KhunHeineken

So it appears this may have changed. One must present themselves at an office, instead of documents (cards) automatically being sent out.

I, and a few other members, posted links to the proposed changes on how the government may be deeming who is a resident, and who is a non resident for taxation purposes in the future. The main part of the proposed changes was being inside, or outside of Australia for 183 days a year. Indeed, they called this the "bright line test" meaning to me it will hold significant weight upon how an individual will be classified. The effect of these changes, if they come in, will not differentiate between a billionaire, millionaire, and a pensioner. All three have a name, date of birth, and a passport number, and have been outside of Australia for more than 183 days, as shown in immigration records. Everything will be handled by a computer data base. Will they make an exemption for pensioners, maybe, maybe not? Let's hope they do. The proposed changes were put forward by the Liberals, does it really matter if the changes come in when they are next in power? Relying on Labor for the next few years is only a buying some time to come up with a plan. As I have said in previous posts, don't expect pensioners back in Australia to care, because it doesn't effect them one bit, and don't expect the government to be worried about losing votes, because how many expats make their way to an Australian Embassy at election time, so no votes lost on this policy. Non resident taxation, and their high rates, have been around for years. Nothing new about this taxation policy. What is new, if these changes come in, is the grey area that many, including myself, have been able to skirt around and still claim to be a resident for taxation purposes will be replaced by the 183 day law, and there's no getting around that, because you are either in, or out of the country for 183 day, and this is recorded by immigration. Once again, these proposed changes do not target pensioners, they are clearly designed to scoop up everyone. Expat pensioners may just be collateral damage. Yes, but as I said in another post, who really cares whether the government administers the new changes, or a private company. If it becomes law, there will be no difference between the two. It's not like the government will show any mercy. The law is the law. This goes to the heart of the matter. Say you retire and take your super as a monthly payment. You leave Australia and live in Thailand. Is that monthly payment an "income" under the law? If so, and you are outside of Australia for 183 days, how to you propose to argue that your monthly payment should not be taxed at non resident rates? It's money "earned" in Australia, and you live overseas.

What about a SSD? They don't use much power.

What has Centerlink being privatized or not have to do with this issue? The government doesn't care, nor does a big company. The government was the one that gave us Robodebt.

Why do you say that? Do you have a link to any legal precedent, or test case? You may wish to read these links. Just two of many articles about it. https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/5573886/centrelink-privatisation-warning-as-private-firms-win-more-call-centre-jobs/ https://thesocialist.org.au/centrelink-being-privatised-by-stealth/ Everything has gone up by a considerable percentage, but wages and pensions etc have not gone up by the same percentage, thus, people are falling behind. In order to survive, people take a cut in their lifestyle.

Why do you say Services Australia / Centerlink were not aware of your arrival back in Australia? Did you ask a staff member? Were you expecting them to post you a new concession card the day you landed? Where would they post it to? I think it's more a case of letting new arrives comes to us, rather than chasing them.

That's a question for Lacessit, because he's the one who posted it, but here's the website. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/about-us?context=1 This would be correct. I am not on an OAP, but a friend is. He called them one day and did not mention his location. As soon as they verified his ID, the staff member told him he was overseas. They knew within seconds of the phone conversation start he was not in Australia. Couple that with the 183 day law, if it comes in, and it's looking like a good pay day for the government. The sub issue being discussed in not about portability. No one is saying "if you leave Australia you will not get your pension." The issue is the proposed changes to non resident taxation. The government is making it very easy for them to tax people as non residents. Inside Australia for more than 183 days, resident. Outside of Australia for more than 183 days, non resident for taxation purposes. Inside Australia, traditionally, pensions have not been viewed as an income, but have been viewed as a benefit. If they view a pension as an income if you are outside of Australia, then you can expect non resident tax rates to be withheld every fortnight you are outside of Australia over 183 day. No one is saying the pension will be cut off at 183 days. It may be reduced by the non resident tax rate, because, after 183 days, you become a non resident. I Googled is a pension and income in Australia and this came up. Your income includes money from: employment pensions annuities investments earnings outside Australia salary packaging https://moneysmart.gov.au/retirement-income/age-pension-and-government-benefits#:~:text=Income and assets tests&text=Your income includes money from,annuities

If the proposed changes come in, and they deem pensions, that's all pensions, to be "income" just like any other income, immigration will notify the Australia Tax Office and Centerlink that you have been out of the country for 183 days, so next fortnight's pension will be less 30%, or possibly even 48%. It will be "taxed" at the non resident for taxation purposes rate, which is very high, and has no tax free threshold. I can't seem them giving people living overseas the full pension every fortnight, just to send them a bill for 30% or 48% at the end of the financial year, because how are they going to enforce collection when the debtor doesn't reside within Australia? If you are working online remotely, or work for 5 months of the year in Australia and spend the other 7 months overseas, or have a passive income generated in Australia, such as renting out a property, interest, or dividends, but you are living in Thailand, for example, you can expect a letter from the ATO, after you submit your tax return, informing you that as you were outside of Australia for more than 183 days you have been deemed a non resident for taxation purposes, and as your tax return showed an income of X amount of dollars, you now have a tax liability of 30% or 48% of your X amount of dollars and here's your bill? Please pay within 28 days. For pensioners, the issue will be if they deem the pension to be an "income" just like any other income. Hopefully, pensions will be exempt, but who knows. For the others who work remotely, or actually work in Australian for less than 6 months, or for those who receive a passive income, such as rent, dividends, interest etc, as the other member said, you are screwed. You will be paying non resident tax rates.

You, and many others. The days of having a decent lifestyle in your retirement years in Australia are coming to an end, unless you are quite wealthy. As I alluded to in another thread, it's possible, in the future, retirees will be leaving Australian shores in big numbers. That's a lot of Aussie dollars leaving the Aussie economy, benefiting a foreign country, whether it be superannuation, savings, rent, dividends, pensions, or a combination of these. I can't see the Australian government sitting back doing nothing as billions of dollars flow out of the Australian economy to places like Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, Philippines etc. With the direction Australia is heading in, people will not be able to retire until in their 70's, which means they will basically die working. Many may just decide to cash in, and check out of Australia, and enjoy their twilight years abroad, and who can blame them? It will be interesting to see what moves the Australian government do to stem the exodus of people and their money.

Are you on a Vet's pension or the OAP? There's a big difference between the two.

I am not getting bent out of shape. You have been informed of many solutions. You just need to make a start chose one. It's been over 2 months now. As I said, what works today, may not work next week. You are trying to circumvent their security. Whatever method/s you tried, you will still be in Thailand. These companies have some smart guys working on trying to lock out people, such as yourself, who are accessing these platforms from abroad. Why do they care where you sign in from? If it's not a breach of their T & C's, is it a taxation issue? The dongles work for me, for all the sites that geo block me, and speeds are good. As you are, I also did my research before buying them. There was a risk I bought them and Foxtel still had a way of detecting I was outside my home country, but after trying many things, I gave it a go, and they worked for me. I know you don't want to waste money on a solution that does not work, but the dongles are your cheapest solution to start with. I think the dongles will work, without VmWare, but it's the ID verification that is interesting. If you are using Google Authenticator, in an android phone, with a Thai sim card, on a Thai ISP for internet, with location services turned on, maybe that's your issue, not the VPN and the IP Addresses you are using. Let us know what method you decide to start with, and the outcome, but possibly try a different method of authentication first. I mean, to my knowledge, a US telco doesn't tell Ebay, Instagram and Amazon where their text message was received.

What authentication app are you using? Is it Google Authenticator? Perhaps that app is linked to Google Location Services and / or IP Address. Have you tried 2 Step Authentication with a US sim card phone number? So you might have to be prepared to put up with a bit of "nonsense" verifying yourself, after all, you are trying to circumvent their security measures. Have you tried a different method of ID verification? What are others that are doing similar business to you doing to get around this ID verification? As I said, what's wrong with a US sim card and receiving a code by text message every time you want to sign in?

Ok, so how are they verifying your identity?

USB stick, or HDMI stick? I'll ask again, why does it have to be a remote control, rather than a wireless keyboard / mouse, which could also be a mini?

Surely Services Australia are informed about outbound travel.

Maybe it's a site blocked in Thailand. Eg. porn. Maybe it's a site with IP addresses outside of the host country turned off for access. Difficult to troubleshoot without know what the site is.

That's a problem with Thai Post, not the Bangkok Post.

Don't you mean, "See what it's like to have Bing's new AI search feature use you?"

As I just posted, why do you think these platforms shut you down just because you were in Thailand? Could it be whatever business you are conducting breaches their T & C's?

What makes you think the platforms you use are blocking you due to their fingerprinting? Out of interest, I have no problem accessing Ebay and Amazon in Thailand. I use both platforms to have gifts sent to people back home for birthdays etc. I have no problem accessing Facebook here, neither do millions of tourists that are constantly uploading there holiday photos to Facebook. I don't have an Instagram account, but I am sure many expats and tourists do, and I have never been in a discussion where I have heard complaints Instagram will not work for them in Thailand. Perhaps you are breaching some other T & C of these platforms, rather than being out of The USA. Are you selling counterfeit goods online?

Yes, you are overly concerned. As I have said previously, your idea of using Team Viewer / Any Desk will work. You have also been told of other methods that will work. Your method, and some of the others, are costly, involves your IT guy configuring hardware, are energy inefficient, unreliable (HDD's etc) and are reliant on your sister's ongoing assistance. I offered AlwaysHome as a cheap, factory pre configured, energy efficient, reliable, and independent solution that does not rely on an IT guy or your sister. They are plug and play. I gave you an example of one of the hardest sport streaming geo blocked apps I have had to deal with, and AlwaysHome worked for me for Foxtel. Do Instagram and the other sites you mentioned have harder geo blocking than Foxtel, I don't know. This thread has been running for two months, with over 190 posts. You have been given many solutions. Can anyone guarantee they will work 100% for you, not really. Can anyone guarantee they will work 100% for you next week, not really. You may have to be prepared to try multiple solutions before you get one working for you. On that basis, why don't you start with the cheapest and easiest option for you?

USB storage can plug straight into the USB port on the TV for direct play. In any case, not much difference between a remote and wireless mini keyboard / mouse combo, which mean any mini PC would suffice.

Perhaps an Amazon Fire Stick would do the job for you. They plug into the HDMI port of a TV and and come with a remote control.

I wrote a lengthy post about how they work, perhaps read it again. All your sister does is plug it in to power, and a port on the back of her router. Nothing to do with he computer. She can throw her computer in the bin and your dongles will still work. Nothing to do with when she sleeps. Nothing to do with when she goes out. Nothing to do with when she has dinner. There is nothing else for her to do, ever again. I have explained that people have been doing what these dongles do for years, using other hardware. This needs configuring. The dongles are pre configured and work straight out of the box. Like I said in my post, you plug your dongle in to power and into the back of your router in Thailand, and then connect to its WiFi signal, and you are now on your sister's network. It's that easy. Your are being scared off with the use of words like "fingerprinting." I understand what these members are saying, but these dongles just work. I tested mine extensively. I tested it with "vanilla" browsers, and browsers with extensions. I accessed movie streaming, sports streaming, radio streaming, banking, online shopping, gambling websites etc, and even tested it from the Thailand side and accessed porn sites. I could access all websites I tried. Speed tests were good. The dongles handled everything I threw at them. What more can I say? You have a basic youtube video showing how it works. The company has a website with information about them on there. For me, Foxtel with Fox Sports was a difficult website for me to access in Thailand, particularly on Android. I have a paid Foxtel subscription. I believe Foxtel use the phone's location services to get around you using a VPN, that's on top of them blocking most of the commercial VPN servers on the market. Turn off location services in your phone and the Foxtel App says you must turn on location services to access your account. I tried location spoofing apps and many other work arounds, none of them worked. I tried with the dongles and I have Foxtel on my big screen in Thailand. Don't ask me about the technical side of why, because like I said, they just work. I think a simplified way to explain these dongles is to think of them as an imaginary 14,000 kilometer ethernet cable between your sister's router in America and your computer in Thailand. If you look at it that way, you will see that however these dongles work, it's as good as sitting in your sister's house on her internet. I would be surprised if your experience was different to mine.

What I found interesting was the reaction of the other customers sitting just a few meters away, some with their backs turned. There was no reaction at all. They kept on drinking and talking. How bad it must be there to be so used to that behavior that you don't even turn to look at what's going on?