Dennis

[dennisamor]

CRIKEY, where have we been for the last few weeks? According to the authorities we certainly haven't been in Australia. Maybe we were in Never Never Land. Or even sailed through the Bermuda Triangle without our knowledge. We have just learned - strangely via our Opal Card operators in NSW (we live in Queensland!) - that our concession cards are not working because immigration has logged us as being out of the country for more than six weeks. But that's not so ... we've been here all the time, even welcomed two visitors from the UK into our home for a few days. We were overseas for only TWO weeks. Frantic inquiries today revealed that Immigration somehow didn't clock us back into Australia after our recent two-week cruise from Singapore to Brisbane. Very strange seeing as how we had a face-to-face meeting with immigration officers onboard just before we hit the Australian mainland. Can't blame P&O ... but something needs to be done to stop this happening, particularly as Centrelink and Immigration told us it's not an unusual occurrence when people arrive in Oz on cruise ships. Luckily, it's the first time it has happened to us. Maybe a quick check with Centrelink would be wise when returning to Oz on a cruise ship.

Edited October 18, 2018 by dennisamor
omission

[sewgood]

Thanks for the heads up about this happening when returning to Australia on a cruise ship.

I wonder if this happens less when people do a round trip out of Australia.

[dennisamor]

While it's not compulsory, Centrelink advised us it's always best to let them know when you return particularly when flying overseas to board a cruise ship bound for Oz. We'll definitely be doing that in future.