ATO data match for AU businesses sponsoring visa holders

An essential update from The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Department of Home Affairs, launching a comprehensive data matching program spanning from 2023-24 to 2025-26 for Australian businesses hiring and sponsoring visa holders.

This initiative involves collecting a wide range of data, including:

• Address and contact history for visa applicants and sponsors.
• Address and contact history for migration agents.
• Active visas meeting specific criteria.
• All visa grants.
• Visa grant status by specific time points.
• Details of migration agents who facilitated visa processing.
• Records of international travel movements by visa holders (arrivals and departures).
• Sponsor details for the 482 visa.
• Visa subclass names

This program is expected to encompass records related to approximately 9 million individuals each financial year.

Program Objectives

• Ensuring compliance with tax and super reporting obligations for individuals and businesses.
• Encouraging voluntary compliance by communicating the use of external data to promote adherence to tax and super obligations, enhancing community trust in the system’s integrity.
• Enhancing understanding of tax and super risks within the visa holder, sponsor, and migration agent communities.
• Developing and implementing strategies to boost voluntary compliance, including educational and compliance activities.
• Ensuring visa populations adhere to registration, lodgement, reporting, and payment of tax and super obligations.
• Testing the accuracy and effectiveness of risk detection models and treatment systems, identifying areas for improvement.
• Identifying emerging fraud approaches and entities exploiting the visa framework.
• Enhancing the integrity of tax and superannuation systems by cancelling ABNs for ineligible holders.
• Supporting compliance efforts related to Australia’s foreign investment rules.

Implications for Visa Sponsors

As sponsors, it is crucial to stay informed and ensure your compliance with the changing landscape of visa regulations.

Now is the time to make this a priority and include regular audits in the overall business compliance framework.

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