5.2.2 Eligibility Criteria for Remote Area Allowance

Last amended: 21 March 2013

Who is eligible for Remote Area Allowance

Remote area allowance is payable to service pensioners and income support supplement recipients who:

• receive a rate of pension greater than nil, and
• usually live in a remote area.

The status of a locality to be considered a remote area is dependent on the most recent census data, which is updated (usually every five years) in the year following the census. The following link shows some products used for interpreting census information:

http://abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/data

Additional amount for children

The rate of remote area allowance payable is increased for each child a person has if:

• the child meets the definition of a Family Tax Benefit (FTB) child or regular care child under the A New Tax System (Family Assistance Act) 1999, and
• the child is in Australia (not necessarily in the remote area).     
  More →

  Procedure Library – Effect of children on RAA

  9.4.3/Effect of Children on Remote Area Allowance (RAA)

  More → (go back)

When is Remote Area Allowance not payable

If the person is physically absent from the remote area for more than 8 weeks on a temporary basis, or is permanently absent, they are not eligible for remote area allowance.

If an FTB child is absent from Australia for more than 8 weeks on a temporary basis, or is permanently absent from Australia, the additional amount is not payable. The additional amount remains payable for a period of 14 weeks after the death of the child.

VEA remote area definition

For the purposes of the VEA, a remote area is defined as one of the following:

• Tax Zone A, including the following islands:

• Macquarie Island,
• Norfolk Island,
• the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands,
• the Australian Antarctic Territory,
• the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands,
• the Territory of Christmas Island, and
• Lord Howe Island,

• Some Special Tax Zone B locations; and
• t — hose places in Australia treated as being either in Tax Zone A or Special Tax Zone B under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.

Remote Area Assistance is only payable to residents within Special Tax Zone B if certain criteria are met. The determination about the status of a remote area location is based on whether the pensioner resides within 250 kilometres of an urban centre of more than 2,500 people. This criteria is derived from the defined terms of urban centre and census population within the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, which is in turn based on the results of the census undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1981.

Tables listing the localities are shown on the Australian Tax office website at the following link:

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/distributor.aspx?menuid=0&doc=/content/00217616.htm&page=1#P497_25460

Social Security Act remote area definition

The Social Security Act 1991 has a different definition for remote areas to the VEA.

For the purposes of remote area allowance for age pension, the remote areas are the specified area of Taxation Zone A, including Special Taxation Zone A and Special Taxation Zone B. The remote areas include the Torres Strait Islands, Lord Howe Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, but exclude t — he following areas specified in Taxation Zone A:

• Norfolk Island,
• Macquarie Island,
• the Territory of Heard Island,
• the McDonald Islands, and
• the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Australian Taxation Office website

The following link is to the search page for the Australian Zone List on the Australian Tax Office website.  This search page will enable a determination to be made whether a locality is a Zone A or Zone B remote area. It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive and may not be current.

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/rebate_zone.html

Applying for remote area allowance

There is no formal application process for remote area allowance. A pensioner usually applies by advising the department of their new residential situation (or current residential situation if the case is a claim for pension).