littlegreenman

Another registered tax agent here and I can confirm that any expense that is incurred in gaining assessable income is deductible under s8-1 of ITAA97. This clearly includes mortgage interest, regardless of whether it is in relation to foreign source incomee or not.

Not really able to help BUT if you got to this site it seems someone could even get MR for their ACCA with CPA Australia.

Hi there, Sorry I can't help much but I have one suggestion for you. Don't bother with IPA. They're a bit of a joke and some don't even recognise them as an association of professional accountants. Go with CAANZ or CPA and you'll get better advice. They'll give you better advice. I've never met an accountant here who was an IPA. However I met heaps of bookkeepers who were IPAs. Just my personal advice after being here for five years and working as an accountant.

Yeah there was a picture of Lizy in the corner. It was a lovely ceremony. You guys can really look forward to it. Brisbane City Hall was full to the brim. I wouldn't be surprised if it was over 500 people. The queue at the entrance was long, about 30 minutes as we had to pick up our certificates and thereafter straight away had to sign up to the electoral roll. There was no food but a nice gift of a Jacaranda sapling. And that's it from me, another authentic Australian.

The day has come that @sunnyalt and myself have our ceremony in Brisbane. We will make sure to report on the less frequently reported stuff that really matters: -How many people -How long did it go for -What was the process -Food? If anyone else has their ceremony in Brisbane tonight please don't be shy and get in touch beforehand.

Done.

Thanks for the update. I'll post in two weeks when I'm back home to see if I have the same time slot. Geez I wish I could check my letterbox.

I dunno. Still waiting for the letter as they didn't give me any details other than the date via phone. The dragon at the other end didn't even want to give me the date and only relinquished the info when I told her I had business trips which would require new visa applications if I had my ceremony beforehand. I'm currently in the US for work and have another trip to Canada in early July so I'm depending on wifey to check the letterbox after she gets back from visiting me on June 19th. Let me know if you get the letter in the meantime please.

Also note, July 3rd is a Sunday (a day after the federal election). The ceremonies in Brisbane are usually during the week and not on a Sunday unless it is ANZAC or Citizenship Day.

Interesting, DIBP told me that date when I called right after you and BCC confirmed it to me earlier in the year when I asked them for dates by email since they're not on the website. Below is said email response. Either they moved the date or the person you had on the phone is wrong. Dear Mr Littlegreenman Thank you for contacting Brisbane City Council regarding when the next citizenship ceremony will be held. Council appreciates and values the time you have spent to forward through your request. Ceremonies will be held over the following months during 2016, however exact dates are not advertised publicly as these ceremonies are by invite only. Department of Immigration and Border Security send out letters of invitation to approved candidates approximately four weeks prior to a ceremony. I have contacted our City Hall department and they have advised that the following dates have been booked for Citizenship Ceremonies. Wednesday 27 April 2016 Thursday 19 May 2016 Wednesday 13 July Thank you for taking the time to make this request. Please do not reply to this email address. If you have any further Brisbane City Council enquiries, you can visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/contact to submit an online form, send a SMS to 0429 2 FIX IT (0429 234 948) or telephone our 24 hour Contact Centre on 07 3403 8888 to report urgent issues and public safety concerns. Yours sincerely Hxxxxxxxx Contact Centre CO######

Actually I'm one of the rare "different places are different" sorta people and totally accept it if certain people don't want to be in a certain place. I just find it ridiculous that people keep mentioning pubs and TV as legitimate reasons (as if pubs and TV didn't exist anywhere other than Blighty). Poms just shouldn't expect little Britain wherever they go. Sorry you never had the luxury of good weather in Brisbane. Must've been the rain cloud over your heads that made it bad for the twelve years you've been here.

My personal opinion, everyone is entitled to their own: Why do people constantly whinge about pubs. What is so awesome about bloody pubs back in Blighty? Yes it rains a lot and you need shelter from the rain or cold and a place to gather. In Brisbane however we and all our friends have a big yard, a deck etc with good weather all year round so we can fire up the barbie, play cricket in the yard and let the dogs and children run free in the yard. I never had that luxury in Blighty and would take that any day over being stuck in a pub. On a separate note: a pint in Brisbane is still around $6. If you go to something posher maybe $10 but that's about it. And since I'm at it: TV? Seriously? There is so much to do in both the UK and Australia, why would people give a toss about TV especially when it is the 21st century and Netflix together with a geounblocker will give you access to more TV from any country then you would've ever had in a lifetime in say the UK.

Down Under Bar. Cheap pints and heaps of backpackers watching European soccer.

Forget about the website. After submission it is only updated a couple of days after your citizenship ceremony and will say status: finalised.

I actually had a less convoluted yet similar timeline. Bottom line is you need to have been in the country exactly four years before the day you've applied. Since you were out June 12 - January 13 you will not be able to apply June 16 - January 17. Whether you were in the country on a tourist visa, bridging visa etc. doesn't matter as long as you had a valid visa while you were in the country, while overseas doesn't matter and the visas don't need to have been continous. In my case I had a tourist visa and was in the country for only 5 days until I left, visa expired, got PR three months later and moved here for 3+ years. I was able to apply during the 5 day window from the 5 day work trip I had four years earlier.