On October 29, 2019, with the support of China Champer of Australia (CCCA) Sydney Branch, the China Business Department & Human Resources Consulting Services team of Ernst & Young Oceania successfully held the Australian Expatriates Working Visa and Taxation Compliance Seminar at EY Sydney office. Over 60 magagers from Chinese enterprises attended the seminar. The Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Consulate-General in Sydney, Wang Hongbo, Deputy Counselor Huang LiShi and Chief Representative of CCPIT Australia Wang Guannan, were also attended.
The seminar started with a welcome speech from John Li, the managing partner of China Business Department of EY Ocenania. He stated that since 2018, a series of policy changes on Australian work visas had undergone, which made a few noise for EY’s corporate clients. With the conclusion of federal election in May this year, the work visa policy seems to be quiet, but in fact the reform pressure is still surging. In this context, it is critical to understand the changes in the requirements of working permit and grasp the direction of compliance policy for the human resources managers of enterprises.
Wayne Parcell PSM, Managing Partner of EY Global Immigration, as the keynote speaker on the visa section, explained the latest policy of the Australian Temporary Skill Shortage Work Visa (TSS Visa) and analysed the preferential policies under the free trade agreement between Australia and China and visa exemption mechanism applicable to expatriates of Chinese-funded enterprises. He emphasized the policy and refund mechanism of the tax and fees on Australian Skills Training Fund and pointed out that the current refund mechanism has caused a great burden on corporate customers due to lack of flexibility.
During the short break, EY HR Consulting team played a fun quiz game with guests to interact and test the understanding of knowledge points. The guests were also actively involved in the game. Finally, Counselor Wang Hongbo and Chief Representative Wang Guannan presented gifts from EY to five guests with the highest scores
In the following speech, Mr. Parcell pointed out that the current TSS visa system has many limitations and possible improvements, and the reform will be imperative. As a leader in the Australian working visa service industry, EY keeps working closely with Department of Home Affairs to communicate the concerns of corporate clients and to push the policy reform more in line with the business interests of corporate clients. In the final part of the speech, he introduced the communication and cooperation between the EY visa & immigration team and the Department of Home Affairs and the Employment Development Department on the work visa policy and immigration law reform in the past year, and shared with the guests the possible future policy directions.
Then, Charlotte Xu, EY’s Director of HR Consulting Services, explained the relevant tax compliance policies for companies sending expatriates to Australia and new policy changes, including the main taxation obligation of Australian employers and the latest updates of Australian personal tax, especifically related to one-click payment system, pension, employee benefits tax, and personal tax assessment changes.
Lastly, Mick Meng, Senior Consultant of EY HR Consulting Services, summarized the keynote from speakers and mentioned that with the expansion of Chinese companies in Australia and the automation of Australian government processes, the compliance review on immigration law and tax law will be more stringent. From this context, timely understanding of government policy changes and avoiding unnecessary compliance costs have become the top priority of enterprise human resource management. Ernst & Young will consistently provide the most reliable compliance support for our corporate customers, ensuring that the client has zero worry about development. At the same time, EY will continue to actively play the role as a bridge between business and government to protect the business interests of corporate customers under policy changes.
The seminar concluded successfully. After the meeting, the guests had some passionate discussion, gave high praise to selected topics and YumCha style luncheon and looked forward to the follow-up lectures organized by Ernst & Young. With the increasing tightening of Australian working visas and corporate taxation policies, Ernst & Young welcomes Chinese companies to contact our human resources consulting services to discuss actions that your organization may need to take in response to policy changes, including how to reduce the compliance cost of immigration & tax laws for expatriates, and how to more effectively arrange work visa planning to meet flexible corporate needs.
This material is prepared for general information purpose only and is not accounting, tax or other professional advice. Please get specific advice from your consultant.
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