Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 1991 No. 46, 1991 - SECT 1216

1216. (1) If:

   (a)  a person is receiving:

        (i)    a wife pension; or

        (ii)   a widow B pension; and

   (b)  the person leaves Australia on or after 1 July 1990; and

   (c)  the person continues to be absent from Australia for a period of 12
        months; and

   (d)  on the day after the 12 month period ends the person is in a specified
        foreign country; subject to subsection (2), the person is not
        disqualified for the pension after the 12 months period ends.

(2) If, after the 12 month period ends, the person enters a country that is
not a specified foreign country, the person is disqualified for wife or widow
B pension as from the time when the person enters that country.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the person enters that country as a
transit passenger on an unbroken journey between 2 specified foreign
countries. Note 1: for the period of 12 months after the person leaves
Australia the person's right to continue receiving a wife or widow B pension
is not affected by the person leaving Australia. Note 2: this section only
applies to a wife or widow B pension and does not apply to a special needs
wife or widow B pension. Note 3: if a person lodges a claim for the pension
before leaving Australia and the pension is granted to the person after the
person has left Australia, the person is to be taken to have been receiving
the pension as from the earliest day on which the pension is payable to the
person (see subsection 23 (2)). Note 4: this section may not apply if a
scheduled international social security agreement makes provision inconsistent
with this section.
Note 5: for "specified foreign country" see subsections 23 (1) and 37 (1).
Note 6: for effects of a person returning to Australia see section 1217.