Dunwa

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/10458673/Thousands-of-Britons-caught-up-in-tax-raid-on-wealthy-foreigners.html Not sure how this will play out with double taxation rules.

We live in Cherrybrook which is near Castle Hill. As others have mentioned the only public transport is the busses, the 620X in my case. My commute to the CBD usually takes a hour door to desk. The busses are good, much better than I was expecting and the air con chills them down to a fridge even when it's the high 30's outside. During rush hour they run every 5 minutes and its buslanes most of the way so they tend not to get held up in traffic. They've also started building the north west rail link which will run from Epping, Cherrybrook, Castle hill and beyond, but this is about 5 years away from completion, but I guess that will depend on how long you're planning to stay. The main reason we moved here was for the schools and the space. You can usually get a large 4/5 bed place with pool, for around $850-$1000. Our son goes to John Purchase Junior school and next door you have Cherrybrook Tech which is one of the best non-private secondary schools. If the busses are really a no go then try Pennents Hill. The train to Town Hall will take about 45 minutes and you should be able to find a house that meets your needs. Any closer then you have to accept a smaller place and probably loose the pool. If you have any questions about the area drop me a pm and I'll help the best I can.

Quick update. Got my approval yesterday. Total of 83 days. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

I thought I'd add my name to the list. ENS 186, Direct Entry, Decision Ready, Melbourne Office Lodged: 12/06/2013 Will let you know of any updates

So what's your interpretation of the rule to offer residents a two year transition period but to offer non-residents a zero transition period ? Discriminatory or non-discriminatory.

*sigh* Resident for tax but not for concessions. :realmad:

LAFHA is a governement defined tax break not part of employment contract. As such those ********** can change it as and when they like. So basically there's an election soon, if you're an Aussie (...and therefore voting) you get 2 more years of LAFHA. If you're overseas and don't vote it's gone in 6 weeks.

I suggest anyone claiming LAFHA ring Rebecca Fanning (02) 6277 7340 at the Teasury. Spoke to her and used my situation as the example and she said all 457 visa holders will lose it as of July 01st 2012. The extension will only apply to Australian residents who are already in an agreement.

My employer (along with others) is meeting with ATO later today and will be "issuing a statement later."

Bad, bad news. I suggest anyone claiming LAFHA ring Rebecca Fanning (02) 6277 7340 at the Teasury. Spoke to her and used my situation as the example and she said all 457 visa holders will lose it as of July 01st 2012. The extension will only apply to Australian residents who are already in an agreement. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster :mad:

Further muddying the waters : http://www.budget.gov.au/2012-13/content/bp2/download/bp2_consolidated.pdf Page 24/25 "The Government will further reform the tax concession for living-away-from-home allowances and benefits by better targeting it at people who are legitimately maintaining a second home in addition to their actual home for an initial period. This measure builds on the reforms announced in the 2011-12 MYEFO measure Fringe benefits tax — reform of living-away-from-home allowances and benefits by: • limiting access to the tax concession to employees who maintain a home for their own use in Australia, that they are living away from for work; and • providing the tax concession for a maximum period of 12 months in respect of an individual employee for any particular work location. These further reforms will stop employers from being able to give the tax concession to employees who aren’t maintaining a second home, or are maintaining two homes indefinitely. This measure will not affect: • the tax concession for ‘fly-in fly-out’ arrangements, as these employees will not be subject to the 12 month time limit; or • the tax treatment of travel and meal allowances, which are provided to employees who have to travel away from their usual place of work for short periods (generally up to 21 days). The reforms will apply from 1 July 2012 for arrangements entered into after 7.30pm (AEST) on 8 May 2012, and from 1 July 2014 for arrangements entered into prior to that time. The Government will consult with tax experts and employers on the technical detail of the legislation. The measure will provide savings to the Budget of $1,001.3 million over the forward estimates period, including an increase in GST payments to the States and Territories of $9.0 million. This measure further progresses a recommendation of the Australia’s Future Tax System review, and builds on the Government’s growing record of tax reform."

Ouch .... If you are a non-resident worker…It's all bad news. Firstly, most of you will lose the Living Away from Home Allowance (see below), and from 1 July all non-resident workers will have to pay a blanket 32.5 per cent tax rate – regardless of whether they're low income earners. http://www.news.com.au/money/cost-of-living/budget-story-1/story-fnagkbpv-1226350235644

Reading in the Sydney Morning Herald today, they are expecting an announcement about LAFHA tomorrow. Unfortunately they are expecting it to be implemented as proposed with not alterations

Like many on here, I’m keeping an eye on the "proposed" LAFHA changes. We had a presentation from E&Y yesterday who set out the changes and really the only advice they offered was prepare for the worst. My company has offered that there may be options to move from my 457 to sponsored PR (856.) There are obvious benefits of PR, such as: No need to pay NSW education fee per child. Ability to claim childcare rebate No need to leave the country if you lose your job. But what are the disadvantages, someone mentioned something about your super if you return to the UK in the future? The only one that springs to mind assuming LAFHA goes is the company pays for your repatriation at the end of your employment (..but if you’re going for OR then this isn’t a loss.) So can anyone help with expanding the list of advantages and disadvantages of moving from Temp to Perm. I’m guessing that quite a few people will be having the same thoughts in the next few months

The folks are coming over in the next few weeks and one of the places they'd like to go with us and kids is Hunter Valley. Now we all know what the valley is famous for but what's it like for famalies with young kids (7&2). Will there be enough to keep them happy and if so does anyone have ideas for places to visit ? Thanks for the help.

Thanks, I think I better give Immi a call to find out.

Basically as the title says, My wife and family came out with my job on my 457. She's managed to get a very good job and understandably her employer wants to protect themselves by offering her, her own 457. Would this cause a problem in essence being double counted on visas? For a example, Visa 1 with me as the primary applicant and my wife as the secondary applicant and visa 2 with my wife as the primary and me as the secondary. Hope that make sense ?

http://www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=037&ContentID=2235

My family and I arrived on our 457 at end of August and are settling in well in the Sydney area. With what looks like the disappearance of LAFHA next year we’re looking at options and one of these is to get PR as quick as possible. Can anyone offer up advice on what routes are open for a 457 holder to go to PR and what are the conditions, how long will it take ? With 2 kids in education we’re going to end up seriously disadvantaged with the loss of LAFHA.

Great :rolleyes: As others have said the LAFHA offsets the additional costs I have to incur living on a 457 in NSW with my wife and two kids.

Base.com deliver to Auz, similar prices to Play.com

Got the flight bookings today. We'll be leaving the UK on 25th August. It's scary to think looking back at my first post at the top, back in February, how quickly things have moved. Look out Oz, here we come.

Great thread. Planning to stay there when we come out in August.

We've got our quotes here from John Mason, PSS and Anglo Pacific. In the very samll print they all provide a list of exclusions, which range from : Container Decontamination Local Duties Inspections Local Taxes Sums due to government departments Container detention fees Demurrage Quay Rent Cargo Dues Provision of hoist or lifting equipment Quarantine I know that we have to pay for the AQUIS inspection which was quoted at 250 AUD per 30 mins, but what about these other exclusions. Did anyone get hit with anything above and beyond what they were quoted ?

So when, you flying out Clonesred and where are you off to ?