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IRT - Verifying age and residency

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DOCUMENT 27

IRT - Verifying age and residency

This article provides guidance for a review officer to:

  • make a decision on the age requirements

  • make a decision on the residence requirements.

Recent updates

8 September 2025

Updates to Verifying residency.

Added links to IRT – Setting up VEVO login details and IRT – Complete a VEVO check.

Verifying age and residency

When completing an access or revocation internal review, at times, an applicant may not provide consent to verify age and residency through Centrelink, may not have a Centrelink customer reference number, or Centrelink information may be incorrect or out of date. In this circumstance, an internal review officer must confirm age and residency through documentary evidence.

Verifying age

To be eligible for the NDIS, an applicant must be younger than 65 on the day they apply.

When checking an applicant’s age, their date of birth must match one of the following documents:

  • Full birth certificate (an extract is not acceptable)

  • My First Health Record (‘Blue Book’ in some states) signed by a doctor or midwife (only for a newborn under 3 months of age)

  • Passport biodata page (the page that has their photograph on it) from a current passport or a passport that expired within the last 2 years (but was not cancelled)

  • Proof of age card issued by state licensing authorities

  • Driver’s license

  • Adoption papers

  • ImmiCard.

Verifying residency

To meet the residency requirements, an applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and live in Australia.

When checking an applicant’s residence status, it must match one of the following:

  • Full Australian birth certificate (an extract is not acceptable) (See below for additional documents required if the applicant was born on or after 20 August 1986.).

  • Australian passport biodata (the page that has their photograph on it) from a current passport or a passport that expired in the last two years (but was not cancelled).

  • Australian citizenship or naturalisation certificate.

  • Overseas passport or travel document which includes a valid Australian Permanent Residency Visa or Protected Special Category Visa.

If the applicant was born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986, check that the citizenship status matches one of the following documents:

  • Australian passport issued on or after 1 January 2000 in the applicant’s name, valid for at least 2 years

  • Australian citizenship certificate

  • full Australian birth certificate (an extract is not acceptable).

If these are not available, proof of one parent’s Australian citizenship is required and must match one of the following documents:

  • full Australian birth certificate from one parent* (an extract is not acceptable), showing the parent was born in Australia before 20 August 1986; or

  • Australian passport from one parent* before the applicant’s birth, valid for at least 2 years and issued on or after 20 August 1986; or

  • Australian citizenship certificate from one parent*, showing they were an Australian citizen before the applicant’s birth.

Note: if the parent was born on or after 20 August 1986, the applicant will also need to provide proof that one of their grandparents was an Australian citizen before this date. If the applicant can only provide partial evidence, such as their own birth certificate without any other documents listed above, discuss their circumstances with your line manager to consider the most appropriate alternatives.

If the evidence does not match the above requirements and the applicant has provided a passport, visa grant notification or Immi Card, you may be able to verify visa status in the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system (external). Complete the check and save the VEVO result to the Internal Review Case. Refer to IRT – Setting up VEVO login details (DOCX 64KB) and IRT – Complete a VEVO check (DOCX 62KB).

Note: New Zealand citizens who enter Australia on a New Zealand passport are granted a Special Category Visa (TY-444) (Temporary Visa). A Special Category Visa holder is protected if they:

  • were in Australia on 26 February 2001; or

  • were in Australia for at least 12 months in the 2 years before 26 February 2001 and returned to Australia after that day.

There are two ways to obtain documentary evidence the applicant has a protected Special Category Visa. Both options need to show a visa class/subclass TY-444 and have a grant date of 26 February 2001 or before.

  1. VEVO Check online (the Applicant must have a valid passport or ImmiCard to obtain a VEVO check.

  2. Receive an IMMI Grant Notification.