SOCIAL SECURITY (INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS) ACT 1999

SCHEDULE 2 - ITALY  

Note: See section 5.

PART A AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY  

PART II - PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS  

AUSTRALIAN BENEFITS  

ARTICLE 8   Calculation of Australian Benefits  

1.    
Subject to the provisions of this Article, where an Australian benefit, other than a double orphan pension, is payable under this agreement or otherwise to a person who is outside Australia, the rate of that benefit shall be determined according to the legislation of Australia but, when assessing the income of that person for the purposes of calculating the rate of the Australian benefit, benefits paid or due under the legislation of Italy shall be assessed in the following way:

(a) any Italian integration and/or social supplement and family benefit for the dependants of pensioners included in the total amount of that Italian benefit shall be disregarded;

(b) the social pension paid by Italy as non-contributory welfare support shall be disregarded; and

(c) only a proportion of any other Italian benefit shall be assessed by multiplying the number of whole months of Australian working life residence used for that person (but not exceeding 300) by the amount of that other Italian benefit and by dividing the result by 300.

2.    
A person referred to in paragraph 1 shall be entitled to receive the concessional treatment of income described in sub-paragraph (c) only for any period during which the rate of that person ' s Australian benefit is proportionalised.

3.    
Subject to the related provisions in this Article, where an Australian benefit, other than a double orphan pension, is payable under this agreement to a person who is an Australian resident and in Australia, the rate of that benefit shall be determined by:

(a) calculating that person ' s income according to the legislation of Australia but disregarding in that calculation any Italian benefit (including any Italian integration and/or social supplement and family benefit for dependants of pensioners) to which that person is entitled;

(b) deducting that Italian benefit (including any Italian integration and/or social supplement and family benefit for dependants of pensioners) from the maximum rate of the Australian benefit; and

(c) applying to the Australian benefit remaining, after the application of sub-paragraph (b), the relevant rate calculation set out in the legislation of Australia, using as the person ' s income the result from the application of sub-paragraph (a).

4.    
For the purposes of this Article and for the application of the legislation of Australia, where a member of a couple is, or both his or her partner are, entitled to receive an Italian benefit or benefits, each of them shall be deemed to be in receipt of one half of either the amount of that benefit or of the total of the benefits, as the case may be.