Husband working in Australia advice

[Justnavigating]

My husband is looking into working in Australia. A long term plan may be - in the distant future - to live over there , all of us ( I am in a skilled trade , so is he ) .

There is a role he could do that would pay very high , he would go over for maybe 2 months then back for 2 weeks at a time . The wage would be better - less tax. — and could help us to get out of debt. It’s early days and there is a lot to think of .

My question is how does this work for UC purposes ? Would Australia still declare the income the same ? This would mean we probably wouldn’t get anything , but I would like to keep it open in case that work stopped . People have said he wouldn’t actually live here - but , we would still be married and he would be contributing ( sending me money for bills ) and I couldn’t say he didn’t live here as he would still be on the tenancy , my landord wouldn’t allow me to live here alone I don’t think , my wage can be low as I only work part time at the moment due to children . I’m not worried about not getting any UC but I wouldn’t want to just close the claim until we needed to , as it’s a pain setting it up again . Some have said it would be spousal income but I don’t think it would as even though we’re not living together all the time as he would mainly be in Australia, he would still be on the tenancy and it wouldn’t be fair to claim as single when I’m benefiting from his income. I have children , he is not the father .

To clarify - I’m not asking how to cheat the system and pretend I’m single I’m asking the opposite !

Also , tax is lower there and he would be paid by an Australian company , not a U.K. company but would he still be taxed here on it ?

Just want some advice and to make sure it actually will be beneficial as it’s a big change and a big sacrifice for us as a family and I don’t want to do it if we’re only slightly better off as it’s not worth the sacrifice but if it’s a massive difference that could help us clear debt and maybe buy a house here if I didn’t want to move there ( I’m not sold on moving there at the minute , it wouldn’t be for a very long time if we did )

thank you

That's not necessarily right. We got PR right before we moved over. Then had to live there four years before we could get citizenship.

If he makes good money now why are you in debt? Do you get support from the father of your kids?

Just wondering if he's feeling a lot of pressure to support everyone with you only working part time?

Why not just move the children and yourself there with him I think that would be easier and better in the long run.

Do not underestimate the challenges of the time zone difference. I worked in Asia foe few years with my kids and my (now ex) dh back in UK. It was really difficult, just with phone calls/face time etc as the time difference meant it was always the wrong time for someone (he was at work or it was too late/early for kids).
We did it for about a year before I came back. I should add that I had extensive advice/support from my company who sorted all the tax (paid for accountants in both countries) and also the rest of logistics (rental in Asia etc). It was not for the faint hearted and even then the flights were difficult enough. My company flew us business class but it still took a day or two to adjust both ways which always ate into family time.
The devil in this is in the detail. Are flights a fixed sum or paid regardless of cost. Will they pay for you to travel out or only him to travel back. Will they provide housing assistance in Oz? Who pays for tax advice in both countries? Etc etc

I live in Australia.

I used to be an immigration (MARA) solicitor - (teacher now, woo-hoo!), so this (WAS) is my area of expertise. I wasn't going to comment but I cannot...not.

Is he an Australian citizen?
Is he in the armed forces and coming to work for the Australian defence force (ADF)?

Unless he is Australian citizen, or in the armed forces, he will not be able to obtain a dual passport for himself - or you.

He would need to apply to become a permanent resident (PR) first.

After becoming a PR and then living in Australia for four years, he would then be eligible to apply for citizenship if he has lived in, and not been absent from Australia for a certain amount of time. THEN he would be able to apply to get a dual passport.

If he is coming to join the ADF, they can apply for citizenship for him after 3 months of service. Then he'd be eligible to apply for a dual passport.

PR visa applications can be a lengthly and costly process as he'd need to get his skills assessed and certified, pass an English test(!) and a medical prior to being INVITED to apply for the PR.

Depending on what visa he will be coming here on to work, he could be taxed an extortionate amount. Tax for foreign residents starts at 32.5%. Even Australian residents/citizens pay more than 20% tax if they earn over $45,000 - (average full time income in Aus is close to or exceeding $100k). FIFO workers are paid very generously - there is a reason for that, but not relevant to this so I won't go there. If he is an Aus resident he'd be taxed high. If he is a foreign resident he will be taxed even more.

I've uploaded a tax income rate image below - this is for AUSTRALIAN residents. Foreign residents may have to pay higher tax depending on the visa he is on. Fifo workers earn on average $140-$150k. It's likely he'd be paying 37% tax on his income. Foreign residents are not eligible for a tax free threshold, so that is 37% from the very first dollar he earns.

She doesn't want to live there now or ever.

I honestly don’t think this can possibly be workable unless you all go.

flights from the UK will absolutely not be paid for (at least not regularly). You absolutely will not both be given Aussie passports, unless you both lived there full time for serve two years. I can’t pretend to understand the tax situation but this is no way to pay off a debt

I'm guessing this is in the mining industry?

So yes they do have foreign workers and there's specific rules regarding immigration for the industry but this doesn't lead to dual nationality any quicker.

As to the pay, it seems high because (a) the Australian $ is worth half a pound and (b) the cost of living is higher, so a beer, a sandwich, your grocery shopping costs way more than the UK. Some jobs do pay relatively more than the U.K., others not so much, depends.

You need far more information to see if it stacks up. I'm not saying don't consider it, my neighbour works 3 months on 3 months off in the oil industry (south America currently) and it affords them a lovely life.

Absolutely not worth it

You either all go or nobody goes

You are getting really rubbish advice on this thread and being told really rubbish things. If you have any intention of going ahead with this, pay somebody who is qualified to give advice.

By the way flying back and forth within a two week window will be awful. If you have never flown truly long haul you don't appreciate how awful it is. If it's economy it will be worse.

Dangerous game.

I wouldn't do it. You need lots of company support when you're relocating.

I know you came on this thread to find out how not too cheat the benefit/tax system but what hes proposing is ludicrous.

He basically wants to move away and you see him once every few months. And we’re not talking Lands End B or John o’Groats. But the other side of the world! Surely the airflights would use all the extra money. Plus they’re exhausting. Not to mention running two households etc. People on ‘Wanted Down Under’ are always amazed how expensive Australia is.

Given that all accommodation is provided, I assume this is a FIFO (fly in, fly out) role in mining. If so, please look into the FIFO culture before you commit - there are problems with sexual harassment, drugs and suicide.

Also I'm not sure how keen the employer would be to take someone with a home address in the UK. It used to be fairly common for people in these roles to live in South East Asia but the mining companies got wary of that during COVID.

It's been a decade since I lived in Australia so my knowledge is very out dated.

Accommodation/ catering might be provided when he is on site but it won't be when he is off site. Would he be doing 2 months on 2 weeks off? That's a long shift, most people I met doing it did max 6 weeks on 2 weeks off. Even Aussie families I knew where the wife + kids stayed in their home town/ city and husband went away found it incredibly difficult and didn't do it for all too long.

I absolutely would not like to fly from Australia to the UK and back every 2 months. It is a long flight and even at 22 it took me nearly a week to 'rebalance' after. I do know someone who's company in the mines did pay for a few return flights a year to Ireland. But he had been in the job for a while out there and his wife said enough and moved home. To keep him another while they offered that - must be fairly high up/ good at his job!

The tax advise you are looking for is pretty specialized, they probably won't know but citizens advice might be a good call this morning? They might point you in the right direction

I know nothing about visas and tax or anything but this seems like madness to me. Not least the travel.

Surely if one of you is working overseas it should be somewhere tax-free to really maximise your earnings?

If it is mining like some have said, isn't there opportunities closer to home? I know rig work is highly paid.

@Aussiegirl123456 If he is coming to join the ADF, they can apply for citizenship for him after 3 months of service. Then he'd be eligible to apply for a dual passport

The whole ADF angle is unlikely as he has also said he would somehow be self-employed. Makes little sense but certainly wouldn’t apply to ADF.

If the children were ours - I would certainly consider it! But they aren’t and they have lives here with their dads and dads side of the family . It wouldn’t be fair on them or their family .

See at first he said to me Australia was tax free and I looked and it isn’t!

Thank you . This is useful . I think I’m right then that it certainly isn’t as great as it seems .

No he is not Australian.

It is FIFO mining

Gosh that doesn’t sound good !!

There are lots of posts so thought I would do an update .

You’ve all made valid points . I was right in my thought that it’s not as amazing as it seems !

We had more of a chat . He likes the idea of the financial aspect , if it worked out better obviously . Not as keen on being away for so long and the impact it could have on us , even chatting about when we could even talk around my work and his and the time difference ! It’s a nice idea but one that needs to be really looked into .

He has actually been offered another job today ( I wish I had the luck he has !! ) that’s quite a commute but he would be home every day . It’s a higher wage than he is on now. He is going to take that . Australia isn’t off the table , but this job ( although nowhere near as high paid as he “thinks” the Australia one is ) will help us and give us that breathing space - maybe because we can work on our debts more with this he won’t feel as desperate and as he’s not disappearing over the other side of the world I can work more ( I have had a job offered to me - a whole other story and not sure if I want it ) but it’s a year contract and no way I could have done it if I was effectively a single parent with him not living here .

In all honesty, I don’t think anything more will come of this . It’s a massive upheaval and like I say I think fuelled by just desperately looking for a way to get us out of this hole we are in !

Thank you for all your advice x

We had quite a significant event in our lives that caused it. Now we’re back having income that actually seems quite high from the outside , we can’t really get assistance . We are working on it but sometimes it feels as though we work and just have nothing !

Yes he is definitely feeling that pressure. I say part time - it’s been like that - I’m getting back into it more and I’m currently full time but agency so it is a lot on him .

I also assumed it's fly in fly out mining. My dh has worked for a mining company in Australia in finance and I've got friends whose husbands have done FIFO work in mining companies.

It's well paid because it's unpleasant and the living conditions are poor. It's more comparable to being in prison than anything else. Obviously they aren't locked in but there's nowhere to go!

It's very "lads lads lads" because it's a load of blokes living together for months at a time. There's often no mobile signal as it's remote so no FaceTimeing daddy at bedtime.

I've definitely watched a documentary about mining in WA but I can't remember the details.

Maybe watch the Larrimah doco on Netflix which has nothing whatsoever to do with mining and is not even in news but is an accurate representation of how people live in rural Australia. Such as 'I wasn't there that day because I'd gone to the supermarket and it's eight hours so I stayed overnight'