The ATO will acquire visa data from the Department of Home Affairs for 2020/21 through to 2022/23, relating to approximately 10 million individuals for each financial year.

The data will be used to identify non-compliance with obligations under taxation and superannuation laws, including registration, lodgment, reporting and payment responsibilities. The data is matched against the ATO’s records to ensure visa holders, visa sponsors and migration agents are meeting their tax and superannuation obligations.

Visa data for 1 March 2020 to 28 March 2021 will be used to assist in confirming eligibility for the JobKeeper measure. The data will support pre-issue and post-issue compliance checks enabling the ATO to follow-up potentially false or misleading declarations.

Data elements collected

The following data will be collected from Home Affairs between 2020–21 and 2022–23 financial years:

• base population cohort of active visas meeting the criteria
• address history for visa applicants and sponsors
• contact history for visa applicants and sponsors
• all visa grants
• visa grant status by point in time
• migration agents (visa application preparer who assisted or facilitated the processing of the visa)
• address history for migration agents
• contact history for migration agents
• all international travel movements undertaken by visa holders (arrivals and departures)
• sponsor details (457 visa)
• visa subclass name.

To read more about the data matching program, please visit the ATO’s website.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to one of our professional business and tax advisors, please contact our office on (08) 9392 7600 to make a booking.

With three offices across Western Australia and over 20 years of experience, Acclaim Accounting is a dynamic team of highly trained and skilled individuals committed to providing innovative and effective advice, excellent service and maintaining only the highest standards in ethical professional practice.