Section 36 — Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986: Eligibility for age service pension

(1) Subject to subsection (4), a person is eligible for an age service pension if the person: (a) is a veteran; and (b) has rendered qualifying service; and (c) has reached pension age. Note 1A: For veteran see subsection 5C(1). Note 1: For qualifying service see section 7A. Note 2: For pension age see section 5QA. Additional eligibility criterion for Commonwealth veterans, allied veterans and allied mariners (2) Subject to subsection (2A), a person who is a veteran by reason only of being a Commonwealth veteran, an allied veteran or an allied mariner must, in addition to meeting the requirements of subsection (1), have been an Australian resident for a continuous period of at least 10 years. (2A) Subsection (2) does not apply to: (a) a refugee; or (b) a former refugee. (3) Where: (a) a veteran has been an Australian resident during more than one period; and (b) the longer or longest of those periods is less than 10 years but is not less than 5 years; and (c) the aggregate of those periods is more than 10 years; in the application of subsection (2) to the veteran, the period of 10 years specified in that subsection is to be reduced by a period equal to the period by which the aggregate is more than 10 years. (4) If: (a) a veteran lodges a proper claim for an age service pension before meeting the eligibility requirements referred to in subsection (1); and (b) the veteran ceases to be an Australian resident after lodging the claim and before the claim is determined; the veteran is not eligible for age service pension unless: (c) the day on which the veteran met all the eligibility requirements; and (d) the day from which age service pension would, if the claim were granted, be payable; are earlier than the day on which the veteran ceased to be an Australian resident.