Agreement on Social Security Signed with Australia

The minister of labor, employment, veteran and social policy of Serbia, Nikola Selakovic, has signed an agreement on social security with the ambassador of Australia to Serbia, Daniel Emery, which will enable Serbian citizens in Australia to more easily realize their social insurance rights and use those rights in the territory of Serbia as well.

Having reminded that 150,000 to 200,000 Serbian citizens lived and worked in Australia, which served as the basis for the signing of the agreement, Selakovic pointed out that the document regulated the realization of the rights related to pension and disability insurance, avoidance of double insurance for the temporary expatriate workers, as well as a fuller protection of the insurees and the beneficiaries of the rights, according to the website of the Government of Serbia.

In line with the principle of the equality of territories, the social insurance rights acquired based on the laws of one country can be used outside its territory, and the transfer to the country of residence is done without reducing the sum, the minister announced.

He explained that this meant that, if a Serbian citizen who had acquired the right to a pension in Australia returned to Serbia, Australia would keep paying the pension, without reducing the sum.

Selakovic pointed out that one of the most important principles of the agreement was the principle of adding up the pensionable service.

– If the pensionable service in the territory of one signatory country is not enough for realizing the right to a pension, that country will also take into consideration the pensionable service realized in the other signatory country – Selakovic pointed out and added that, in that case, the pension sum was determined proportional to the lengths of the pensionable services in both countries.

Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja Republike Srbije

Ambasada Australije Beograd

Ministry of Labor Employment Veteran and Social Policy

Embassy of Australia

Nikola Selakovic

Daniel Emery

Social Security Agreement