457 visa - did company pay reolcation?

[BullcreekBob]

Originally Posted by basil

sorry to ask a novice Q but what is this 'living away from home allowance' is it a salary addition with tax benefits to 'compensate' the period you are on a 457 (sort of a sweetener).

Novice Q's are exactly what is expected from novices :)

Some of the nice people here will answer the question. Some of the less nice ones will say - learn how to use the search button. Lots and lots has been said about LAFHA.

In the past, there has been so much discussion about about LAFHA and if I gave you an answer here, it would be an incomplete answer with so much vital stuff missing. Search for and read some of the earlier threads and you will indeed find out lots. AND I promise to answer your next question, even it has been asked lots of times before :)

[basil]

LAFHA, aah that gives more on the search. i have so much to learn - :) thanks

[EM&M]

OK LAFHA, O how the Aussie government have managed to confuse everyone with this.

IF you are earning anything over the basic minimum salary for 457 which is somewhere around $42,000. What you need is for the company to pay you the differance as LAFHA, You will get X amount fro rent and x amount for living costs tax fee but only if it is written into your contract. There is a breakdown somewhere on the government website under fringe benefits.

We are on minimum salary so cannot claim any of this tax free or we would be in breach of out 457 visa.

Good Luck

Em x

[basil]

Thanks Em that makes sense from a personal tax benefit situation but am i right insaying that as a 457 is a temp visa then any contract of employment has to be temp or fixed term too?

If you get the company to 'falsify' your base salary and represent the excess over $43k as LAFHA what happens if you go onto PR through an ENS visa - would it not look suspicious if your slaary jumps up when the LAFHA is removed? or is that completely ok?

would some companies take away the LAFHA and then re-negotiate salary (I expect not as you are free to move once you have PR anyway)

Sorry for the silly q's but as you can see i'm a bit nervos about the whole temp visa thing and transfer onto perm.

[BullcreekBob]

Originally Posted by basil

If you get the company to 'falsify' your base salary and represent the excess over $43k as LAFHA what happens if you go onto PR through an ENS visa - would it not look suspicious if your slaary jumps up when the LAFHA is removed? or is that completely ok?

G'day

You won't be able to get a company to 'falsify' your base salary - or indeed anything else. The amount of scritiny employers are given for employing overseas labour is massive. Yes be under no illusions here, 457 visas are for cheap overseas labour. Perhaps a bit like the Poles in the UK?

LAFHA is a way of for employers to make their offer slightly more attractive to potential employees but as has been stated, the government has set a minimum wage that must be paid for overseas labour. If an employer wants to offer more than that, then yes they have the option of paying some of it as a tax free allowance.

If a 457 visa holder obtains a permanent resident visa, it is perfectly normal for the salary to jump up quite a lot, so nothing suspicious there. If a 457 visa holder buys a house here, or applies for PR, then it becomes hard to claim that they are actually "Living Away From Home", i.e. it is clear that they consider Australia to be home. At which point the employer will probable cease paying a LAFHA and adjust salary up by at least an equal amount, however enjoy the benefit while you can.

[basil]

At which point the employer will probable cease paying a LAFHA and adjust salary up by at least an equal amount,

Thanks Bob that's good to know.

IF you are earning anything over the basic minimum salary for 457 which is somewhere around $42,000. What you need is for the company to pay you the differance as LAFHA

It was this advise from Em that made me use the term 'falsify' in our situation, because I assumed the LAFHA to be a small beneficial amount not the difference between actual comp and minimum salary for a 457.
From your response I think i'm correct? it's just a perk that will hopefully be there for a while.

Re the salary jump from temp to perm visa - we wish, that doesn't really happen in banking! :(

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Basil

As I understand it your husband is a high-flying investmet banker who would have to work in Sydney because that is where the international investment banks all have their Australian bases?

If so, and if one of these banks wants his skills more than he needs a job with them, you should be in a very, very strong bargaining position and, I would venture to suggest, you should also have some "corporate client based" RMAs acting for you and helping to negotiate the best possible deal with the bank.

Sure, you might not have identified which bank yet but for example Ashmore Brown act for some of the banks. I know they act (or used to) for the Macquarie Bank but I don't know which others. Please see here:

Macquarie Group Australia

Ashmore Brown & Associates

I would imagine that Mr Brown in their Sydney office would be your man.

But what happened about the skills assessment that you were considering with the help of ptlabs? Did the computer people refuse to accept it or something?

It is a while since you and I spoke but my impression is that whatever the score might be with the visas, you might find that an experienced RMA can get you a much keener deal with a bank than you might be able to get by yourselves.

Or have a word with Alan Collett, I firmly suggest. If Hubby is young and therefore not yet senior enough to be able to write his own ticket, don't forget that Alan Collett was a Chartered Accountant before he became a Migration Agent, is a CA in both jurisdictions and I would think he would have a very shrewd idea of what sort of deal Hubby ought to be able to command. You would need to contact Go Matilda in Melbourne, where Alan is based.

I'm a tad surprised that you seem to think this is DIY turf, though.

Best wishes

Gill

[basil]

Thanks Gill it's really reassuring to think we shouldn't be going down the DIY route.

Husband isn't a high lfying investment banker though, he works for an investment bank (but isnt a banker) which from what I can gather seems entirely different from a visa perspective.

really thick question but what's an RMA? Something Migration Agent? OH is largely staying out of this research thing and we have always moved internationally with a company (his don't have a good presence in Aus so we can't this time. So i guess we've just dont the usual thing and gone via a recruitment consultant.


We explored the independant visa with Ptlabs last year and were considering attempting a (can't remember the terminology but justification of work experince) to get a successful IT assessment.
Ultimately the reason we chose not to go that route was because to apply independantly or even to pursue an assessment OH would have to tell his employer he's looking to leave / migrate. Given the fact it could be unsuccessful or even some time away it would just be burning too many bridges.

Re the young thing- he's 34, I am completely ignorant of whether he could negotiate his own ticket based on his job / experience being in demand as you put it. I do know that this whole visa thing makes us feel like we are bottom of the pile and not what the australian market seems to want!

Husbands not an accountant though so i'm not sure if Alan could help?
I will show OH your post and the links though - may make him sit up and realise we could have other options :)

[Gollywobbler]

Morning, Basil

A RMA is a Registered Migration Agent, whose activities are fairly strictly regulated by the Migration Agents Registration Authority and the Migration Institute of Australia. It is illegal to offer migration assistance or advice from within Australia unless one is MARA registered.

Recruitment agency is a different field altogether and I don't know anything about that.

It is irrelevant that Hubby is not an accountant. Alan Collett knows more than enough for all 3 of you about how to count beans and how to drive a hard and beneficial-to-you bargain on your behalf, I suspect!

Best wishes

Gill
Best wishes

[basil]

Alan Collett knows more than enough for all 3 of you about how to count beans and how to drive a hard abd beneficial-to-you bargain on your behalf, I suspect

Hi Gill, now i am even more confused! :) (it doesn't take much i know). Are you saying a RMA can assist in recruitment and negotiations?

I had always thought they were about helping you find/consider your visa options (for us it's only employer sponsored now) and then helping you go through the paperwork process.

I had no idea they helped ' drive a hard bargain' in the employment process. So much to learn