Overview
A Commonwealth veteran, Allied veteran or Allied mariner applying for service pension must, be an Australian resident and have resided in Australia for a continuous period of at least 10 years. However a concession to the ten year requirement may be applied where a person has multiple periods of residency. Below are details of who is entitled to the concession and the formula for calculating it.
Eligibility for the Concession
This concession reduces the requirement for 10 years' continuous Australian residency, provided the following criteria are met:
- the veteran was an Australian resident for more than one period; and
- at least one of those periods is less than ten years but is not less than five years; and
- the aggregate of all periods is more than 10 years.
Under this criteria, the required period of continuous residence is reduced by the period by which the aggregate of all periods exceeds 10 years.
Formula
Aggregate residence= (total of all periods)
Excess= (aggregate) - 10
Concessional period of residency required= 10 - (excess)
Example: Someone who has Residency
Periods of residence — 7 years, 5 years and 4 years
Aggregate residence — 7 + 5 + 4= 16 years
Excess — 16 - 10= 6 years
Concessional period of residency required — 10 - 6= 4 years
Therefore, as the continuous period of residency required is only 4 years and this person has already exceeded that period, this person would immediately be eligible.
Example: Someone who does not have Residency
Periods of residence — 6 years and 5 years
Aggregate residence — 6 + 5= 11 years
Excess — 11 - 10= 1 year
Concessional period of residency required — 10 - 1= 9 years
Therefore, as the continuous period of residency required is 9 years and this person has not reached that amount with either period of residence, this person is not yet eligible.
Calculation of Further Periods of Residence Required
If under the concessional formula, the veteran is not yet eligible, the period of residence still required is calculated using additional formulas.