Hi I am a newbie

[koala5]

Hi everyone......First of all I will let you all know my history. I'm 54 yrs old and have been leaving in the Philippines for over 6 yrs now.

In 1998 I had a work place injury to my lower back which resulted in having a Laminectomy at S1-L5...In 1999 the back deterioated leading to having a Posterolateral Spinal Fusion with pedicle screw fixation from the S1-L4..... In 2002 removal of the metal and re-grafting.

In 2003 was awarded workers compensation payout with a permanent disability rating of 31.5%....Because of the compensation I was not allowed by Centrelink to clain DSP until 2007.....In 2006 I was divorced from my Filipino wife in Aussie and to make things easier I decided to reside in the Philippines at the end of that year....By doing this I sold up and have nothing in Aus except a bank account....All my family are deceased and I have no children.

I have increasing back pain with sciatica in the left leg and are bing treated by an Orthopaedic Surgeon here who use to work in Houston Texas USA for 20 years...With the on going cost of medical treatment here MRI and pain killers etc its starting to take its toll.

It would be very expensive for me to return to Aus Perth as I have no where to stay and by the time it would take to be re assest by Surgeons and my application submitted to Centrelink it could be months and months.

So the question is I could only come back home here for 13 weeks than have to return to Aus?......How long do I have to stay in Perth? Once I return I go into C/link say I'm back as they know with their computers connected to the Immigration computers.....do I just take the next plane home? This will cause my back to deterioate even more.

Regarding the OAP I have to come back for 2 yrs to qualify.

Looks like I have a big problem....any thoughts

Koala

[Banjo]

You need to qualify under the new portability rules when they come in at the end of June this year.
A good idea to be in Australia when you apply, the new assessment forms will be out next month, but of course we don't really know anything yet.
I would expect that people covered by them would not lose their residency and therefore switch to the Age pension without having to come back for 2 years.
But, as I said, we know nothing at the moment.

[lynnebali]

Hi Koala Have you been living overseas for the entire 6 years or returning every 13 weeks. Has ICL contacted you in regards to your portability and having to return to Australia? Remember it may appear all gloom and doom but be heartened that there is plenty of us in the same boat trying to row to shore.

[zorro1]

Hi there K5

Make sure you make your intention to claim (today?) via internet on their website for full back payment and keep posting here , thats what I did and it kept me one step ahead of C/L
once you claim in oz you can leave straight away and return for the JCA.