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New Zealand and Australia have had a bilateral Social Security Agreement since 1948. It has been updated several times. The current Agreement has been in operation since 2002.
The Agreement covers only payments to older people and those with severe disabilities. For older people the Agreement covers Australian Age Pension and New Zealand Superannuation, and for the severely disabled the Agreement covers Australian Disability Support Pension, New Zealand Invalids Benefit, and Australian Carer payment to partners of the severely disabled.
The Australian Government introduced changes to residency and citizenship arrangements for New Zealanders moving to Australia after February 2001. Apart from age pensions and for severe disability, only New Zealanders who are permanent residents or citizens of Australia can qualify for most social security benefits, including unemployment and sickness benefits.
Australians in New Zealand are treated as being equivalent to New Zealanders in their access to social welfare services.
The Social Security Agreement is supplemented by the Reciprocal Health Agreement, which provides for “immediately necessary” hospital treatment of short term visitors (see below.)
and the Child Support Agreement, which provides for the mutual recognition and enforcement of child support assessments across the Tasman (see below).
State oversight of education provision in Australia means there are differences between States in the access resident New Zealanders have to subsidise higher education services.
Further information on reciprocal benefits and pensions is available at the following:
