Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY AMENDMENT ACT 1987 No. 77, 1987 - SCHEDULE 3

SCHEDULE 3
Section 49
SCHEDULE 3
Section 83AG AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE GOVERNMENT
OF NEW ZEALAND
PROVIDING FOR RECIPROCITY IN MATTERS RELATING TO SOCIAL SECURITY The
Government of Australia, and The Government of New Zealand, WISHING to
strengthen the existing friendly relations between the two countries, and
DESIRING to co-ordinate the operation of their respective social security
systems and to enhance the equitable access by people who move between
Australia and New Zealand to social security benefits provided for under the
laws of both countries, HAVE agreed as follows:
PART I-INTERPRETATION AND SCOPE
ARTICLE 1
Interpretation 1. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:

   (a)  "Australian benefit" means a benefit referred to in Article 2 in
        relation to Australia;

   (b)  "benefit" means Australian benefit or New Zealand benefit;

   (c)  "competent authority" means, in the case of Australia, the Secretary
        to the Department of Social Security or an authorised representative
        of the Secretary and, in the case of New Zealand, the Social Security
        Commission of New Zealand or, if either no longer exists, such other
        officer or body as the responsible Minister for the Contracting Party
        concerned notifies to the responsible Minister for the other
        Contracting Party;

   (d)  "New Zealand benefit" means a benefit referred to in Article 2 in
        relation to New Zealand; and

   (e)  "social security laws" means:

        (i)    in relation to Australia, the Social Security Act 1947, and any
               Act passed in substitution for that Act, as amended, but not
               including amendments effected by laws made by Australia for the
               purposes of giving effect to an agreement on social security;
               and

        (ii)   in relation to New Zealand, the Social Security Act 1964, and
               any Act passed in substitution for that Act, as amended. 2.
               This Agreement applies:

   (a)  in relation to Australia, to its external territories in the same
        manner as the social security laws of Australia apply to those
        territories; and

   (b)  in relation to New Zealand, to New Zealand only and not to the Cook
        Islands, Niue or Tokelau,
and references to "Australia", "New Zealand" or "territory" in relation to
either of them shall be read accordingly. 3. In the application of this
Agreement by a Contracting Party, any term not defined in this Agreement
shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has
under the legislation within the scope of this Agreement, in relation to that
Contracting Party, by virtue of Article 2.
ARTICLE 2
Legislative Scope 1. The legislation within the scope of this Agreement is:

   (a)  in relation to Australia: the Social Security Act 1947 as amended at
        the date of signature of this Agreement and any legislation that
        subsequently amends, supplements or replaces that Act, in so far as
        that Act and that legislation provide for and in relation to the
        following benefits:

        (i)    age pensions;

        (ii)   invalid pensions;

        (iii)  wives' pensions;

        (iv)   carers' pensions;

        (v)    widows' pensions;

        (vi)   supporting parents' benefits;

        (vii)  unemployment benefits;

        (viii) sickness benefits;

        (ix)   double orphans' pensions; and

        (x)    family allowances; and

   (b)  in relation to New Zealand: the Social Security Act 1964 as amended at
        the date of signature of this Agreement and any legislation that
        subsequently amends, supplements or replaces that Act, in so far as
        that Act and that legislation provide for and in relation to the
        following benefits:

        (i)    national superannuation;

        (ii)   invalids' benefits;

        (iii)  widows' benefits;

        (iv)   domestic purposes benefits;

        (v)    unemployment benefits;

        (vi)   sickness benefits;

        (vii)  orphans' benefits; and

        (viii) family benefits. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph
               1, the legislation within the scope of this Agreement shall not
               include any laws made, whether before or after the date of
               signature of this Agreement, for the purpose of giving effect
               to any bilateral agreement on social security entered into by
               either Contracting Party. 3. The competent authorities of the
               Contracting Parties shall notify each other of legislation that
               amends, supplements or replaces the legislation within the
               scope of this Agreement in relation to their respective
               Contracting Parties, promptly after the first-mentioned
               legislation is enacted.
ARTICLE 3
Personal Scope This Agreement shall apply to persons who move between
Australia and New Zealand and who are residing in either or both of Australia
and New Zealand.
ARTICLE 4
Equality of Treatment 1. The persons to whom this Agreement applies shall be
treated equally by each of the Contracting Parties in regard to rights and
obligations which arise by virtue of this Agreement in relation to each
Contracting Party. 2. Subject to this Agreement, the citizens of each of the
Contracting Parties shall be treated equally in the application of the social
security laws of Australia and of New Zealand and, in any case in which
entitlement to a benefit payable under those laws by a Contracting Party
depends, in whole or in part, on citizenship of that Contracting Party, a
person who is a citizen of the other Contracting Party shall, for the purposes
of a claim for that benefit, deemed to be a citizen of the first-mentioned
Contracting Party.
PART II-RESIDENCE
ARTICLE 5
Entitlement to Benefits During Residence or Presence in a Country A person
shall not be entitled, by virtue of this Agreement, to the benefits payable by
a Contracting Party unless that person:

   (a)  is residing permanently in the territory of that Contracting Party; or

   (b)  has been in that territory for a period of 6 months (without regard to
        any earlier periods spent in that territory), and otherwise meets the
        requirements of the social security laws of that Contracting Party in
        relation to those benefits.
ARTICLE 6
Recognition by One Country of Residence in the Other Country 1. Where a person
is residing in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties and is a
claimant for a benefit payable by that Contracting Party, each period of
residence accumulated by that claimant or, as appropriate, by a related person
in the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be deemed, for the
purposes of the claim for that benefit, to be a period of residence by that
claimant or related person in the territory of the first-mentioned Contracting
Party. 2. In paragraph 1:

   (a)  "related person" means:

        (i)    the spouse of the claimant;

        (ii)   the last deceased spouse of the claimant;

        (iii)  a child in respect of whom the benefit referred to in paragraph
               1 is claimed; or

        (iv)   the last surviving parent, or the deceased parent formerly
               responsible for the care and control, of the claimant,
as the circumstances require; and

   (b)  "benefit" does not include unemployment benefit. 3. For the purposes
        of the social security laws of Australia relating to family allowance,
        a period of residence accumulated in New Zealand by a person, and by a
        child in respect of whom that benefit is claimed by that person, shall
        be deemed to be a period in which the person and the child had been in
        Australia.
ARTICLE 7
Country of Residence 1. Subject to paragraph 2, the question whether a person
is or, at any past time, was residing in the territory of one of the
Contracting Parties for the purposes of this Agreement shall be determined by
reference to the domestic laws of that Contracting Party. 2. Where, for a
period, a person is a resident of both Australia and New Zealand, that period
shall be counted:

   (a)  in relation to a claim for an Australian benefit, only as a period of
        residence in Australia; and

   (b)  in relation to a claim for a New Zealand benefit, only as a period of
        residence in New Zealand.
PART III-PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS
ARTICLE 8
Commencement of Benefits Where a person:

   (a)  moves permanently from the territory of one Contracting Party to the
        territory of the other Contracting Party and arrives in the
        last-mentioned territory not more than 12 weeks after his or her
        departure from the first-mentioned territory; and

   (b)  immediately prior to his or her departure, was paid a benefit by the
        first-mentioned Contracting Party, any benefit that is payable,
        whether by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise, to that person by
        that other Contracting Party shall be paid with effect from a date
        conforming with the pattern of payments for the benefit payable to the
        person, being a date not later than the date succeeding that on which
        the first-mentioned benefit ceased to be paid.
ARTICLE 9
Payment of Supplementary and Additional Amounts Where a benefit is payable by
a Contracting Party by virtue of this Agreement to or in respect of a person,
there shall also be payable any supplement or additional amount that is
payable, in addition to that benefit, to or in respect of a person who
qualifies for that supplement or additional amount under the social security
laws of that Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 10
Entitlement to Payment by New Zealand of National Superannuation 1. A person
shall be entitled by virtue of this Agreement to the payment by New Zealand of
national superannuation only if:

   (a)  that person is of an age at which an age pension may be payable to the
        person; and

   (b)  the income and assets of the person are such as would entitle the
        person to the payment of an age pension, under the social security
        laws of Australia. 2. The rate of national superannuation payable by
        New Zealand by virtue of this Agreement to a person shall be subject
        to deduction of the amount of any Australian benefit payable to that
        person, in the same manner as the rate of national superannuation may
        be reduced under the social security laws of New Zealand by the amount
        of any overseas benefit, pension or periodical allowance, or part
        thereof, that is payable to a person entitled to receive a benefit
        under those laws.
ARTICLE 11
New Zealand Widows', Domestic Purposes and Orphans' Benefits Where a widow's
benefit, a domestic purposes benefit or an orphan's benefit would be payable
by New Zealand but for the fact that a child to whom that benefit would relate
was born in Australia, that child shall, for the purposes of a claim for that
benefit, be deemed to have been born in New Zealand.
ARTICLE 12
Restriction on Dual Entitlement to Certain Benefits Where a benefit specified
in one of the columns set out in the following table has been paid by the
Contracting Party named at the head of that column to or in respect of a
person who is residing in the territory of that Contracting Party, that
benefit shall cease to be payable if the other Contracting Party pays, to or
in respect of that person while he or she is in the territory of the other
Contracting Party, a benefit specified in the other column of that table.
Table
Australian Benefit                      New Zealand Benefit

Family Allowance                        Family Benefit

Double Orphan's Pension                 Orphan's Benefit

ARTICLE 13
Unemployment Benefit 1. This Article applies to any person who is a citizen of
one of the Contracting Parties and who is in the territory of the other
Contracting Party. 2. Subject to paragraph 4, a person to whom this Article
applies shall be entitled to the payment of unemployment benefit by a
Contracting Party only if the person:

   (a)  has been continuously present in the territory of that Contracting
        Party for not less than 6 months since the date of his or her most
        recent arrival in that territory;

   (b)  is residing in that territory on the date on which the person lodges a
        claim for that benefit and resides or has resided there throughout the
        period in respect of which the claim is lodged;

   (c)  satisfies the competent authority of that Contracting Party, by
        reference to the person's circumstances, or his or her work history in
        that territory, that the person has permanently settled in that
        territory; and

   (d)  meets those criteria which are specified for that benefit by the
        social security laws of that Contracting Party in regard to age,
        unemployment, capability and willingness to undertake suitable work,
        efforts to obtain such work and non-receipt of other benefits. 3. For
        the purposes of sub-paragraph 2 (c):

   (a)  a person shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements in relation to
        work history in the territory of a Contracting Party if, since the
        date referred to in sub-paragraph 2 (a), the person has undertaken:

        (i)    in relation to Australia, paid work for 8 weeks of at least 30
               hours per week; or

        (ii)   in relation to New Zealand, 8 weeks full employment;

   (b)  consideration of a person's circumstances shall include consideration
        of

        (i)    the person's family arrangements;

        (ii)   the housing or accommodation arrangements of the person and, if
               applicable, of the spouse and children of the person, whether
               in the territory of the Contracting Party concerned, of the
               other Contracting Party or elsewhere, including actions such as
               the purchase or lease of a home in the first-mentioned
               territory and the disposal of a former home in the other
               territory or elsewhere; and

        (iii)  the arrangements made by the person in regard to any bank or
               comparable accounts, the transfer, disposal or location of any
               property, and taxation clearances. 4. Where a person to whom
               this Article applies has been resident in the territory of a
               Contracting Party for the period of 12 months immediately
               preceding the date on which the person lodges a claim for
               unemployment benefit in that territory, the person shall be
               required to meet, in relation to that claim, only the criteria
               specified for that benefit by the social security laws of that
               Contracting Party. 5. For the purposes of paragraph 4, a period
               of residence in the territory of a Contracting Party in
               relation to a person shall include any period or periods of
               temporary absence by that person from that territory that do
               not exceed in the aggregate 2 calendar months, and that do not
               break the continuity of that period of residence.
ARTICLE 14
Supporting Parents' Benefit and Domestic Purposes Benefit 1. This Article
applies to any person who is a citizen of one of the Contracting Parties and
who is in the territory of the other Contracting Party. 2. Subject to
paragraph 3, a person to whom this Article applies shall not be granted a
supporting parents' benefit or a domestic purposes benefit by a Contracting
Party unless, in addition to meeting the requirements for that benefit of the
social security laws of that Contracting Party, the person has been
continuously present in the territory of that Contracting Party for not less
than 6 months since the date of his or her most recent arrival in that
territory. 3. Where a person to whom this Article applies has been resident in
the territory of a Contracting Party for the period of 12 months immediately
preceding the date on which the person lodges a claim, in Australia, for
supporting parents' benefit or, in New Zealand, for domestic purposes benefit,
the person shall be required to meet, in relation to that claim, only the
criteria specified for that benefit by the social security laws of that
Contracting Party. 4. For the purposes of paragraph 3, a period of residence
in the territory of a Contracting Party in relation to a person:

   (a)  shall include any period or periods of temporary absence by that
        person from that territory that do not exceed in the aggregate 2
        calendar months, and that do not break the continuity of that period
        of residence; and

   (b)  shall not include any period deemed by Article 6 to be a period of
        residence by the person in that territory.
ARTICLE 15
Wife's Pension and Carer's Pension A person who receives from Australia a
wife's pension or a carer's pension by virtue of the fact that the spouse of
that person receives, by virtue of this Agreement, an Australian benefit
shall, for the purposes of this Agreement, be deemed to receive that pension
by virtue of this Agreement.
PART IV-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 16
Lodgement of Claims 1. Subject to paragraph 3, a claim for a benefit, whether
payable by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise, may be lodged in the
territory of either of the Contracting Parties, in accordance with
administrative arrangements made pursuant to Article 20, at any time after the
Agreement enters into force. 2. Where a claim for a benefit payable by one of
the Contracting Parties is lodged in the territory of the other Contracting
Party in accordance with paragraph 1, the date on which the claim is lodged
shall be the date of lodgement of the claim for all purposes relating to the
claim. 3. Paragraph 1 applies, in relation to Australia, only to those
Australian benefits described as sickness benefit, double orphan's pension and
family allowance.
ARTICLE 17
Portability of Benefits for Temporary Absences Where a benefit is payable by
one of the Contracting Parties by virtue of this Agreement, that benefit shall
be payable, up to a period of 26 weeks, while the beneficiary is in the
territory of the other Contracting Party or outside the territory of both,
subject to the provisions of this Agreement and of the social security laws of
the first-mentioned Contracting Party other than, in relation to Australia,
those provisions precluding the payment of benefits outside Australia.
ARTICLE 18
Exclusion of New Zealand Benefits from Australian Income Test Where a benefit
is paid by Australia to a person who is in New Zealand and a benefit is also
paid by New Zealand to that person, the amount of the benefit paid by New
Zealand shall not be included in the income of that person for the purposes of
the social security laws of Australia.
ARTICLE 19
Recovery of Overpayments 1. Where:

   (a)  an amount paid by one of the Contracting Parties to a person in
        respect of a benefit exceeds the amount, if any, that is properly
        payable, whether by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise, in respect
        of that benefit; and

   (b)  a benefit is payable by the other Contracting Party to that person,
        whether by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise, the competent
        authority of that other Contracting Party shall, if requested by the
        other competent authority to do so, and in accordance with this
        Article, deduct the amount equivalent to the excess payment referred
        to in sub-paragraph (a) from amounts due in respect of the
        last-mentioned benefit. 2. The amount of an excess payment referred to
        in paragraph 1 shall be the amount determined by the competent
        authority of the Contracting Party by whom the excess payment was
        made. 3. The rate of deductions made in accordance with paragraph 1
        from amounts due in respect of a benefit, and any incidental or
        related matters, shall be determined by the competent authority of the
        Contracting Party by whom that benefit is payable, in accordance with
        the social security laws of that Contracting Party, including in
        particular those provisions which relate to deduction from, in the
        case of Australia, family allowance and, in the case of New Zealand,
        family benefit. 4. Where, in a case such as that described in
        sub-paragraph 1 (a), the person to whom the excess amount was paid by
        one of the Contracting Parties is in the territory of the other
        Contracting Party and is not in receipt of a benefit from that other
        Contracting Party, the competent authority of that other Contracting
        Party shall, if requested by the other competent authority to do so,
        endeavour to arrange with the person for the repayment to the
        first-mentioned Contracting Party of that excess amount. 5. Amounts
        deducted by one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with
        paragraph 1, and any amounts received by that Contracting Party
        pursuant to arrangements referred to in paragraph 4, shall be remitted
        to the other Contracting Party as agreed between the competent
        authorities or in administrative arrangements made pursuant to Article
        20. 6. In this Article, "benefit" is not limited to those benefits
        specified in Article 2.
ARTICLE 20
Administrative Arrangements 1. The competent authorities of the Contracting
Parties shall make whatever administrative arrangements are necessary from
time to time in order to implement this Agreement, and to enable benefits
payable by one of the Contracting Parties, whether by virtue of this Agreement
or otherwise, to persons who are residing in or in the territory of the other
Contracting Party to be paid to those persons on behalf of the first-mentioned
Contracting Party by that other Contracting Party. 2. Where arrangements of
the kind referred to in paragraph 1 are required to be made on a mutual basis,
the competent authorities shall co-operate, both in regard to matters
affecting the operation of both social security systems and of each of them.
3. A benefit payable by one of the Contracting Parties by virtue of this
Agreement shall be paid by that Contracting Party without deduction for
administrative fees and charges.
ARTICLE 21
Exchange of Information 1. The competent authorities of the Contracting
Parties shall, without limitation by Article 3, exchange such information as
is necessary for the operation of this Agreement or of the social security
laws of the Contracting Parties concerning all matters arising under this
Agreement or under those laws other than those matters referred to in the
social security laws of New Zealand as "Contributions Towards Cost of Domestic
Purposes Benefits for Solo Parents" and "Medical and Hospital Benefits and
other Related Benefits". 2. Any information received by the competent
authority of a Contracting Party pursuant to sub-paragraph 1 shall be
disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative
bodies) concerned with matters, including the determination of appeals,
arising under the provisions of this Agreement or the social security laws of
the Contracting Parties and shall be used for other purposes or disclosed to
other persons only with the prior consent of the competent authority who
provided the information. 3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1
and 2 be construed so as to impose on the competent authority of a Contracting
Party the obligation:

   (a)  to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws of the
        administrative practice of that or the other Contracting Party; or

   (b)  to supply particulars which are not obtainable under the laws or in
        the normal course of the administration of that or of the other
        Contracting Party. 4. Unless there are reasonable grounds for
        believing the contrary, any information received by a competent
        authority from the other competent authority shall be accepted as
        valid or true, as the case requires. 5. A Contracting Party shall not
        raise any charges against the other Contracting Party for services of
        an administrative nature rendered by that first-mentioned Contracting
        Party to the other in accordance with this Agreement or the
        administrative arrangements made pursuant to Article 20, but that
        other Contracting Party shall meet any costs or expenses which are
        reasonably incurred for those services and are payable to another
        person or organisation.
ARTICLE 22
Appeals 1. Any person who is affected by a determination, direction, decision
or approval made or given by the competent authority or an institution of a
Contracting Party, in relation to a matter arising by virtue of this
Agreement, shall have the same rights to the review, by administrative and
judicial bodies of that Contracting Party, of that determination, direction,
decision or approval as are provided under the domestic laws of that
Contracting Party. 2. Documents relating to appeals that may be made to
administrative bodies established by, or administratively for the purposes of,
the social security laws of Australia or New Zealand may be lodged in the
territory of the other Contracting Party, respectively, in accordance with
administrative arrangements made pursuant to Article 20 and any documents duly
lodged in that manner shall be regarded as duly lodged for the purposes of
those laws. 3. The date on which the document is duly lodged in the territory
of one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with paragraph 2 shall
determine whether that document is lodged within any time limit specified by
the laws or administrative practices of the other Contracting Party which
govern the appeal concerned.
ARTICLE 23
Review of Agreement The Contracting Parties may agree at any time to review
any of the provisions of this Agreement and, in any case, shall, within the
period of 3 years commencing on the date of signature of this Agreement,
review the present limitation on continuation of payment by a Contracting
Party of benefits to beneficiaries who move outside the territory of that
Contracting Party.
PART V-FINAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 24
Entry into Force 1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which
the Contracting Parties exchange notes through the diplomatic channel
notifying each other that the last of such things has been done as is
necessary to give this Agreement the force of law in Australia and in New
Zealand, as the case may be, and thereupon this Agreement shall have effect on
and from the date specified, for that purpose in that exchange of notes. 2.
When this Agreement commences to have effect, the Agreement on Social Security
between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand, signed
at Sydney on 15 April 1949, shall terminate but shall continue to have effect
in relation to all persons who, immediately prior to its termination, were in
receipt of a benefit paid by either or both of Australia and New Zealand by
virtue of that Agreement but such a person may elect to have his or her future
entitlement in respect of that benefit determined in accordance with this
Agreement.
ARTICLE 25
Termination 1. Subject to paragraph 2, this Agreement shall remain in force
until the expiration of 12 months from the date on which either Contracting
Party receives from the other written notice through the diplomatic channel of
the intention of the other Contracting Party to terminate this Agreement. 2.
In the event that this Agreement is terminated in accordance with paragraph 1,
the Agreement shall continue to have effect in relation to all persons who:

   (a)  at the date of termination, are in receipt of benefits; or

   (b)  prior to the expiry of the period referred to in that paragraph, have
        lodged claims for, and would be entitled to receive, benefits, by
        virtue of this Agreement. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly
        authorised thereto, have signed this Agreement. Done in duplicate at
        Melbourne this fifth day of October 1986.
FOR THE GOVERNMENT
OF AUSTRALIA:
                B. HOWE                 FOR THE GOVERNMENT

OF NEW ZEALAND:
G. ANSELL