Working in Australia |
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Information on Working in Australia
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WORKING VISA / WORKING HOLIDAY VISA
Apply for these online at www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday
You must have a visa to legally be entitled to work in the country. Visa costs and types vary from Country to Country. You will have to be outside the country to be granted a Visa.
The main type available for Backpackers is the 12 month Working Holiday Visa. This only allows you to work for up to 6 months with one employer.
This can be extended to a two year visa if you work for 88 days in the agriculture industry (Note, some farm postcodes are exempt from this extension, so check if your farm counts towards your 2nd year visa at: http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/417/eligibility-second.htm
TAX FILE NUMBER (TFN)
You will need this to give to your employer in order to pay your wages and tax.
This can be applied for online once inside the country. Visit: http://www.ato.gov.au
The TFN will be posted out to you, so you will need a postal address.
During the online process note down the application ref number which can be used as a temporary TFN for some employers.
You can also apply for an ABN (Australian Business Number). These are for sole traders, and are commonly applied for if you are doing door to door sales work. If an employer pays you on an ABN you will NOT be taxed, but will be expected to do a tax return at the end of the finical year
BANK ACCOUNT
If you have just arrived in the country you can open up a bank account by just presenting your passport at the Branch.
You will also need a postal address to send the bank card to (but not proof of address if only just arrived). The four biggest banks in Australia are ANZ (website www.anz.com), Commonwealth Bank (website www.commbank.com.au), NAB website www.nab.com.au) and Westpac (website www.westpac.com.au). Smaller banks like BankWest (website www.bankwest.com.au) (which is part of Commonwealth Bank), Bendigo Bank (website www.bendigobank.com.au) and St George (website www.stgeorge.com.au) may give you better service and lower fees but you won’t always be able to find a branch when you’re on the road.
PLEASE NOTE: Almost all banks charge you a monthly bank account fee of around $5. You will also be charged $2-3 each time you draw money out of an ATM which does NOT belong to your own branch. Personally I found Commonwealth the best, if you get somebody nice to register with they may put you down as a student to avoid the monthly fees, they also have the most ATMs nationwide.
TAXATION
When starting a new job your employer will give you a tax registration form to fill in. How you fill this in will determine how much tax is taken from your wages. If you are in a job for a few months at least, you can choose the ‘Australian Resident for Tax
Purposes’ option which will lower your tax rate to around 15% from the usual backpacker rate of 29%. The type of work option chosen of Full Time, Casual etc will also effect how much you are taxed. Refer to the notes on the Tax Form to advise you. Lastly you can choose yes to ‘Claiming the Below $6,000 Tax Free Threshold’ option to be taxed even less. Again, only choose this if you are working there for a while, and any earnings up to the value of $6,000 will be tax free or in a lower bracket.
CLAIMING TAX BACK
When you leave the country you are entitled to claim your tax back. YOU DO NOT GET 100% BACK.
There is not set value of how much tax you will get back when you leave the country, it depends on your earnings, time spent with each job, salary and what tax code you were paid on. Your tax refund could be between 20 and 80%, the average being around 50-60%.
It is very easy to claim your own tax back direct with the ato online at: http://www.ato.gov.au or you can use a company to do it for you, many are listed in Backpacker Magazines, but they do charge a fee out of what you get back (e-mail a few for a quote before deciding who to go with). WARNING: If you use a Tax Refund Company - you can still call the ato directly (tel. 13 28 65) and ask for an update on your refund, as some companies WILL hold your money for weeks after it is refunded to them, before they release it to you - which they are not allowed to do.
To claim your tax back you will need your Tax Certs from each of your employers. These are sent out to the address you gave that employer at the end of the financial year (June) or can be asked for when you leave. Some companies will also except your final pay slip for that company if you cannot get the tax cert. Make sure you update your address with all your employers before June to get all of your Tax Certs.
For an update on your refund call ato on ‘13 28 65’ enter your TFN number and they will tell you if the refund has been processed yet.
If using a Tax Refund Agency & there is long delays, phone ATO yourself and ask - as some companies will hang on to your money to get interest.
SUPERANNUATION
Superannuation is an employer’s legal obligation to pay employees on top of their wage. This is paid into a legally registered ‘Super Fund’ bank or company (such as Host Plus) by the employer, to the value of 9% of your earnings. When starting a job you can nominate your own or the employer will choose one for you. The idea is that Superannuation is stocked up and paid out to you upon retirement in Australia. You are allowed to claim this back as well as your tax, but only AFTER you have left the country. To claim this back go to: https://applicant.tr.super.ato.gov.au
There are Companies which will also claim Super back for you, but most charge a minimum fee of $250.
Superannuation is also taxed, and you will only receive around 60% back when you leave the country.
Make sure you keep a record of all of your Super Accounts. If you have had multiple employers you may have multiple accounts.
Try and use ONLY ONE super account for all your employers as each super company charge high rates for member fees and insurance ($100 + a year) so multiple accounts will mean you are losing a lot of money. Ask your first employer when you leave for the name of the Super Company and your Client / Member ID number and use this for all future employers. You will need to phone the super company and verify your details to get an Online account to manage the account better. If you have already worked for a few different employers ask each one for your Super Details, and then you will need to speak to each Super company to merge your accounts (you can keep separate accounts, but by merging them you can get the member/insurance fees reimbursed). Your Super company will tell you how to merge your accounts. When you want to claim your Super back you will need to ask each Super company for a statement of benefits and an application to claim your super back. A Super refund will take at least 28 days to process.
FAIR WORK AUSTRALIA
Fair Work Australia is an Ombudsman for Fair pay in the country. Visit them at http://www.fwa.gov.au/ or call 1300 799 675
Fair Work can give you advice to check if you are being paid the correct wage for the correct job - as there are minimum ‘award rates’ wage
requirements for specific types of jobs. The minimum wage in Australia is: $15
WORK REQUIREMENTS
Some places of work in Australia require you to undertake a a short course and gain a certificate before starting.
For example, you will need a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) Certificate in order to work behind a bar anywhere in Australia. These tests usually only take a couple of hours and involve a boring lecture and then a short list of questions. Prices vary $50-$75 and there are many companies in the City that do these certificates - just search online for that particular certificate to find the best price. Some places of employment may not even ask to see the certificate, but they are required by law. Below is listed the required certificates for work in Australia, but be wary that when moving into another state you may need to do another test or at least a top up or refresher test online.
Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) - Required if serving Alcohol as part of your job
Responsible Gambling Service (RGS) - Required if place of work has gambling or betting facilities
White Card - Safety cert for anybody working in Construction, the name/type of card required varies from State to State and Job
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Finding Work in Australia
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JOB SEEKERS WEBSITES
www.seek.com.au Australia’s largest online jobboard, covers every industry& job description full, part ,casual roles
www.careerone.com.au This job board covers all industries and job descriptions linked to the Australian and the Daily Telegraph
www.mycareer.com.au This job board covers all industries and job descriptions linked to the Financial Review and the SMH
www.jobsjobsjobs.com.au This job board will find you roles by recruiter and industry covers mostly white collar roles
www.gumtree.com.au This is a great website for Working Holiday makers as advertisers are targeting working holiday makers. Great for trades, hospitality and casual work Australia wide.
www.globalgossip.com/noticeboard/ Not as many job listings, but the odd few which are tailored just for backpackers
www.positionsvacant.com.au Covers all industries and job descriptions mainly used by more local area and suburban agencies
www.careersonline.com.au Covers all industries and job descriptions mainly used by more local area and suburban agencies
www.constructionjobs.com.au Great site for all jobs construction related
www.aaai.com.au lots of industries covered by this job board right across Australia
www.bluecollar.com.au This site predominately targets trade and labour right across Australia
www.careerjet.com.au Post your resume or CV here for potential employers to find
www.jseeker.com.au Job board that covers all
industries Australia wide
www.jobstodo.com.au Job adverts across all industries and across the whole country
www.Taw.com.au Job offers across all industries - beware that they charge a $50-80 member fee to access some adverts
MELBOURNE JOB AGENCIES
www.adecco.com.au Provide work across all industries, from hospitality, to office to labour
www.kellyservices.com.au Provide work across all industries, from hospitality, to office to labour
www.freedomrecruiting.com Will find you work in Office, IT, Sales and accounting
www.manpower.com.au Provide work across all industries, from hospitality, to office to labour
www.smartcasuals.com.au Recruitment agency designed for young people and backpackers
www.hays.com.au Provide work across all industries, from hospitality, to office to labour
www.workforcexs.com.au Labour and construction hire
OTHER JOB SOURCES
• Harvest Trail http://jobsearch.gov.au/harvesttrail Tel 1800 062 332 contact for harvest work advice and work / farm contacts also pickup their FREE Harvest Work guide in any Tourist Information Centre
• www.yellowpages.com.au and www.whitepages.com.au to search for more local job agencies, or to find local Construction firms, Restaurants, Bars etc to contact and ask if need any staff
• Try looking in the Job section in the Saturday editions of The Age and Herald Sun papers or in the free BBM magazine
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