Residence requirements
To claim and qualify for Sickness Allowance, you must be an Australian resident and living in Australia on the day you lodge your claim.
To qualify as an Australian resident you must be living in Australia as:
- an Australian citizen, or
- the holder of a permanent resident visa, or
- a New Zealand citizen who was in Australia on 26 February 2001, or for 12 months in the 2 years immediately before that date, or was assessed as 'protected' before 26 February 2004.*
You also need to meet a 104-week newly arrived resident's waiting period or be exempt from this requirement, for example if you are a refugee or the partner of an Australian citizen.
*If you arrived in Australia on a New Zealand passport after 26 February 2001 and have lived here continuously for at least 10 years since 26 February 2001, you may qualify for payment of NSA, YA or SA for up to 6 months. If you qualify for payment under this exemption you will not need to serve the 104-week newly arrived resident's waiting period.
More information
On the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website