These 10 points are designed for those investing into Australia and those who have plans to do so. We aim to keep the points short and sweet, and to merely list snippets of relevant but easy to read information.
April 2024
- Many employees in Australia are governed by an ‘award’.
- An ‘award’ is an official document governing the employment relationship and overrides employment contracts as well as other generally applicable employment law. There are more than 100 industry or occupation awards.
- Amongst other effects, an applicable award sets out the minimum wages/salaries and other legal minimum conditions of employment.
- Under Australian domestic law and many of Australia’s double tax treaties, a non-resident company will have a permanent establishment in Australia if it has ‘substantial equipment’ in Australia.
- The seven-pointed star on the Australian flag is the Commonwealth (or Federation) Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; each point for one of the six original states and one represents all of Australia’s internal and external territories.
- Australia’s natural resources include alumina, coal, iron ore, copper, lithium, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, rare earth elements, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, opals, natural gas, petroleum and very skilled and good-looking accountants and lawyers.
- Religion. 41% of Australians declare themselves to be Christian, 3.2% to be Muslim and 38% declare themselves to have no religion at all.
- A non-resident employee working in Australia is taxed in Australia from day 1 if working for or deemed to be working for an employer in Australia, despite having an employment agreement only with an overseas employer. Even if the Australian deemed employer is a subsidiary of the actual overseas employer. The 183-day rule does not apply in this case.
- In the above case, the deemed Australian employer has a range of important legal obligations, all commencing back to the start date of the deemed employment.
- Unless it is the kind of case referred to above, all overseas employers of employees working in Australia need to register for and administer PAYG, and are responsible for both superannuation and workers compensation insurance.
This message is not given in the form of an opinion, legal opinion or tax advice. If any of the information provided is of interest or relevance to you or your company we would strongly recommend you contact us or another qualified professional for specific advice.