Australian resident your problems multiply many times over.
Take your forms to your doctor, if he hasn’t seen you for years he may not be pleased at all. He may even have died or retired; mine had moved and lost my records.
Whatever, get used to waiting rooms and loss of personal privacy.
A good move is to spend a lot of time at Centrelink offices. Get to know them, let them see you as a person. Ask for help with the forms, try to avoid the older officers, they get cynical and judgmental. If it starts going bad at a personal level at one office just go to the one in the other districts. The state capitals are divided into Centrelink zones with its own office.
End of Part 2)
You will receive a letter saying they know you are out of the country, you're in breach of the act, that your pension is suspended until further notice and instructing you to attend an interview at a certain place and time.
If your mail is going to an address in Australia make sure someone is reading the Centrelink mail for you and will keep you informed. The interview may be up to two weeks away.
When you attend the interview take someone with you, a witness. This will keep the interview going by the book. They will demand your passport which they will take a copy of.
You will then be informed your pension is cancelled, at this stage they must allow you to apply for the unemployment benefit, known as NewStart.
This will mean you have to follow the process as if you are seeking a job.
If you have overstayed outside of Australia, you will be told that you must repay the money you have been paid while overstaying.
You may also be told you may face criminal charges of defrauding Centrelink.
Don't argue or try to defend yourself at this stage, the people interviewing you are only the messengers.
Immediately apply for the DSP, you will have to have a medical assessment, make sure you have all the forms.
Remember that if you are polite at all times, the Centrelink people may even start helping you.
Remember you are entitled to legal advice, this is available free at Welfare Rights in your nearest State capital, discussed here in another section.
End part 1)
Part 2)
You will have to have an interview to discuss your debt to Centrelink. They will allow you to repay it in installments that you can negotiate. They're not really serious about getting the money back, it's all about being seen to enforce the law. Ten dollars a week over the next five hundred years is perfectly possible. After a couple of years you can apply for the debt to be excused on hardship grounds.
The threat of criminal prosecution is usually just that, a threat. You were going to be paid the money if you stayed in Australia anyway.
Never admit you live overseas unless you actually own a property in your own name. Always insist that you are an Australian who likes to spend time out of the country. If they deem you’re no longer an Australian resident your problems multiply many times over.
Take your forms to your doctor, if he hasn’t seen you for years he may not be pleased at all. He may even have died or retired; mine had moved and lost my records.
Whatever, get used to waiting rooms and loss of personal privacy.
A good move is to spend a lot of time at Centrelink offices. Get to know them, let them see you as a person. Ask for help with the forms, try to avoid the older officers, they get cynical and judgmental. If it starts going bad at a personal level at one office just go to the one in the other districts. The state capitals are divided into Centrelink zones with its own office.
End of Part 2)
