On the day you claim you must be all of the following:
- living in Australia
- physically in Australia.
You must also have one of the following:
- Australian citizenship
- a permanent visa
- a Special Category visa (SCV).
To keep using the card, you must be living in Australia as an Australian resident or SCV holder.
When you need to wait
If you've recently arrived as a resident in Australia, you may have to wait 2 or 4 years to get this card. There are some exemptions to this. Read more about newly arrived resident’s waiting period.