thediggler Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Does anyone have any experience of what happens when the Oz tax office decide you have been overpaid in child benefits and look to you for reimbursement, after you have returned to the UK? And before anyone starts pointing the morality finger, we've not tried to over claim any benefits. Our circumstances have recently changed in that my wife has got a part time job which we anticipate would affect our eligibility. However, despite having spent hours trying to get through to someone on the phone (literally) and after having sent numerous emails and letters, we cannot get any response from the child benefits department. The chances are we may be back in the UK by the time we hear anything at which point we'll be wondering what powers, if any, the Oz tax office can use to recover the debt from us if we're back in the UK? On another point, if you enter into a 24 month contract with say a mobile network or internet provider and cut it short to return to the UK without paying off the remainder of the contract (the fees associated with this are IMO ridiculous), do the mobile network have any legal powers to recover any outstanding charges after you've returned to the UK? Any sensible advice would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 My understanding is that if it's Government Debt then it's recoverable so presumably they can get HMRC to obtain the payment from you, I would assume by first asking for it and then withholding any benefits due to you until it's paid . The mobile phones I believe from previous threads on here is not recoverable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Sounds like you've tried pretty hard to do the right thing and unless it's really substantial amounts for either your child benefits or your phone, I can't see that they would bother chasing you up for it. The phone companies can certainly afford to write off a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Best to pay it back though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 We had an overpayment, from the time that we became PR to when OH got his first bonus payment, they paid us a small amount of family tax benefit (or whatever it is called), and although I notified them of the bonus as soon as I knew what it was, all they did was adjust the payments from that point. Then, when we filled in our tax returns at the end of the year, we owed them a bit which they took from the tax rebate that we were due. So, I would assume that you will need to fill in a tax return for Aus at some point and it will show up at that point and they will either deduct it from your rebate (if you are due one) or send a bill. We use the online government portal for centrelink etc, and have found it to be easy to use. Here is the link http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/centrelink-online-services, you might be able to register and sort it out that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 They are a nightmare to get hold of the phone and then chances are they get your info wrong,lol, You used to be able to update your situation / income on-line so it may be worth trying this as that would automatically change your payments and hopefully prevent an over payment. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 My wife had a 24 month contract, we paid the whole lot off after we got back to the UK and kept the phone. They can chase you if they want to but it has to be financially viable for them. in terms of the child benefit, I told them we were leaving Australia, I told them we had left And then I told them again we had let (because they kept paying us). I wrote to them and kept proof of posting and also emailed so I have proof I told them, they did stop paying us about a month after we left the country. You will need to do a tax return once you are back in the UK....you can do this through etax online. Keep your Australia bank account because your debate will go straight in there and any tax you owe will deducted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Oh by the way, you know you can claim your super back don't you? if you were on temp visa you can claim I back once you leave. If you were on permanent residency you can claim it after the visa has expired which is generally five years from when it was granted, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thediggler Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 Oh by the way, you know you can claim your super back don't you? if you were on temp visa you can claim I back once you leave. If you were on permanent residency you can claim it after the visa has expired which is generally five years from when it was granted, Yes, thanks for this, although I didn't realise I had to wait until the visa expired, bit of a bummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 If you were on permanent residency you can claim it after the visa has expired which is generally five years from when it was granted, This isn't true.... Every time it comes up on here it is shot down. If you had a PR visa you cannot get your super back until retirement by normal means. Possibly you can through severe financial hardship and possibly by transferring it to a self managed fund and embezzling the money out. Either way you cannot get it because your PR entry visa has expired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Yes, thanks for this, although I didn't realise I had to wait until the visa expired, bit of a bummer. You can't get it back until you retire if it were a permanent visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Yes, thanks for this, although I didn't realise I had to wait until the visa expired, bit of a bummer. Are you going back to Saddleworth mate. We used to live in Gee Cross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 The government will chase you, the phone company won't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 You can get the Temperory Visa bit of the super back after the permanent visa has expired. My understanding is that if you can argue that you will not return to Australia then you can aslo get the Permanent bit of the super back as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 This isn't true.... Every time it comes up on here it is shot down. If you had a PR visa you cannot get your super back until retirement by normal means. Possibly you can through severe financial hardship and possibly by transferring it to a self managed fund and embezzling the money out. Either way you cannot get it because your PR entry visa has expired. Agreed. Everything about accessing super early on the ATO and the DIBP sites only talks about temporary visa holders. http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/superannuation/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 It took us ages to get it sorted. We couldn't agree on a figure, and they just seemed to be making stuff up. I had to get it sorted as I'm Australian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.