Last amended: 15 July 2022
A pensioner is not in severe financial hardship if their total annual assets tested service pension or income support supplement plus other income exceeds the maximum annual rate of pension.
To claim a [glossary:service pension:245] or [glossary:ISS:118] a person must be an [glossary:Australian resident:582] and be in [glossary:Australia:161] at the time of claim. This section details how long a person must reside in Australia before becoming entitled to claim service pension.
Last amended: 30 April 2014
The following table illustrates the practical difference between temporary and long-term severe financial hardship.
|
If |
then the financial hardship is considered |
|
the person's financial position has suffered substantially as a result of factors such as: |
Section 52Y(1)(d)
Section 52Y(1) VEA
This chapter outlines the eligibility requirements for different types of [glossary:service pension:245].
For a person to be considered under the financial hardship rules, they must have an [glossary:unrealisable asset:330]. This section contains information on different types of unrealisable assets and how they are treated.
In order to establish residency, it must first be decided if a person is an [glossary:Australian resident:582]. One definition of an Australian resident is a person who resides in [glossary:Australia:161] and is an Australian citizen. Below are details of what constitutes an Australian citizen.
A person may become an Australian citizen by:
The following table shows who is considered to be an Australian citizen by birth.
Last amended: 3 August 2010
Some foreign countries have a reciprocal agreement with [glossary:Fa:] — [glossary:H:] — [glossary:CSIA:] and for these countries a claim for a comparable foreign pension can be lodged with and processed by Centrelink. For any other country, a claim for a comparable foreign pension must be lodged directly with the country involved.
