zerosleeps

Okay, this post falls under the heading of “might be useful to someone someday, myself included”.

As a member of staff at an Australian university, I am eligible for an account with UniSuper, who provide one of the many superannuation funds available here. From what I can gather, folks working in higher education in Australia get a pretty good deal when it comes to superannuation. Nice if you plan on retiring here, but what about folks like me who intend to flee the country at some point?

Here’s a watered-down summary of my understanding of things after attending a wee seminar held by UniSuper themselves.

• If you come to Australia as a temporary resident, and end up becoming a permanent resident, then normal superannuation rules apply - you’ve gotta be retired before you get anything back
• If you leave Australia as a temporary resident then you are eligible to receive the contents of your superannuation fund, with the following points being applicable:
  • Your visa must expire or be cancelled before you can apply to receive the funds
  • A “Departing Australia Superannuation Payment” form should be completed - this is what UniSuper call the form anyway
  • You’ve got to provide a forwarding address in your new country of residence, and valid bank details
  • Tax is paid on DASP payments: 35% on the taxable component of anything put into the super account (i.e. pretty much anything contributed by your employer, but not the monies paid voluntarily as salary sacrifice)

Now, you can choose to leave the super account in Australia, but it won’t accrue any interest, and will still be eligible for any administrative fees. And for some reason, New Zealand doesn’t come in to all of this: if you move from Australia to New Zealand, the regular Aussie rules apply.

So it turns out that all Australian residents have to complete a tax return every year, and for tax purposes I am considered to be an Australian resident. Eek.

The Australian Tax Office’s website is the main source of information and help here, but it’s a scary place, and I’m struggling to find out exactly what’s involved in making a return. I have managed to deduce that I can acquire a TaxPack from a newsagent, fill it in, and post it back to the ATO.

The other option is to use E-tax, which is an electronic version of the same thing.

But listen to this: the ATO’s implementation of an electronic tax return takes the form of a downloadable Windows application. What. The. Ho? I can’t even begin to imagine what was going through their minds when they decided this was a good idea. What about the tens of thousands of Australians who use an operating system other than Windows? What about accessibility for those who depend on screen readers and other tools which plug straight into web browsers? How do I know that (even if I did have a Windows box) I can trust this downloadable application not to bugger up my computer?

I think I might have to make a new category for this site, into which Australian banks, telecommunications providers, and now the ATO will be placed…

Update Monday 5th July 2010

Aw for pete sake. From the Australian Tax Office’s website regarding system requirements for the E-tax application:

Direct internet access (not via a proxy server)

So I won’t be able to run it from my work PC either, since every large corporation does the sensible thing and puts users behind proxy servers. Better get myself a TaxPack then. shudder

Update Tuesday 6th July 2010

I’ve never been one to pass up the opportunity for a moan, so here’s the latest instalment of the e-tax saga. I have just set up a virtual Windows machine, downloaded and installed the e-tax software, run it, and this is what I got:

Application Error Exception EConvertError in module etax2010.exe at 0000AD96. ‘1/2/2010’ is not a valid date.

Selecting ‘OK’ just quits the application.

Update Friday 9th July 2010

So the fix to the EConvertError thing is to change the system time format to DD/MM/YYYY: mine was at YYYY-MM-DD.

What utter fecking bollocks though. I’ve struggled over the last couple of days to understand the crappy terminology used throughout this crappy application, only to get to the end and be told I can’t lodge my tax return online anyway, because the ATO can’t verify my details.

I’ve to lodge my tax return by completing a TaxPack, and posting it to the ATO.

I’m so flamin’ hacked off right now.

Well this wasn’t in the brochure. Coldest winter here in Sydney for 60 years apparently. I’m certainly regretting leaving that fleece jacket at home. Brrr!

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Well we found a cinema that was showing Toy Story 3 in good old fashioned 2D today. Having just one functional eye, this 3D phase that movie studios are going through results in giving me a headache, and a blurry crappy movie experience. Rant rant mumble.

Toy Story 3 is a wonderful movie, and if you haven’t already seen it, shame on you: go now. NOW! I’m a Pixar buff, but honestly, it’s beautifully made. As with all things from the Californian studio, every single word uttered, emotion conveyed, and frame shown has been meticulously thought about and refined to perfection.

I was fighting back the tears at the end: a very fitting close to the Toy Story series. Hay Un Amigo En Mi!

Now this is interesting: www.goget.com.au

It doesn’t make sense in somewhere like, oh I dunno, Inverness. But it makes perfect sense in Sydney: pay a wee subscription every month, then when you need a car you book online, use a card (which is delivered when you sign up) to unlock and start the car, drive around, then return the car to where you found it. There are loads of GoGet cars parked around Sydney: I walk past a couple just on my way to work.

I’m thinking about trips to Ikea, or maybe a day to Palm Beach… Tempting.

PS this so wasn’t meant to sound like an advert for GoGet :-/