If you are on a skilled visa or applying for one you may be interested to know that as a result of recent legislative changes, the Government can now request your Tax File Number to cross-match your financial records with your visa information and more easily identify cases of non-compliance with visa and sponsorship obligations. It’s a positive step towards enhancing the integrity of Australia’s skilled migration program and ensuring visa holders are protected from exploitation, such as underpayment. Find out more.
What has changed?
On 13 December 2018, changes under the Migration and Other Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Integrity) Act 2018 came into effect to enable the Department of Home Affairs to:
- Publicly disclose information about businesses who breach their sponsorship obligations
- Request a skilled visa holder’s Tax File Number to cross match information with financial records such as employment history, hours of work and salary
Requests for Tax File Numbers to cross match visa holder information
The Department may begin requesting a visa holder’s Tax File Number for the purposes of:
- Verifying a person’s identity
- Ensuring compliance with migration regulations such as sponsorship obligations and visa conditions
- Developing policy related to visas
- Research, intelligence gathering and identifying visa trends or risks
The change is therefore designed to enhance the integrity of the skilled visa program.
For which visas can the Department request Tax File Numbers?
Tax File Numbers may be requested for people holding the below skilled visas:
Employer Sponsored Visas:
- Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) 482 and 457 Visa
- 186/187 Employer Sponsored Permanent Residence Visas
General Skilled Migration Visas:
- 189/190/489 General Skilled Migration Visas
Other Skilled and Graduate Visas:
- 485 Temporary Graduate Visa
- 476 Skilled-Recognised Graduate Visa
- 887 Skilled Regional Visa
- 124 and 858 Distinguished Talent Visas
Business and Investor Visas:
- 132 Business Talent Visa
- 890 Business Owner Visa
- 891 Investor Visa
- 892 and 893 State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner Visas
- 188 and 888 Business Innovation and Investment Visas
What the changes mean for visa holders
Visa holders need to make sure they are aware of the visa conditions relating to their particular visa at all times and understand how changes to their hours of work, salary, job description and various other factors could impact their obligations. Penalties apply for not complying with visa and sponsorship obligations, and the changes will enable the Department of Home Affairs to more easily identify whether these obligations are being met. As part of our assistance with your skilled visa application, our migration agents can help you understand how your visa conditions apply under a number of instances.
30 years of visa experience since 1988
Interstaff are happy to be celebrating 30 years of visa and migration experience. Since Interstaff’s inception in 1988, we have specialised in assisting businesses and individuals with the visa and sponsorship process. To contact Interstaff and discuss your visa queries, simply call our Registered Migration Agents on +61 8 9221 3388 (or National Free Call 1800 449 858) for a visa or sponsorship assessment or email us at [email protected]
