It’s been flagged for some time that the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) will start to share data with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for the purpose of ensuring that taxpayers are meeting their obligations.    Well – that day has arrived and it will affect approximately 1, 000, 000 people shortly.
Both the ATO and DIBP are federal government departments and essentially there are no secrets between them.   If you are on a visa and working, your tax records will be checked for compliance with visa conditions, including any restrictions on working while on the visa.
Many visa holders do have restrictions – for example, some student visa holders can only work a maximum of 40 hours in any fortnight; while 457 visa holders can only work for their sponsoring employer.   Working Holiday Visa Makers have a maximum of 6 months work with the same business.
If there are skeletons in your closet since the 2013-14 tax year – they might be about to come out!
Now is the time to check your visa conditions if unsure, and make sure that you are fully compliant. Remember that not complying with conditions on a visa, can lead to problems next time you try to apply for one.
Here’s a link to the Gazette notice which formalises the authority. ATO and DIBP Data MatchingProcess 2015
If in doubt, contact Emergico for expert advice.
