Two bases

Way 4 of 5: about half the year in each. About half the year overseas and half at home. Warm weather twice, and the family close for the moments that matter.

A couple stand between a Queenslander house and a tropical apartment linked by a flight path, for two bases

Is this the right step for you?

Who it suits

  • You have tried a long stay and want it every year
  • You want to stay close to family and keep your doctor at home
  • You can afford to run two homes

Probably not yet if

  • Paying for two places would stretch your budget
  • You dislike long flights twice a year

What changes on two bases

Your Age Pension
Keeps paying. On each trip, the Pension Supplement stops after 12 weeks, and past 26 weeks your rate can be reduced if you have less than 35 years of working-life residence.
Your house
Stays your home. You pay for two: rent or buy something overseas as well.
Visa
One that allows long, repeated stays. Malaysia's 90 days on arrival suits shorter halves; Thailand's Non-O and Malaysia's MM2H programme suit longer ones. In Europe, 90 days in any 180 limits a Schengen base.
Health cover
Australian citizens who live here and travel for part of the year stay enrolled in Medicare. You still need cover for the months away.
Tax
Usually an Australian resident, because your home and life stay here. The ATO looks at your whole situation and does not set a rule for half a year away, so ask a registered tax agent.
Coming home
You already do, every year. From the day you return, your rate is no longer reduced for time away, and supplements come back if you still qualify.

General information, checked 19 October 2026 against Services Australia, the ATO and Smartraveller. Your situation may differ.

The steps, in order

  1. Pick a base you have already tried for a long stay
  2. Choose a visa that allows repeat stays
  3. Decide whether to rent or buy the overseas base
  4. Plan your health cover for both halves of the year
  5. Tell Services Australia before each trip of more than 6 weeks

Two bases, in pictures

Two house keys, one with a gum leaf tag and one with a frangipani tag, for keeping two bases in retirement
Two sets of keys.
A retired woman waters pots on an apartment balcony by the sea, at the overseas half of a two-base retirement
Back at the overseas base.
A retired couple on a sofa video call their grandchildren on a tablet, keeping in touch between two bases
A video call with the grandchildren.
A blank year calendar split into two blocks beside two suitcases, for dividing the year between two homes
A year split between two places.

Talk it through for your situation

On a free Zoom call we will help you work out which way suits you, where to go and who with.

No pressure and no card details. You decide what comes next.