- Do you sponsor employees on a subclass 457 visa?
- Do you have employees on work/holiday visas?
- Do you have employees on student visas?
- Are you an Australian visa holder and working either part-time or full-time?
- Do you know that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIPB) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) are now sharing your information?
The DIPB is sharing your information with the ATO. They are giving the ATO names, addresses and other details of visa holders, their sponsors and migration agents. The DIPB will give the ATO this information for the 2013/2104, 2014/2015, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 financial years.
The ATO wants to make sure that Australian visa holders pay the correct amount of tax. They also want to check that employer sponsors pay the correct amount of superannuation. The information is being matched electronically between the DIPB and ATO.
The ATO want see that:
- visa holders are registered to pay tax;
- visa holders have completed their tax returns;
- visa holders lodge their tax on-time;
- employer sponsors pay the PAYG tax
- employer sponsors have correctly completed their Business Activity Statements and
- employer sponsors pay superannuation.
The Australian Government estimates that the records of about 1,000,000 people will have their information given to the ATO by the DIPB.
Information Available to the ATO – Visa Holders, Sponsors, Migrations Agents
- Address history for visa applicants and sponsors
- Contact history for visa applicants and sponsors
- All visa grants
- Visa grant status by point in time
- All migration agents
- Address history for migration agents
- Contact history for migration agents
- All international travel movements undertaken by visa holders (arrivals and departures)
- Sponsor details (subclass 457 visa)
- Education providers (educational institution where the student visa holder intends to undertake their study) and
- Visa subclass code and descriptor.
The ATO is trying to stamp out cheating and fraud by visa holders, sponsors and migration agents. They want to identify new types of fraud and find out who is controlling them.
Visa Holders Who have Breached Tax Obligations Should
- Stop breaching your visa conditions
- Pay all tax that is due to minimise the nature and length of the breach
- Do not wait, deal with the issue promptly.
- Seek Permanent Residency if you want to protect your right to be here.
- Discuss this with Etienne Migration Services ASAP so that you can be advised on the risks being faced, and the best approach to take to resolve that risk.
Penalties
Visa Holders and Employers found to be breaching conditions will be sent a letter and given 28 days to resolve any discrepancies. After the 28 days the ATO will take administrative action. If the ATO discover the breach first then the problem is significantly worse.
- Detention for visa holders
- Changes to bridging visas
- Deportation
- Bans on re-applying for a visa and applying for bridging visas
Don’t wait until DIPB or ATO are knocking on your door. Call Etienne Migration Services today to ensure your obligations are being met.
1300 882 032
Information about Visa Options
Information about Company Sponsorship
Information about the ATO and data matching – ATO Data Matching
