Last amended: 03 June 2013
Service pensioners eligible for treatment
Service pensioners are eligible for a Gold Card if they:
- are veterans of Australia's defence forces, (including Commonwealth or allied veterans domiciled in Australia prior to enlistment in a overseas forces),
- are in receipt of an age or invalidity service pension, and
- satisfy the treatment [glossary:income/assets reduction limit:] [glossary:(:]IARL).
Treatment benefits income/assets reduction limit
Veterans in receipt of service pension are eligible for the Gold Card subject to the treatment IARL. The IARL is the maximum amount by which a person's service pension can be reduced and still qualify for a Gold Card. The IARL informs the income and assets limits for treatment at departmental expense.
Periodic compensation payments
Periodic compensation payments that reduce a person's compensation affected pension (CAP) under the compensation recovery rules are not assessed as income when determining the person's IARL.
Where the periodic compensation payments reduce a person's CAP to nil, there is no treatment eligibility under the IARL rules. It is necessary that a person be receiving a rate of service pension for the IARL rules to apply.
Where the periodic compensation payments are assessed as income (e.g. for a veteran receiving a non-CAP pension), the amounts are assessed as income for IARL purposes.
Period of grace - eligibility after income exceeds IARL
The period of grace provisions allow a pensioner whose increased income causes the IARL threshold to be exceeded to retain their Gold Card eligibility for a period of 13 weeks from the day on which their income increased, providing the resulting pension reduction does not exceed the IARL by more than 50%. The full date of effect rules are:
If the person's reduction for income... | then eligibility for the Gold Card... |
exceeds the IARL by no more than 50% | continues for 13 weeks from the date of the income event that led to the pension reduction, and then is lost. |
exceeds the IARL by no more than 50% and reduces below the IARL within the 13 week period | continues uninterrupted and the period of grace provisions cease to apply. |
exceeds the IARL by more than 50% at any time | ceases on the day from which the pension reduction arising out of the increased income occurs (this includes the allowed two week notification period under the normal date of effect rules, where notification is made in time). |
The period of grace rule was introduced to prevent frequent loss (and gain) of Gold Card eligibility due to movements in the value of the Australian dollar, for example, for those receiving foreign pensions affecting their payability.
Circumstances where period of grace does not apply
The period of grace does not apply if eligibility for the Gold Card is lost because:
- pension is being paid under the income test and there is an increase in assets which results in the pension becoming payable under the assets test, or
- pension is being paid under the assets test and there is an increase in assets.
Eligibility for Gold Card
Unlike changes to exchange rates, which can fluctuate often, asset values do not generally change significantly on a fortnightly basis and thus the grace period is not applicable to assets-tested pensioners.
Entitlement to treatment during bereavement period
A Gold Card holder may exceed the IARL when his or her partner or dependent child (in saved cases) dies. In this case, the person retains the gold card during the bereavement period. Gold Card eligibility is lost at the end of the bereavement period.