Although the 457 visa is classed as a temporary visa, it must be noted that it is a Temporary “Resident” Visa, and not a Temporary “Visitor” Visa.
Most States allow the children of Temporary “Resident” Visa holders to access Government School facilities under the same conditions as Citizens and Residents.
However, it must be noted that the ACT and New South Wales do NOT.
The following fees was quoted in 2008.
- NSW charges between $4,500 and $5,500 per child for education whilst on a 457 Visa.
- ACT charges between $9,500 and $13,500 per child for education whilst on a 457 Visa.
- QLD treats 457 Visa Holders the same as Citizens and Residents.
- WA treats 457 Visa Holders the same as Citizens and Residents. www.eti.wa.edu.au – listing of fee paying visas
- VIC treats 457 Visa Holders the same as Citizens and Residents.
- SA treats 457 Visa Holders the same as Citizens and Residents.
- Tasmania treats 457 Visa Holders the same as Citizens and Residents.
- Northern Territory treats 457 Visa Holders the same as Citizens and Residents.
Note: NSW Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper Article quote from September 20, 2007:
A spokeswoman for the NSW Education Minister, John Della Bosca, said:457 visa holders could apply to have school fees waived
Source: http://www.britzinoz.com/page.php?12
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Could you please help me we are coming to western sydney on a 457 visa and we will be required to pay school fees, however I have been told(not sure if true) that once we get our Perm Res (in approx 2 years) we will be able to claim this money back. Do you know if this is the case or where I can go to find this information. Many thanks
I am 99.9% certain that you cannot claim this back.
There are a few occasions where school fees on a 457 visa can be made exempt, but from what I have found this is very few and far between. I think that exceptional circumstances apply for these exemptions.
I am sure that if this was feasible to claim back, after getting PR, that I would have heard about it.
Unfortunately you must budget for that cost, although it is always worth looking for exemptions.
Once you get PR, you will then of course be eligible for the normal “near Free” education.
Hi
We are on 457 here in Sydney, and although we are getting LAFHA, the employer does not add education fees for my daughter’s schooling to the package. Is there any way to claim this back? We are struggling to get the money together and yet our approaches to the education department pleading either a waive of the fees or pay by instalments have been turned down and have been met with total disregard to our situations. Even when we sent them my payslips and a budget of income and exp!
This is really becoming a very stressful issue for us. Thanks for your help (We are Brits btw).
Interesting stuff as I am in a similar situation. WOuld like to know if fees can be claimes against tax?
Cheers
School fees generally cannot be claimed against tax. However there are some cases where a salary package situation can be arranged where this can be accommodated.
A few notes from the ATO website:
However, your employer may be liable to pay Fringe Benefits tax on the non-cash benefits provided, and therefore this may not be of much benefit in many cases.
More at the ATO section beginning at: http://www.ato.gov.au/content/24632.htm
Hi there we are on a 457 Visa,I have two children do I get any discount beacuse they are brothers??Thank You
I am pretty sure that there are no discounts on State school fees for siblings. Private schools often do give a discount for this though.
Hi, I am also looking into either claiming the fees back or getting them waived as my company do not package them either, the onyl thing i have been able to do is get them to salary sacrafice the school fees, therefore you can claim this back in tax at the end of they year, i am not sure how exactly it works but could be worth looking into as it costs your company nothing, hope this helps
If a person is able to salary sacrifice the fees, then it works in an example such as this:
$80,000 Normal Salary
$10,000 School Fees
$70,000 Adjusted Salary
$54,400 Annual Net after tax and after school fees paid
Compared to normal
$80,000 Normal Salary
$61,250 Annual Net after tax
$10,000 School Fees
$51,250 Annual Net after tax and after school fees paid
A saving of $3,150
There are NO further adjustments at the end of the year.
The above is the best case scenario, but may not be quite as good. there are variations on this depending on the employers Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) status, as the employer may have to pay FBT on the employee’s behalf, and would normally reduce the salary by this figure also.
Another possible negative is the employers superannuation contribution.
Without Salary sacrifice the employer has to pay 9% of the full $80,000 into Super.
With Salary sacrifice the employer only has to pay 9% of $70,000 into Super. (The salary is now only $70k with $10k benefits.)
Conclusion: Get proper advice before finalising anything.
Hi, I am a registered Australian tax agent in Perth WA and I specialise in Australian and UK international tax for expatriates.
Most (but not all) foreign nationals in Australia on the common 457 work visa will be eligible for the valuable “Living Away From Home” status. If so, their employer can allow them to salary-sacrifice, converting taxable salary into a tax-free and FBT-free reimbursement of children’s school fees (as well as LAFHA for their Australian food and rent). This is exactly as shown by ABCDiamond’s helpful example in the 15 March 2011 post above.
My only comment is that FBT (which usually falls only on the employer company) will normally be nil in this example. So there is no cost to anyone in doing this. There are some tests to meet and a brief LAFHA Form to complete by 21 May each year. But LAFHA for food, rent and school fees is a “use it or lose it” tax benefit – either your employer allows you to salary-sacrifice into LAFHA, or you forfeit this valuable tax benefit. You cannot claim a deduction for these school fees in your Australian tax return (although some Australians on lower salaries can claim a limited “education tax offset”.) LAFHA usually saves around $20,000 pa in tax so speak with your registered tax agent if you have any questions.
I have found that most employers will voluntarily pay Super Guarantee on the total amount (i.e. before salary sacrifice).
As a final point, the school fees and university fees can be for your children aged up to 25 anywhere in the world. So you could be a UK expat living in Sydney with a son at Harvard, a daughter at Oxford, and 2 children at a private school in Sydney. That could be say $100,000 pa of education costs. You can salary-sacrifice these total worldwide education fees to receive an annual Australian tax refund of up to 46.5%. So effectively the Australian government is paying almost half of your children’s worldwide education costs. What’s in it for your employer ? They will save the 5.45% NSW State Payroll Tax on the $100,000 salary-sacrificed amount and nil FBT will arise. Everybody wins. Welcome to Australia, a sunny tax haven !
I hope this helps some expats.
Kind regards
Andy
An interesting thing about the Payroll tax.
I am not sure about NSW, but I did come across this for South Australia, saying that it would not reduce an employers payroll tax liability.
Hi,
I have come here to perth (WA)with my husband with a 457 work visa. However I would like to know that, if i have to join a course in TAFE, what charges would be applied?
would i be charged as a local student or international graduate student?
Tnx.
If you check this website, the Pilbara TAFE, http://www.pilbaratafe.wa.edu.au/students/study/fees.asp you will see that they state:
This actually goes against what I thought, as I was under the impression that a 457 Visa holder would have to pay full fees. I thought this would also apply to the partner of the 457 Visa holder, but the above seems to show otherwise.
The contact number is there to help you to confirm this with the correct people.
Good luck. I hope it is OK, and please let us know how you get on.
hey,
I am applying to the two dental program at Queensland.
I am a 457 class visa holder from my father’s employment.
Would I be paying international rate or regular resident rate?
Thanks.
I am pretty sure that you will be paying the International Fees for this.
I have just checked the current costs at the University of Queensland Dental School, and can see why dentists expect to get well paid after qualification.
Fees for International students
Indicative annual fee: AUD$ 45,700
Course Length: 5 Years full-time. (That’s about $230,000 !!)
Fees for Australian students
Commonwealth Supported Place 2011:
Indicative annual fee 2011: AUD$ 7,898 (That’s about $40,000)
Having seen that previous information about TAFE costs in WA, it may be worth checking with TAFE in Queensland, on 1300 30 8233 to see if they offer anything for dependants of 457 Holders.
Hi there,
I was on 572 visa befor,Now as i got sponsor and working as pastry cook on 457 visa.I wanted to check if i want to continue study in tafe or unversity then do i have to pay the same fee like international student or is there any special package for 457 visa holders?
hi
we have applied for temprary visa so we r on bridging visa at the moment . my daughter is in our home country . can she gets students visa ?? pls anyone reply . thanx