Pensioner Concession Card overseas: what happens after 6 weeks

What happens to my Pensioner Concession Card when I go overseas?

It keeps working for the first 6 weeks of a trip, then Services Australia cancels it until you come home. Move overseas to live and it’s cancelled the day you leave. It’s one of the 6, 12 and 26-week rules for pensioners overseas.

The card also hangs off your main payment, so if your Age Pension stops for any reason while you’re away, the card goes with it.

Your situation	Your Pensioner Concession Card
A trip of up to 6 weeks	Stays current, as long as you are still getting your pension.
A trip longer than 6 weeks	Cancelled after 6 weeks.
Leaving to live in another country	Cancelled on the day you depart.
Stuck overseas by illness or disaster	Still cancelled after 6 weeks, even if your pension is protected.
Back in Australia	Issued again from the date you return, or once your payment restarts.

You don’t have to cancel it yourself. Australia’s immigration department tells Services Australia when you leave and when you come back.

What does the card do for me in Australia?

Services Australia says the card gives you cheaper medicines, bulk billed doctor visits and help with hearing services. If you get the Age Pension it’s sent to you automatically, with no need to apply.

Services Australia says some state and territory governments and local councils offer other benefits to card holders, such as lower rates on some bills. What they offer varies, and so does whether they need a current card, so check with each one before a long trip.

Can I use my Pensioner Concession Card overseas?

Not for its main benefits. The cheaper medicines come through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and Services Australia says you can’t get medicines under the PBS once you leave Australia. Smartraveller says Medicare doesn’t pay for treatment overseas, so there’s no bulk billing there either. Our guide on Medicare overseas covers what still helps.

Once you’re away, then, the card matters for two things: what you set up before you leave, and any concessions at home that lapse while you’re gone.

Even if you are stranded, the card still goes after 6 weeks. Services Australia says your pension may not reduce or stop if a serious illness, a public health crisis or a natural disaster keeps you from getting home. Your Pensioner Concession Card is still cancelled after 6 weeks away, though, so plan for any concession that matters to you.

What should I sort out before a long trip?

Anything that needs a current card, starting with these:

1. Fill your prescriptions before you go, while your card is current and you’re still in Australia. Take only enough for your own trip, in the original packs, with a doctor’s letter. Our guide to taking PBS medicines overseas has the rules.
2. Ask the providers of any concessions on household bills whether the concession pauses after 6 weeks, and what you need to do when you return.
3. If you’ll be away more than 6 weeks, tell Services Australia through myGov or on 132 300.
4. Keep your card. Services Australia will issue it again when you’re back and eligible.

Do I get my card back when I come home?

Yes, if you qualify. Services Australia’s operational guidance says Australian residents who return are issued a concession card from the date they return, or once their payment has restarted.

Usually you don’t need to tell Services Australia you’re back. Ring them if your payment or card stopped while you were away and hasn’t come back on its own. Their guidance says a payment that stopped while you were overseas can generally be restored if you return within 13 weeks of it stopping. Our guide to returning to Australia covers the rest.

How does this play out on a real trip?

An example, not real people. Jan is 71, single, on the Age Pension, and owns her home. She spends 10 weeks in Penang over the Australian winter, leaving on 15 June, which is the kind of trip our page on spending part of the year overseas describes.

Date	What happens
Before 15 June	She fills her scripts at the concession price and gets a doctor’s letter.
15 June	She leaves. Her card and pension carry on as normal.
About 27 July (6 weeks)	Her card is cancelled. Her Energy Supplement of A$14.10 a fortnight stops.
24 August	She flies home, inside 12 weeks, so her Pension Supplement was never affected.
From 24 August	Her card is issued again and her Energy Supplement restarts.

Missing the Energy Supplement for about 4 weeks costs her about A$28. The bigger risk for Jan is any concession at home that she forgot needed a current card.

What if I have a different card?

Each card has its own travel rules. The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card and the Health Care Card each get a separate page in Services Australia’s list of payments while outside Australia, so check the one for the card you actually hold.

What this means for you depends on

• How long you will be away: under 6 weeks, 6 to 12 weeks, or longer.
• Whether you are travelling or moving to live overseas.
• Which state or council concessions you use, and what each one needs.
• Your medicines, and how much you need for the trip.
• Whether your partner travels with you. The rules apply to each person’s own time away.

This is general information. For your own situation, ring Services Australia on 132 300. You can also book a free planning session on Zoom, and we’ll point you to whoever can answer them.