Travel outside Australia

Depending on your circumstances, you may get Disability Support Pension (DSP) while you’re outside Australia.

Travelling after recently returning to Australia to live

If you’ve come back to Australia to live in the last 2 years, your DSP may stop as soon as you leave Australia. This will happen no matter the reason for your travel or the length of time you travel for.

Your payment may continue if you travel to a country we have a social security agreement with.

No other DSP travel rules will apply.

Leaving Australia to live in another country

If you leave Australia to live in another country, your DSP will stop when you depart. This is unless one of these apply:

• you are terminally ill and returning to your country of origin, or to be with or near a family member
• you left Australia before 1 July 2004, we advised we’d pay you indefinitely and you haven’t returned to live in Australia
• you had a travel-specific medical assessment before leaving and you meet the manifest medical rules
• you had a travel-specific medical assessment before leaving and at the assessment we confirm that an appropriately qualified medical professional has diagnosed you with a permanent and severe disability that stops you from working
• you move to a country we have a social security agreement with and you can get DSP under that agreement.

In these situations you’ll keep getting DSP while you’re outside Australia, though the amount you get may change.

Leaving Australia temporarily

When you can get DSP for up to a total of 28 days

You can get DSP for up to a total of 28 days travel overseas in a 12 month period if your travel is temporary. It doesn’t matter if you make a single trip or multiple trips. It’s a total of 28 days for all of your overseas travel in a rolling 12 month period, not 28 days per trip.

Example of a single trip

Barbara gets DSP and has not travelled overseas for many years. On 5 September 2023 she goes on a holiday to France for 8 weeks. Barbara is paid DSP for the first 28 days of her holiday and then her payment stops. If Barbara has another overseas holiday before 5 September 2024 she will not get paid DSP as she does not have any days of payment left.

Example of multiple trips

Cathy gets DSP and has never travelled overseas. On 3 March 2023 she goes on a holiday to Fiji for 10 days. Cathy is paid DSP for the 10 days of her holiday. On 21 August 2023 she goes on a 4 week holiday to the Philippines. She is paid for the first 18 days of her travel and then her DSP stops as she has no days of payment overseas left. If Cathy has another overseas holiday before 3 March 2024 she will not get paid DSP as she does not have any days of payment available. On 3 March 2024 she will have 10 days payment overseas available. On 21 August 2024 she will have another 18 days payment overseas available.

When you may get DSP for more than 28 days

You may get DSP for more than 28 days in a 12 month period if any of the following apply:

• you are studying outside Australia as part of a full time Australian course
• you are severely disabled and depend on, and live with, a family member posted outside Australia temporarily for work
• you had a travel-specific medical assessment before leaving and you meet the manifest medical rules
• you had a travel-specific medical assessment before leaving and at the assessment we confirm that an appropriately qualified medical professional has diagnosed you with a permanent and severe disability that stops you from working
• you go to a country we have a social security agreement with and you can get DSP under that agreement.

If you’ve already travelled overseas for 28 days in 12 months, you may still get DSP if you travel again. You may get it for up to 28 days per trip. But you must be travelling for one of these approved reasons:

• to attend an acute family crisis - for example to visit a family member who is critically ill
• for specific humanitarian reasons - for example to adopt a child or attend custody proceedings
• to get eligible medical treatment that is not available in Australia
• to take part in the Paralympic Games
• to take part in a qualification or preparation event in the 12 months before the Paralympic Games.

If you can’t return to Australia due to unforeseen circumstances

We may be able to extend your payment of DSP overseas if certain unforeseen circumstances occur. Contact us if:

• you’re temporarily overseas
• your DSP is about to reduce or stop
• you can’t return to Australia due to unforeseen circumstances - this includes a serious illness or natural disaster.

If you have a Pensioner Concession Card, it will cancel after you’ve been temporarily overseas for 6 weeks.

Travelling to a country with an international social security agreement

You may get DSP overseas if all of these apply:

• you go to a country we have a social security agreement with
• the agreement covers DSP
• you’re severely disabled
• you meet all the rules under the agreement.

The amount you’ll get under the agreement may be different to your current DSP rate.