G'day all. Another new guy here. I want to find out about living in the Philippines and still being able to collect my DSP.
Aged 54, and on a DSP since 2004.
Cheers,
pro
The only way that you'd possibly not be subject to the current or upcoming DSP portability rules would be if you were 'grandfathered' in 2004, which means you were on DSP at that time, were overseas on July 1 2004, and have spent most of your time overseas instead of in Australia and have subsequently been deemed 'non-resident' for Centrelink purposes.
In this case you'd already have indefinite portability and not subject to the current 13 week rule, or the soon to be 6 week rule.
But even if you were on DSP and overseas on July 1 2004, you probably aren't 'grandfathered' unless you've been living mostly overseas since that time. Does that sound like you?
If you're still not sure, but if you've got a medicare card and pensioner concession card, that would be a good indicator that you're resident in Australia and therefore not 'grandfathered'.
If you're not 'grandfathered, then you're in the same boat as most others on this forum.
Basically, you can't live in the Philippines or anywhere else outside Australia and still keep getting DSP, except if you were to move to one of about two dozen 'agreement countries', which are mostly European countries ( just google 'DSP agreement countries' if you're curious)
Up until Dec 31 this year, you can spend 13 weeks in the Philippines and then have to come back to Australia. Come Jan 1 2013, That will shorten to 6 weeks. There is no minimum period of time you must stay in Australia, so technically you could land, turn around and go back. BUT (and it's a big BUT), if you spend more time overseas than you do in Australia, they will start to try to declare you 'non-resident' and then strip you of DSP. They are militant about this.
The only way to be exempt from this regime is to apply for 'Indefinite Portability'.
BUT (and this is an even bigger
BUT), you must be re-assesed, which means you will have your medical condition re-assesed under the newer and tougher 'Impairment tables' and you must score 20 points on one single table or you'll loose your DSP.
If you do score 20 points (which means you are then technically classified as 'severely disabled') , then you must go through a J.C.A (Job Capacity Asessment) and must be assesed as being incapable of doing 15 hours of work a week. If they assess you as being able to do 15 hours of work or more, then you loose DSP, regardless of your 'severe disability' (yep, it's crazy)
Only If they assess you as being unable to do 2 hours or more will you then be eligible for 'Indefinite Portability' (I.P)
BUUUUUTTTTT, (getting sick of the 'BUT's yet?!).....none of us are really sure whether they will still be breaking balls over the 'residency' issue for people granted indefinite portability ie. must spend more time in Australia than overseas.
Any of the decisions made by Centrelink during the above process can be appealed and overturned if you have good grounds.
As Banjo says, we've all just recently managed to get our heads around the new changes to the rules and most are still taking stock of things. Because everyone's circumstances are different, everyone will make different decisions accordingly.
Some will choose to run the risk of loosing DSP while others won't, while some others are undecided. There's a lot to weigh up and it's a huge decision to make and a lot of different factors to take into account.
Also as banjo said, the best 'crash course' you could take on this subject is to spend time going back over the threads in this forum to get a handle on the many pitfalls that await. 'Welfare Rights' is also a good resource.
Dealing with Centrelink is like walking through a minefield, so get a good lay of the land before you even take one single step forward. To not do so could be at your own peril, as many of us have found out the hard way.
The reason behind all of this is that the Government want's to slash DSP numbers by 40%, so always bear that in mind in your dealings with them. The creed by which they live seems to be "Cancell 'em all, let the appeals process sort 'em out".
When it comes to Centrelink, more often than not you have to fight for your rights, and it can be a long, hard, dirty, demoralising fight.
