Katherined0

Hi

Wonder if any of you can help. The personnel officer at my husbands work has told him we can not claim LAFHA because they paid us a relocation allowance (flights and shipping.) Is this correct? While I hate to be rude about anyone this lady has not always given us reliable information about things so I dont have a great deal of confidence in what she says. I suspect it may be just too much hassle for her to process the paperwork on our behalf!!!!

Any good websites etc. to help us on this would also be helpful.

Many Thanks

Katherine

stevemich

That is wrong - I was relocated by my employer and get LAFHA.

They either do not understand the process of LAFHA, or cannot be bothered to do the paperwork to set it up.

Not sure about websites to point you to, I'm afraid.

Good luck getting it sorted.

Steve

Vanessa

Like Steve my OHs company paid our relocation expenses and we got LAFHA. However, be very careful about what you say when applying. Do not say that your intention is to stay in Australia because as soon as you do that you do not qualify for it - or if you have got it then you lose it

yanH

One of the problems with LAFHA is that you are entirely dependent on your Employer to implement it for you. If they won't then apparently there is nothing you can do.

I suspect that you are probably correct in your assessment that aren't giving it to you because they can't be bothered to do the paperwork. Good luck with getting it sorted.

Swerv-o

Yes, as yanH says, you should have negotiated it into your contract for employment. It is not a matter of automatically qualifying for it - it is down to your employer. If they want to then they can give it to you, if not, then tough. Maybe they feel that paying the relocation expenses has been enough?

S

chels

Sorry, I can only confirm what yanH and Swerv-o have said. If it's not written into the contract or part of the letter of offer, it will be hard to get them to agree to it.

There is very little information online about LAFHA - I think the Australian Government likes to keep quiet about it so that Australian residents who don't qualify for it won't kick up a fuss about foreigners coming over and stealing their jobs and getting an allowance on top of it!

What you may want to consider is going to see an accountant or solicitor who specialises in this area, and getting a professional opinion as to whether you have a case or not.

Katherined0

Sorry -- I dont understand how this whole thing works. Is it something you get FROM your employer or something you're entitled to as a tax benefit from the government? If it's from the government why then should it have been written into my husbands contract of employment. The more I find out -- the more confused I become!!!

Thanks for taking the time to reply though guys. Much appreciated!

yanH

Just trying to clarify (although I'm only speaking from my own experiences) LAFHA is a tax benefit however as your employer is the one that has to calculate and administer your salary you are dependent on them to actually implement it.

The reason that it should have been on your husbands contract is that then the Employer would have been obligated to implement it. Hope that this helps.

chels

It's a complicated one to understand. It's a Government tax allowance to subsidise you for the costs of living away from home, ie rent and sometimes food costs, when working in Australia from overseas or away from your normal home in Australia. It doesn't cost your employers anything to set you up for it (apart from payroll admin costs), but many of them don't understand how it works, can't be bothered and hope you don't know about it, or are worried about getting audited and being found to have employees getting it when they're not supposed to.

There is no entitlement to it. You can't force an employer to do the necessary paperwork etc to get you the allowance. And if they won't do it, you can't get it any other way as it is done through the payroll system (as far as I'm aware).

Have you done a search on the forum about it? This question comes up quite regularly, there are others in the same boat as you unfortunately. That might give you a few more ideas.

mooncat

Is LAFHA the same as salary sacrificing then?

Katherined0

The really frustrating thing for us is that other people in the organisation have it and I just think it's the personnel officer that's making it awkward for us to get it! I suggested to my husband he try and go over her head and talk to the boss about it but he's reluctant to do that until he has the facts at his fingertips. (which we're finding hard to get!) I guess he's just a nicer person than I am!

northernbird

We were told that the employer doesn't always like to give it as although the benefit is paid to the employee it is in fact the employer that is liable to the ATO if for some reason they decide that said employer wasn't actually living away from home ie. paid relocation etc etc. Some employers may be more willing to take the risk of facing the wrath of the ATO than others.

chels

Similar thing happened to my OH - his job offer included LAFHA, but the company then stopped offering it so there are some employees who do get it, others who don't. Apparently it was because they employed a new HR manager who had concerns about the ATO and auditing (along the lines of what northernbird said).

Have to say, even though it was in his letter of offer, they were uncooperative at the start about setting it up. When they finally did, it was backdated to when he started.

mollymoo

Hi

Yes, LAFHA is very complex to mere mortals like ourselves. We had relocation expenses paid, and all the other gubbings, and we still get it, but it was written into the contract. I don't understand it either, and like you, searched for what seemed like forever, and found nought!!

I must admit, I would go with your hubby and find out some facts before tackling the issue with someone, it seems, is as confused by it as you are. I would persevere though.

Good luck
Molly

yanH

I don't see why getting relocation should stop you getting LAFHA anyway. Just because your employer assisted you with moving doesn't mean that you intend to stay permanently. Some people are regularly moved around by their company and have no intention of living long term in any of the places.