All Aussie Related Stuff (excluding the old age pension)

[jastheace]

he needs to come of a boat from Vietnam then he's sorted.

sorry for that...... but i feel for yr mate. its not a fair play at the mo tho. hope u get an answer.

[BookmanBkk]

50 minutes ago, Nemises said:

I've got a mate in Brisbane who's doing it tough at the moment. He works as a taxi driver and apparently is only making about $50 a day due to the CV19 economy downturn. He has no money in the bank and no assets. The little money that he's making does not cover his living costs. He rent's a room and is aware of the rent moratorium, but what he needs is cash at this time.

 

He says he doesn't qualify for Newstart because his income is variable and not fixed.

 

I asked him to contact Centrelink to inquire if there's any Govt handout available, but he says there isn't. I'm not convinced about this and I tried searching without success.

 

Does anyone have a link to any recently announced benefit that he would be entitled to?

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

If is is a sole trader for tax purposes, he might qualify for this:

https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-department/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-support

Expanding Eligibility and Qualification for Payments

The Government also temporarily put in place expanded eligibility and qualification criteria from 25 March 2020.

Eligibility for JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance for jobseekers have been expanded to assist:

sole traders and self-employed people. They will be able to meet mutual obligation requirements by continuing to operate their businesses.

[scorecard]

25 minutes ago, BookmanBkk said:

If is is a sole trader for tax purposes, he might qualify for this:

https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-department/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-support

Expanding Eligibility and Qualification for Payments

The Government also temporarily put in place expanded eligibility and qualification criteria from 25 March 2020.

Eligibility for JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance for jobseekers have been expanded to assist:

sole traders and self-employed people. They will be able to meet mutual obligation requirements by continuing to operate their businesses.

 I'm North of Sydney right now. In the last few days there's been announcements about aiding in rent payments and also aiding landlords so that they don't have to get serious about evictions. I've been trying to find a link, it's on the web somewhere but so far I can't find it. 

 

Does your friend have a MyGov account, nowadays all the governments are trying to establish a process where all citizens can logon to MyGov account then select the actual agency (e.g. Centrelink, medibank, DVA, ATO, and all agencies), then talk direct to the agency concerned, in your friends case Centrelink).

 

Starting / setting up a MyGov account is quite easy. 

 

All state governments are also making it easy to make contact for state matters.

 

In the last 7 - 14 days the fed gov't have announced many assistance programs. 

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Nemises]

Fantastic!

Many thanks for those links and the MyGov suggestion.

Will forward to him now.

 

 

 

 

[scorecard]

31 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Fantastic!

Many thanks for those links and the MyGov suggestion.

Will forward to him now.

 

 

 

 

Good, can I suggest if your friend doesn't yet have a personal MyGov account (millions of Australian now have it in their favorites in their laptop/PC and on their phones and more folks starting it every day), can I suggest you encourage your friend to get it started, he will need it into the future, because this will be (already is) the standard/easy way to do business/discuss everything with the government and it's easier to find the right department/office etc., to talk with.

 

In some cases the communication is an on-line chat with a robot, or where needed an on-line chat with a real officer or it sometimes becomes a real phone call.

 

Using MyGov does make it easier to contact/discuss with Centrelink.

 

A while back I often noticed many comments/complaints about unhelpful/rude/aggressive Centrelink staff. In the past 4 months I visited Centrelink to get a personal reference number, they were totally focused, pleasant, very helpful and police and courteous ensuring that when I walked away I was satisfied and not confused in any way.

 

Starting the personal Centrelink reference no (CRN), can now be done by phone or on-line and very easy to navigate, after getting my CRN I completed some forms on line and then my situation was all complete. 

 

During the process several times when I checked my personal MyGov account 

9very easy) there were messages to inform/remind me that I needed to complete some details etc., and often giving a phone number to call if I was in any way confused.

 

Good stuff.  

[scorecard]

32 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Good, can I suggest if your friend doesn't yet have a personal MyGov account (millions of Australian now have it in their favorites in their laptop/PC and on their phones and more folks starting it every day), can I suggest you encourage your friend to get it started, he will need it into the future, because this will be (already is) the standard/easy way to do business/discuss everything with the government and it's easier to find the right department/office etc., to talk with.

 

In some cases the communication is an on-line chat with a robot, or where needed an on-line chat with a real officer or it sometimes becomes a real phone call.

 

Using MyGov does make it easier to contact/discuss with Centrelink.

 

A while back I often noticed many comments/complaints about unhelpful/rude/aggressive Centrelink staff. In the past 4 months I visited Centrelink to get a personal reference number, they were totally focused, pleasant, very helpful and police and courteous ensuring that when I walked away I was satisfied and not confused in any way.

 

Starting the personal Centrelink reference no (CRN), can now be done by phone or on-line and very easy to navigate, after getting my CRN I completed some forms on line and then my situation was all complete. 

 

During the process several times when I checked my personal MyGov account 

9very easy) there were messages to inform/remind me that I needed to complete some details etc., and often giving a phone number to call if I was in any way confused.

 

Good stuff.  

More, Woolies and Coles announced a week ago that they would soak up large numbers of workers stood down by QANTAS and more an they announced/encouraged any person to apply.

 

Also there's a new support allowance whereby struggling employers can request a AUD1,500 per support per month per employee to ensure people have money to survive and to help reduce the number of business close downs. And they have made the processes to apply etc., quite simple with quick payments. 

[simple1]

On 4/2/2020 at 12:27 PM, scorecard said:

More, Woolies and Coles announced a week ago that they would soak up large numbers of workers stood down by QANTAS and more an they announced/encouraged any person to apply.

 

Also there's a new support allowance whereby struggling employers can request a AUD1,500 per support per month per employee to ensure people have money to survive and to help reduce the number of business close downs. And they have made the processes to apply etc., quite simple with quick payments. 

I understand you're referencing the JobKeeper program run by the ATO. People can go to the ATO website and download the fact sheet for JobKeeper criteria and so on. The allowance is $1500.00 per fortnight. As there are many on Age Pension on this site, it should be noted if you have a partner claiming the JobSeeker incentive the funds are currently being treated as income with Age Pension impacted accordingly. 

 

With regard to residential rent during the Covid crisis, programs, if any, with be provided by State government, not Federal. Would depend which State or Territory you reside, but currently as a generalisation landlords are not permitted to evict for three months, but rents must be paid. I guess an individual can try and come to an agreement with the landlord to lower rent payments for the period, but they usually aren't known to be generous.

[AussieBob18]

On 2/13/2020 at 2:03 PM, LosLobo said:

With respect, you shouldn't be posting misinformation.

Maybe you should just own up to the fact that you made a mistake, that you don't understand AAP/DHS legislation, in particular deemed income on income streams, and move on.

Since 1 January 2015, income from super pensions for AAP eligibility has been deemed i.e. based on super balance.

Super pension payments are not classed as income by DHS.

"If you started receiving an account-based pension on or after 1 January 2015, then Centrelink treats your account-based pension account as a financial asset and uses the deeming rules to determine your ‘deemed income’ from your account-based pension."

https://www.canstar.com.au/account-based-pensions/account-based-pension-rules-work/

"Deeming is a set of rules used to work out the income created from your financial assets. It assumes these assets earn a set rate of income, no matter what they really earn."

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/topics/deeming/29656

And for Newstart….

"Assessable income can also be:

deemed income from money in superannuation funds if you’ve reached Age Pension age."

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/newstart-allowance/how-much-you-can-get/income-and-asset-limits/income-test/income

 

I was recently filling out Centrelink stuff for support during the coronavirus for the missus and I came across this paragraph - and then I remembered that guy that refused to listen and argued about Super Pensions being income in some circumstances to DHS (Services Australia).  So I thought just for your edification I would copy and paste that online paragraph for you (and any others that believed you), and offer some explanation:

 

Do you and/or ROBERT receive income from any income stream products in Australia? Include:

• Account-based Pension (also known as Allocated Pension)
• Market-linked Pension (also known as Term Allocated Pension)
• Lifetime, Pooled Lifetime, Life Expectancy or Term Income Streams
• Annuities
• Defined Benefit Pension (e.g. Commonwealth or State superannuation pension)
• Superannuation Pension (non-defined benefit)

Luckily, I dont withdraw any Super payments as a Pension (regular set amount each month), because I was aware of both the upside and the downside.  The main upside is that if you apportion part/all of your Super into a 'Pension Account' the Super Fund pays little/no tax on the earnings made from that portion/account of your Super Fund (but they do get more earnings/management fees). The main downside to it is that DHS (and others) treat Super Pension payments differently than they do Super lump sum payments (one off withdrawals). I have always taken the viewpoint that if both the Super Funds and the Govt encourages people to do anything with their Super money, the real benefit is to them and not to me - there is always a gotcha. 

 

So my advice to all people (and you Los) who are ever thinking about getting their Super money put into a 'Pension Account' and receiving the money as a regular 'pension payment' - is that there are downsides in terms of the classification of that 'untaxed' pension payment as income by some Govt bodies in some situations.  And I dont know why I say this, but I reckon since I last checked this out in detail some years ago, the number of 'disadvantages' will have been increased. And by the way, if you do have Super in a 'Pension Account' - if you transfer it back to a 'Standard Account' (taxed earnings) the Super Fund has to pay the unpaid back-taxes (but you get back nil of anything you lost).

 

[BEVUP]

On 4/8/2020 at 10:44 AM, simple1 said:

I understand you're referencing the JobKeeper program run by the ATO. People can go to the ATO website and download the fact sheet for JobKeeper criteria and so on. The allowance is $1500.00 per fortnight

Sounds good in reality

Eligible only if Company applies (under conditions )

If full time or longer then 12 mths (for employee ), & with this a lot of people will miss out - Then you have companies that have a lot of Labour Hire employees (permanent like I was ) transferred to Casual 2 wks before Easter ( that puts me in Jobseeker not keeper )

But apparently the assumption at the moment is that the Companies are planning for the Employees to burn all their Leave entitlements (whilst company claims the 1500 ) first.

 

& for Centerlink = A bunch of misfits - Dealt with them Feb 2019 (got no where & nothing ) they only extracted info

Told them had job nearly 60 + hrs a wk + travel = Answer - It says you have to provide 24 jobs 

[scorecard]

On 4/2/2020 at 11:56 AM, Nemises said:

Fantastic!

Many thanks for those links and the MyGov suggestion.

Will forward to him now.

 

 

 

 

A further point; please tell your friend don't be afraid to contact Centrelink. For many years they had a poor image of being unhelpful and rude. In the last 5 months I've been to their office several times and called them several times, they listened, checked their information, gave good comprehensive advice, ensured I had other phone numbers, ensured I had web address links, etc., if needed.  Having said that the wait time on the phone is probably a bit extended at the moment but may well be worth the wait.

 

If your friend hasn't register yet for his personal long-term (lifetime) MyGov account this is perhaps good time to register, he will need to prove his identity (not necessarily difficult, in most cases can be done on line), which means he's also completed the initial personal details for any later applications he might make. 

 

Good luck for your friend. 

[simple1]

1 hour ago, BEVUP said:

Sounds good in reality

Eligible only if Company applies (under conditions )

If full time or longer then 12 mths (for employee ), & with this a lot of people will miss out - Then you have companies that have a lot of Labour Hire employees (permanent like I was ) transferred to Casual 2 wks before Easter ( that puts me in Jobseeker not keeper )

But apparently the assumption at the moment is that the Companies are planning for the Employees to burn all their Leave entitlements (whilst company claims the 1500 ) first.

 

& for Centerlink = A bunch of misfits - Dealt with them Feb 2019 (got no where & nothing ) they only extracted info Told them had job nearly 60 + hrs a wk + travel = Answer - It says you have to provide 24 jobs 

Don't have the knowledge to reply regards your specific employment scenario - have you contacted the ATO for clarification on T&Cs. I found the ATO constructive trying to sort out a situation for my wife re JobSeeker. Employers are required to nominate employees who have to agree to being on the JobKeeper program. Funds are required to be transferred in full to the employees bank account once the ATO gives go-ahead for the employee, employers must not keep funds destined for employees, though can guarantee fraud will occur; refer below. The benefit of JobKeeper besides more money than JobSeeker, is you retain your job, so don't have to search for a job once the Covid crisis is over when there will be thousands looking for employment.

 

Already fraud underway with JobKeeper by some employers. e.g. friend of my wife who is a casual and met the criteria for JobKeeper was informed by his employer once the $1500 per fortnight hits his account he must give back in cash to the employer the additional money above his usual casual pay. The employee will be taxed on the full $1500.00. The employee complied to the extortion as he is concerned will not be able to quickly find a job after Covid. Despicable behaviour by some employers.

 

Centrelink staff don't dictate criteria for welfare payment.

[AussieBob18]

On 4/13/2020 at 8:25 PM, simple1 said:

Don't have the knowledge to reply regards your specific employment scenario - have you contacted the ATO for clarification on T&Cs. I found the ATO constructive trying to sort out a situation for my wife re JobSeeker. Employers are required to nominate employees who have to agree to being on the JobKeeper program. Funds are required to be transferred in full to the employees bank account once the ATO gives go-ahead for the employee, employers must not keep funds destined for employees, though can guarantee fraud will occur; refer below. The benefit of JobKeeper besides more money than JobSeeker, is you retain your job, so don't have to search for a job once the Covid crisis is over when there will be thousands looking for employment.

Already fraud underway with JobKeeper by some employers. e.g. friend of my wife who is a casual and met the criteria for JobKeeper was informed by his employer once the $1500 per fortnight hits his account he must give back in cash to the employer the additional money above his usual casual pay. The employee will be taxed on the full $1500.00. The employee complied to the extortion as he is concerned will not be able to quickly find a job after Covid. Despicable behaviour by some employers.

Centrelink staff don't dictate criteria for welfare payment.

Checked all this out for a friend - spoke to ATO and Business.gov (took forever)

 

The $1500 is before tax and it goes to the employer - who then removes taxes super etc. and then 'pays' the employee. It is then reported like a normal salary payment.  The employee receives it as any normal salary payment from the employer.

 

If the employee is still working and is usually paid say $2000 a fortnight, then the employer pays the gap.

If the employee is laid off and not working, the employee gets $1500 pre tax and that is all that is paid to employee (unles on leave etc. of course).

If the employee normally earns less than the $1500 the employer still gets the full payment of pre-tax $1500 and must pay the employee at that rate.

The employer can either pay the employee and get money from ATO, or can wait for the money from ATO and then pay the employee.

 

One thing was not clear - who pays the Super amount.  Normally it is paid by the employer - but if the employee is not working and the business is closed then surely the super payment would come out of the $1500 - I did not ask that one.

 

According to this site below, the amount payable to the employee is $1308 after tax - but that is if the Super ($142.50) is paid by the employer. If I am an employer and the business is closed, I would pay the Super out of the $1500 - so the money to the employee would be $1166 a fortnight.  

https://www.ayers.com.au/tax-calculator/

 

Those on jobseeker get $520 a fortnight (normal) plus another $550 due to Covid - total of $1070.

[moojar]

^ My wife will be getting the 'JobKeeper' payment. She has been told by her HR manager that there will be no 'Super guarantee' payments made under this scheme.  

 

[simple1]

10 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:

One thing was not clear - who pays the Super amount.

Regards JobKeeper payments it's at the discretion of the employer if they wish to pay superannuation or not. it is not unusual for employers in the SME world not to pay super even in 'normal' times, the approach being you want the job or not.

[AussieBob18]

6 hours ago, simple1 said:

Regards JobKeeper payments it's at the discretion of the employer if they wish to pay superannuation or not. it is not unusual for employers in the SME world not to pay super even in 'normal' times, the approach being you want the job or not.

Sorry mate - not true anymore.  Now anyone earning over $400 per month must have a Super account created by their employer and Super must be paid on top of their salary.  That is why many 'cash' businesses have part-timers who only work a few hours/days. Labor wanted to make it compulsory for $1 salary - idiots - how to stop small businesses employing part timers.

 

[simple1]

42 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

Sorry mate - not true anymore.  Now anyone earning over $400 per month must have a Super account created by their employer and Super must be paid on top of their salary.  That is why many 'cash' businesses have part-timers who only work a few hours/days. Labor wanted to make it compulsory for $1 salary - idiots - how to stop small businesses employing part timers.

 

Not so for JobKeeper payments. However, you reminded me,  you're correct, kicked in for my wife 01/20 for usual legal employment - from memory became a requirement from ATO, (don't know how they would enforce - see below) at least that's how it was explained to my wife. Prior to that she worked for five years without a cent in super, limited work around here with full legal benefits, as I said that it or leave it. 

 

My stepson worked for a local restaurant full time for years, never paid him super. I encouraged him to try and get it when I returned from Thailand. Employer basically told him to f-off. he departed the restaurant, I contacted the ATO, ATO took action against the employer so he got some payment, but employer declared bankruptcy to avoid his obligations. Stepson never received another cent although the restaurant is still trading with a different family member. 

[AussieBob18]

2 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Not so for JobKeeper payments. However, you reminded me,  you're correct, kicked in for my wife 01/20 for usual legal employment - from memory became a requirement from ATO, (don't know how they would enforce - see below) at least that's how it was explained to my wife. Prior to that she worked for five years without a cent in super, limited work around here with full legal benefits, as I said that it or leave it. 

 

My stepson worked for a local restaurant full time for years, never paid him super. I encouraged him to try and get it when I returned from Thailand. Employer basically told him to f-off. he departed the restaurant, I contacted the ATO, ATO took action against the employer so he got some payment, but employer declared bankruptcy to avoid his obligations. Stepson never received another cent although the restaurant is still trading with a different family member. 

Didnt know that jobkeeper payments would not require Super added - will let my friend know. 

 

Yeh - have heard similar stories about scumbags who hide behind business structures. Unfortunately most businesses are structured so that they can walk away if something goes wrong. I did the same myself - not so I could do wrong things - but so I wouldn't lose the house fighting any frivolous legal claims or vexatious former employee or if something went wrong and an insurance company refused to pay.  Hard to say that they should not be able to do so - but it is a problem due to the scumbags.  

[simple1]

23 minutes ago, AussieBob18 said:

Didnt know that jobkeeper payments would not require Super added

Apologies, (old age memory!) just located the actual JobKeeper super wording, so I assume only applies to payments above prior salary level.

 

It will be up to the employer if they want to pay superannuation on any additional wage paid because of the JobKeeper Payment. urther details for businesses

 

https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet_Info_for_Employers_0.pdf

[AussieBob18]

2 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Apologies, just located the actual JobKeeper super wording, so I assume only applies to payments above prior salary level.

 

It will be up to the employer if they want to pay superannuation on any additional wage paid because of the JobKeeper Payment. urther details for businesses

 

https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet_Info_for_Employers_0.pdf

All good - thanks for that mate.

[lujanit]

Anyone else receive a letter in MyGov inbox saying they have been paid a one off $750?  I just checked and it is in my Aus bank account.  I thought anyone living overseas was not eligible.

[ozzydom]

10 minutes ago, lujanit said:

Anyone else receive a letter in MyGov inbox saying they have been paid a one off $750?  I just checked and it is in my Aus bank account.  I thought anyone living overseas was not eligible.

Having an Oz bank a/c may be the secret,I have a Thai a/c and zilch ,nada.

[lujanit]

1 minute ago, ozzydom said:

Having an Oz bank a/c may be the secret,I have a Thai a/c and zilch ,nada.

Thanks.  I won’t spend it.  They know I am living overseas as Centrelink has stopped paying all the extras for about a year now.

[scorecard]

7 minutes ago, ozzydom said:

Having an Oz bank a/c may be the secret,I have a Thai a/c and zilch ,nada.

-

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, lujanit said:

Thanks.  I won’t spend it.  They know I am living overseas as Centrelink has stopped paying all the extras for about a year now.

Just curious, ignore my question if too personal, are you saying you've been receiving the basic old age pension abroad for some time, paid into a bank a/c in OZ, but not including allowances like electricity? 

[lujanit]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Just curious, ignore my question if too personal, are you saying you've been receiving the basic old age pension abroad for some time, paid into a bank a/c in OZ, but not including allowances like electricity? 

Yes, that is correct.  Centrelink will pay the allowances if you are overseas for the first six weeks, after that the allowances cut out.  You still receive the basic OAP.

 

I get the pension paid into my Aus account then transfer what/when I need money into my Thai account using Transferwise.

 

I just cannot work out why they paid me the $750.

[scorecard]

1 minute ago, lujanit said:

Yes, that is correct.  Centrelink will pay the allowances if you are overseas for the first six weeks, after that the allowances cut out.  You still receive the basic OAP.

 

I get the pension paid into my Aus account then transfer what/when I need money into my Thai account using Transferwise.

 

I just cannot work out why they paid me the $750.

Thanks. In the Centrelink files is your address recorded as in Australia or abroad? Maybe that makes a difference?

[lujanit]

Australia.  However Centrelink uses Immigration data to tell if you have gone overseas and not come back.

 

You may be right about the address.  Probably they used some program to identify OAP with an address in Australia.  They will work it out quick enough.  I can’t be the only person living overseas with an Australian address.

 

[scorecard]

9 minutes ago, lujanit said:

Australia.  However Centrelink uses Immigration data to tell if you have gone overseas and not come back.

 

You may be right about the address.  Probably they used some program to identify OAP with an address in Australia.  They will work it out quick enough.  I can’t be the only person living overseas with an Australian address.

 

All interesting, and confusing. Both Centrelink and the Dept., of Veterans Affairs have told me in their correspondence it's an offence to not tell them current residential within 7 days of any change. 

 

At one point (just a few months ago) I spoke to an officer on the 'Older Australians' line, she politely said, if you go abroad and don't tell them you have gone abroad and you do continue to get the allowances, they will demand repayment of the allowance I should not have received (deduct it from upcoming payments) and they will also prosecute which could also mean permanent cancellation of all pensions.

 

A bit of a conundrum. 

[kevvy]

 

Remember them

[AussieBob18]

On 4/23/2020 at 5:27 PM, scorecard said:

All interesting, and confusing. Both Centrelink and the Dept., of Veterans Affairs have told me in their correspondence it's an offence to not tell them current residential within 7 days of any change. 

At one point (just a few months ago) I spoke to an officer on the 'Older Australians' line, she politely said, if you go abroad and don't tell them you have gone abroad and you do continue to get the allowances, they will demand repayment of the allowance I should not have received (deduct it from upcoming payments) and they will also prosecute which could also mean permanent cancellation of all pensions.

A bit of a conundrum. 

There is no hard and fast rule etc. - it all comes down to what CLink decide at the time in in that situation.

Australians can go overseas and when they do, their pension payments drop after 6 weeks.

If you maintain an address, bank account, drivers licence, etc etc - you are still a resident, unless you have decided to move overseas permanently.   You got the payment because you are still an Aust resident probably.

If you are OK with that, then you need to be on an extended holiday overseas. What can happen is that after 2 years a person overseas who does not return can be deemed to be a non-resident - if CLink believes you have no intention to return.  That is the key - having a residence and all that other stuff, and intention to come back.  So if you now have no intention of returning, what I would suggest is that you contact CLink later (before 2 years is up), and advise them that after careful consideration you are considering staying in Thailand for a while - ask will that affect my pension payments if I do that?? ????

Make sure you state that you have been in many places in Thailand, and that you have not set up a home, and you have not lived in any one place for a long time, and that you are now considering getting a permanent place, but you would like to know if that would affect your pension payments and other benefits (ask about Medicare too).