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Remuneration & related expenses for Visiting Academics (non-residents of Australia)

The Dean will be responsible for specifying any payment including Fee for Service/Remuneration, cost of Visa, health insurance, travel and Living Away From Home Allowances.

All payments can be paid either through payroll or the visitor may elect to invoice Monash University, see Payment Procedure for more information. All costs associated with the Visiting Academic are to be charged to the Department/School, Faculty.

Remuneration

Guidelines

The Dean will be responsible for specifying any payment made for Fee for Service/Remuneration.

Remuneration for international visitors must be in accordance with the Visa that the visitor has obtained.

Payment

All payments including benefit payments can be paid either through payroll or the visitor may elect to invoice Monash University - see Payment Procedure for more information.

The monies will be payable in terms of the period of the visit ie. a short stay may be a single payment and a longer stay a regular payment for the period of the visit.

Income Tax

Tax Payable

Income tax will be deducted at the appropriate level for the Remuneration component of any payment.

International visitors will be required to complete and sign a Country of Origin Declaration form.

Tax Exempt

The Remuneration paid to a foreign visitor will be subject to Australian income tax unless it is covered by a specific exemption provided in a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) that Australia has with the visitor's home country (where they are resident for taxation purposes).

Some DTAs, such as the United Kingdom/Australia DTA and Malaysia/Australia DTA, have specific provisions governing the taxation of visiting professors. To qualify for tax exemption under such provisions, the visitor must satisfy the criteria set out in the applicable DTA. Whilst the criteria set out in each DTA differ, the following can be used as a guide:

  • the period of the visit is defined as a short stay in the relevant DATA (usually 183 days)
  • the visitor is invited to teach or conduct research at an Australian educational institution
  • the purpose of the visit is solely to teach or conduct research at that educational institution
  • the visitor is a resident of their home country (ie. the country where they are resident for taxation purposes) immediately before their visit to Australia.
  • Countries that offer the Double Tax Treaty

Payroll Tax

The University will be required to pay payroll tax on the full amount of any payment that might be construed as Remuneration (under the Payroll Tax Act 1971) to the visitor and any allowance such as LAFHA that is subject to FBT. The payroll tax rate applicable is 5.25% for the 2004-2005 tax year.

Superannuation

A visitor who receives Remuneration or Fee for Service that exceeds $450 per month, is considered by Monash to be a staff member for the purpose of the superannuation guarantee legislation.

For the 2004-2005 tax years, this obligation is 9% of the visitor's Remuneration. Other Superannuation Guarantee Legislation thresholds may also apply.

The University is not required to pay superannuation on the Living Away From Home Allowance or the reimbursement of FBT exempt travel
expenses paid to the visitor.

From 1 July, 2002 persons who have entered Australia on an eligible temporary residents visa listed on the ATO Assist: Temporary residents—eligible temporary resident visas page and who permanently depart Australia are able to receive payment of any superannuation they have accumulated.

Detailed information and forms can be found at

ATO Assist: Access to superannuation benefits for temporary residents

WorkCover

The University WorkCover policy covers eligible visitors for the duration of their visit to the University. The current WorkCover oncost is 1% of any payment considered to be Remuneration under the Workers Compensation Act e.g. LAFHA, superannuation.