Tax authorities to acquire data on visa holders for 2017-2020

IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Details on information that the Australian Tax Office will acquire about visa holders for the years 2017 to 2020 have been published.

What does the change mean? The information is part of a data-matching program between the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Tax Office that began in 2015 to monitor compliance.

• Implementation timeframe: Immediate and ongoing.
• Visas/permits affected: All Australian visas.
• Who is affected: Visa holders, sponsors and migration agents from financial years 2017-18 through 2019-20.
• Business impact: The data-sharing initiative is intended to allow authorities to better monitor companies’ compliance with tax obligations.

Background: The information that the ATO will obtain includes:

• Address history and contact history for visa applicants and sponsors
• All visa grants and statuses by point in time
• Migration agents who helped prepare visa applications, their address history and contact history
• All international arrivals and departures by visa holders
• Sponsor details
• Education providers where a student visa holder intends to study
• Visa subclass

BAL Analysis: The data matching helps the Government track compliance with tax laws through immigration records. All sponsors should conduct internal checks to ensure that they are in compliance with their tax obligations.

This alert has been provided by BAL Australia. For additional information, please contact australia@bal.com

MARN: 0101248

Copyright © 2017 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.