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Originally posted by Dannyboy:
Hey all, I've just had an offer from my company to work in Sydney for three years on a 457 visa. I know most of you guys are going for PR (I may be a few years behind you if things go well), but if anyone has any experience / knowledge of these items in a 457 situation I'd really appreciate some help...
1) I'm expecting to get stitched for school fees in NSW. I have found these fees are payable by 'International' students in State high (secondary) schools. Thing is, my kids are 5 and 3, so I need to find the primary school fees and I can't find them anywhere. Does anyone have any tips / experience in this area?
2) I'm being offered the tax break 'Living Away From Home Allowance' and I suspect that the remainder of my salary (the bit that is not attributable to any LAFH items) will be taxed at the highest rate available based on my total salary - Is this true, or am I taxed on the remainder on the normal sliding scale?
3) I've been told that I cannot qualify for the Medicare plan on a 457 so I have to organise Private Medical cover - True or False in your opinion?

Hoping someone can help... Thanks!

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Originally posted by Alan Collett:
Danny,

Re point 3: if you move to Australia from the UK on a 457-visa you are covered by Medicare under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement between the UK and Australia.

There's more info here:
http://www.gomatilda.com/news/article.cfm?articleid=219

Your employer has an exposure though, as when sponsoring you they are obliged to pick up any Medicare costs that you or your dependents incur while working on the 457-visa. And that's why you might be encouraged to take out private healthcare.

For reference we work with Australian Unity whose Overseas Visitors Cover is A$216 per person for 3 months of cover. For families the rate is A$453.60 per quarter. Annual premiums are simply 4 times the quarterly figures.

Mail me directly if you want more information on this.

Best regards.

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Originally posted by stay or go ?:


just to add a little to what alan has said. we arrived (fiancee and I) on a 457 with only Reciprocal cover. This tax year we have been hit with an ADDITIONAL $2,000 in Medicare extra levies because we didnt have private healthcare. Medibank Private rips you off, and Australian Unity is about the best to go for - just make sure you get it IN THE FIRST TWO WEEKS, otherwise you have to wait 2 months before you can claim anything.

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