Centrtelink And Relationships.

[Banjo]

As this is an issue in proving residency I wonder what "rules" they use to prove a relationship exists?
I know I could look it up but this computer is a bit slow and doesn't like government sites.

[Guest]

Not sure where you would go to look for that. There are some references to it in the Social Security Guide. See Below:

Another factor that should be used to indicate what country the person is residing in is the nature and extent of the person's family relationships in Australia and overseas.

The term family member is not defined in SSAct section 7(3), however in general it will include the person's spouse, children, parents, brother, sister etc.

Just having a family member in a country does not constitute strong evidence that the person is residing in that country. In order to determine the level of connection to a family member the main guide is to look at how much time the person spends with them in Australia or overseas.

Strong weight should be given to where the person's immediate family is residing, or where the person is providing a significant level of care for a member of their family or where the person spends the most amount of time with their family. Conversely, having family in Australia where a person merely maintains a casual relationship over the phone or internet does not constitute significant ties to those family members. Similarly communicating with family in other parts of the world does not make that person a resident of those countries.

In cases where the person's immediate family such as a spouse and children live overseas and only extended family live in Australia, more weight should be given to the fact that the person's immediate family is overseas. Generally a person would be regarded as having stronger ties to their dependent children than to other family members they may have caring responsibility for. To make a decision on where a person lives it is necessary to look at where their partner and children are and how settled they are there. In some cases a person may have 2 families, one being from a previous relationship. In these situations, the focus must be on the family that the person is spending more time with.

Some people will not have a family or will have lost connection with members of their family. In these situations the person will need to rely on the other factors listed in SSAct section 7(3) to establish their residence in Australia.
Example 1: Anna left Australia to marry in England 8 years ago and since then has returned to have a baby and stay with her parents twice for 3 months each time. She is now separated from her husband but is remaining in England so that he can have access to see the children easily. Anna states she intends to return to Australia but due to her financial situation and having to remain in the UK because of her joint custody arrangements for her children, she has not been able to do so as yet. When she returns to Australia she travels on a return ticket because this is a cheaper option than purchasing a one way ticket. Anna is considered to be residing in the UK due to all the indicators including her dependent children in the UK.

Example 2: Aisha was born in Malaysia and immigrated to Australia with her husband and young children. Their children were raised in Australia but have now moved back to Malaysia to live. Since her husband died Aisha has lived in Australia by herself in the house that she owns. She hasn't worked since raising her children, spends winters in Malaysia each year for the climate and to be with grown up children, and is considering moving back to Malaysia (so they can support her when she's older) but has not yet done so. A decision has been made that Aisha is residing in Australia at this point in time, despite her only family living outside Australia, due to the weight of other factors.