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NOTING the Reciprocal Agreement on Social Security signed on the fourth day of July 1988, as amended by a Protocol signed on the eleventh day of October 1990, and

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HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

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• 1 In this Agreement:

  Canadian creditable period

  Canadian creditable period means a period, or the total of two or more periods, of residence or contributions which has been or can be used to acquire the right to a Canadian benefit, but does not include any period considered under paragraph 2 of Article 9 as a Canadian creditable period;

  partner

  partner when used in relation to the grant, payment or calculation of rate of an Australian benefit, means partner as defined in the legislation of Australia;

  period of Australian working life residence

  period of Australian working life residence means, in relation to a person, a period defined as such in the legislation of Australia, but does not include any period deemed pursuant to Article 6 to be a period in which that person was an Australian resident;

  previous agreement

  previous agreement means the Reciprocal Agreement on Social Security between the Government of Canada and the Government of Australia signed on the fourth day of July 1988, as amended by a Protocol signed on the eleventh day of October 1990;

  social security laws

  social security laws means:

  • (i) in relation to Australia, the Acts forming the social security law, including regulations made thereunder, as amended; and

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• 1 Subject to paragraph 2, this Agreement shall apply to the following laws, as amended at the date of signature of this Agreement, and to any laws that subsequently amend, supplement or replace them:

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• 4 Where, under the legislation of Australia, a new category of beneficiaries has arisen as described in paragraph 3, no qualification for benefits in that category shall exist until the expiration of the period set out in that paragraph.

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• 1 Where a person to whom this Agreement applies has claimed an Australian benefit under this Agreement and has accumulated:

  • (a) a period as an Australian resident that is less than the period required to qualify that person, on that ground, for a benefit under the legislation of Australia; and

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• 5 For the purposes of this Article:

  • (a) where a period of Australian working life residence and a Canadian creditable period coincide, the period of coincidence shall be taken into account once only as a period in which that person was an Australian resident; and

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• 1 Subject to paragraph 2, where an Australian benefit is payable whether by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise to a person who is outside Australia, the rate of that benefit shall be determined according to the social security laws of Australia but:

  • (a) disregarding in the calculation of his or her income:

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    • (iii) other Canadian federal, provincial or territorial welfare payments of a similar character which are income or means tested, as mutually agreed by the competent authorities; and

  • (b) by assessing as income of that person and, where applicable that person’s partner, only a proportion of any other benefit received by that person and, where applicable that person’s partner, under the legislation of Canada calculated by multiplying the number of whole months, plus one, accumulated by that person in a period of Australian working life residence, but not exceeding 300, by the amount of that benefit and dividing that product by 300.

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• 3 Where an Australian benefit is payable only by virtue of this Agreement to a person who is in Australia, the rate of that benefit shall be determined by:

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  • (c) applying to the remaining benefit obtained under subparagraph (b) the relevant rate calculation set out in the Australian legislation, using as the person’s income the amount calculated under subparagraph (a).

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• 5 For the purposes of paragraph 4, a comparison of the rates of a benefit determined in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be made as at:

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  • (b) each anniversary of that pension pay-day for so long as the person concerned is entitled to the benefit, using, in that comparison, the number of months in the period of Australian working life residence accumulated by the person at the date as at which the comparison is made.

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• 2

  • (a) For the purposes of determining eligibility for a benefit under the Old Age Security Act, a period of Australian working life residence shall be considered as a period of residence in Canada.

  • (b) For the purposes of determining eligibility for a benefit under the Canada Pension Plan, a calendar year which includes a period of Australian working life residence of at least 6 calendar months shall be considered as a year for which contributions have been made under the Canada Pension Plan.

• 3 For the purposes of this Article, where a Canadian creditable period and a period of Australian working life residence coincide, the period of coincidence shall be taken into account once only as a Canadian creditable period.

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• 3 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement:

  • (a) the competent authority of Canada shall not pay a pension under the Old Age Security Act to a person outside Canada unless his or her Canadian creditable period accumulated under that Act and period of Australian working life residence, when totalised as provided in Article 9, are at least equal to the minimum period of residence in Canada required by the Old Age Security Act for payment of a pension outside Canada; and

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• 1 If a person is not eligible for a benefit solely on the basis of the periods creditable under the Canada Pension Plan, but is eligible for that benefit through the totalising of periods as provided in Article 9, the competent institution of Canada shall calculate the amount of the earnings-related portion of such benefit under the provisions of the Canada Pension Plan, exclusively on the basis of the pensionable earnings under the Canada Pension Plan.

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• 1 The date on which a claim, notice or appeal concerning the determination or payment of a benefit under the legislation of one Party is lodged with the competent authority or competent institution of the other Party shall be treated, for all purposes concerning the matter to which it relates, as the date of lodgement of that document with the competent authority or competent institution of the first Party.

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• 3 Where qualification for an Australian benefit is subject to limitations as to time, reference to Australia in those limitations shall be read also as references to Canada.

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• 6 If a person is receiving a carer payment under this Agreement, references to Australia in the provisions relating to qualification and payability of carer payment shall also be read as references to Canada.

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• 1 The competent authorities and competent institutions shall:

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  • (c) lend their good offices and furnish assistance to one another with regard to the determination or payment of any benefit under this Agreement or any other entitlement under the respective social security laws as if the matter involved the application of their own laws; and

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• 3 Any information about a person which is transmitted in accordance with this Agreement to a competent authority or competent institution shall be protected in the same manner as information obtained under the social security laws of that Party and shall be disclosed only in the manner permitted by the laws of that Party.

• 4 In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 be construed so as to impose on the competent authority or competent institution of a Party the obligation:

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• 2 If the relevant authority of Australia and a province of Canada conclude such an understanding, then any references in the legislation of Australia to a scheduled international agreement with a foreign country shall be read also as references to a scheduled instrument of understanding between Australia and a province of Canada.

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• 4 Unless the Parties mutually determine otherwise, the arbitral tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators, of whom each Party shall appoint one and the two arbitrators so appointed shall appoint a third who shall act as president; provided that if the two arbitrators fail to agree, the President of the International Court of Justice shall be requested to appoint the president.

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• 1 Subject to this Agreement, in determining the eligibility of a person for a benefit payable by virtue of this Agreement:

  • (a) a period as an Australian resident and/or a Canadian creditable period; and

  shall be taken into account in so far as those periods or those events are applicable in regard to that person, no matter when they were accumulated or occurred.

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This Agreement shall enter into force on a date specified in notes exchanged by the Parties through the diplomatic channel notifying each other that all matters as are necessary to give effect to this Agreement have been finalised.

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