Australia's International Social Security Agreements

Australia has formal social security agreements with particular countries to make sure you continue to get social security protection when you move between the agreement countries.

on this page

• With what countries does Australia have agreements?
• Agreement with the United Kingdom
• Agreement between Australia and Greece
• Who do agreements help?
• How do agreements help?
• How much pension do I get paid under an agreement?
• How do I claim a foreign pension while in Australia?
• How do I claim an Australian pension while outside Australia?

With what countries does Australia have agreements?

Australia has agreements with 23 countries to share the responsibility for social security coverage. These agreements are with:

You can view Australia's International Social Security Agreements,factsheets with specific information on each country, in the Publications section of the website. There is also more information about International Agreements on the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website.

Negotiations for other new agreements are under way with a number of other countries.

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Agreement with the United Kingdom

The agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) ended on 1 March 2001. If you were getting benefits under the agreement on 1 March 2001, you will continue to get those payments.

If you are an Australian resident who migrated to Australia on or before 1 March 2000, the date on which Australia served notice of termination of the agreement on the UK, you will continue to have your UK contributions recognised for grants of Australian Age Pension.

For information on claiming UK pensions, paying voluntary contributions or on other matters relating to United Kingdom social security, visit the following UK Government websites:

• HM Revenue & Customs
• Department of Work & Pensions
• The Pension Service

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Agreement between Australia and Greece

Have you lodged your Greek Old Age Pension claim form with Centrelink?

In October 2008 Centrelink wrote to 50,000 Australians who may be entitled to receive a Greek Old Age Pension.

If you received a Greek pension claim form from Centrelink and have not already lodged it, it is important that you return the form as soon as possible, or contact Centrelink to discuss whether a claim needs to be lodged.

If you do not return the form or contact us, Centrelink will be required by law to consider suspending payment of your Australian Age Pension.

Claim forms can be posted to Centrelink International Services (GPO Box 273, Hobart TAS 7001) or lodged at any Centrelink Customer Service Centre.

For more information call Centrelink International Services on 13 1673, or Centrelink Multilingual Call on 13 1202 to talk in a language other than English.

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Who do agreements help?

Agreements help if you have lived in Australia and in an agreement country and have been covered by that other country's social insurance scheme. They only cover pensions, e.g. Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment (adult), Carer Payment (child) and Parenting Payment (Single) and payments covered vary with different agreements.

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How do agreements help?

Agreements can help by:

• adding together your periods of social insurance (or residence in some cases) in an agreement country and your periods of Australian residence to meet the minimum qualifying residence periods for an Australian pension or a pension from the agreement country.
• overcoming payment restrictions by the agreement country based on citizenship or country of residence.
• enabling you, in some cases, to lodge a claim for a benefit under an agreement while living in a country other than the 2 countries that are party to the agreement.

Note: This is only possible if you live in a country which will accept claims under other international social security agreements, and are claiming a pension under an agreement that allows 3rd-country claims.

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How much pension do I get paid under an agreement?

Each country usually pays you a part pension. Foreign pension rates are usually proportional to the length of your social insurance period. Australian pensions are usually paid at a proportional rate abroad, and as top up pension inside Australia. For the Australian pension, some foreign welfare supplement payments are not treated as income.

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How do I claim a foreign pension while in Australia?

You can get a claim form for a foreign pension from any agreement country posted to you in Australia by contacting Centrelink International Services on 13 1673 or by visiting any Centrelink Customer Service Centre.

You can only get a claim form for a foreign pension from a non-agreement country by contacting the social security authority in that country. You can get contact details for many countries, or help with your claim by visiting any Centrelink Customer Service Centre or Telephoning Centrelink.

Note: To claim an Australian Age Pension, you must take steps to get a pension from the country you lived in, or provide a reason why a claim would be unsuccessful.

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How do I claim an Australian pension while outside Australia?

If you are living in an Agreement country, you can claim an Australian pension by:

• visiting the relevant offices of the social security authority in any agreement country
• telephoning Centrelink International Services on our International Numbers, or
• downloading our International Claim Forms.

You cannot claim an Australian pension unless you are residing in Australia OR an Agreement country.

Note: To claim an Australian Age Pension, you must take steps to get a pension from the country you lived in, or provide a reason why a claim would be unsuccessful.