ykx1426

Hey there,

I am looking at all the jobs in Oz at the minute on the various websites and I just want to know that the ones that say contracting - does that mean hourly rate, setting up ur own private limited company registering for GST etc. ?? Basically a Contractor or is it a sh*&ter version of a permanent job???


thanks guys,

yk

wintersgills

i was on a thing called bas when i came here 3yrs ago was a bit of a joke got 25% of price of there work they paid super and stuff just like being on wages but you had to work your but off to get anywhere.(contracting)

I got an ABN (Australian business number) and contracted for them at a later date at 35% got better work and made more $$

you got it in one its a sh*&ter version of a job

boom_meringue

depends what you are doing. I work in IT and contracting means working for an hourly rate far beyond what you would get as a permie but you get no holiday pay, sick pay or real security. The agencies can pay you as if you are an employee so you don't have to get an ABN, but there are certain circumstances where it is worth setting up as your own company (if you have other customers for self employed work)

Rosie Cheeks

Yes. The tax office rules it to be so.

thebears

You need to differentiate between an office temp and professional contracting.

It is a profession for some of us who come in to clean up with specific expertise not common in the market and do so for a worth while sum.

There are both advantages and disadvantages with which structure you take - seek professional advice relevant to your personal circumstances.

Not all contracts are time based. It depends on the client, the type of work and the current situation etc. I for example recently won a contract which the client estimated and therefore budgeted for 3 months. I completed it in 2 weeks for a fixed price - therefore I am now on holiday for another 10 weeks paid. Others its a daily rate so I dont need to watch any clocks or eat lunch at my desk.

ykx1426

Hey all,

Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify I was a self employed chemical engineering contractor back home. This involved setting up a plc and registering for VAT and paying your own tax to the revenue. However, I was a one man show.

The company/client where you worked payed you an hourly rate + VAT which you then forwarded onto the rev. The benefits of this were huge $$ wise - claiming expenses etc etc... once you got over the initial outlay fees of setting yourself up and getting an accountant etc...

Just wondering is this the way for contracting engineers out here?
Thanks again

yk

NickyC

You can certainly do that here if you want - set yourself up as a limited company, register for GST etc.

The rules are complex but there are restrictions on what you can claim if you're one of these one-man-band companies and more than 80% of your income in a single tax year comes from the same source (ie. you only had one contract for the whole year with the one company). If this applies, then you're taxed as a pseudo-employee and your own company profits are taxed at your personal marginal rate - rather than at the company tax rate. The type of expenses you can claim are also reduced, if this applies to you.

This was done to stop the usual contractor lurk of paying yourself a minimal amount and taking the rest as company profit. There are also checks to ensure that there's no income splitting (ie paying the spouse for doing nothing!)

BadgeIsBack

Right I'd better stop this at once.