Public Interest Criterion 4020 (PIC 4020) remains one of the most daunting provisions in the Migration Regulations 1994. It applies to almost every visa application and is commonly referred to as the “fraud” or “integrity” PIC. The best strategy for...

ATO’s focus on trusts On 28 August 2025, the ATO’s Assistant Commissioner (Private Wealth Division) stated that the ATO was seeing an increase in Family Trust Distribution Tax (FTDT) issues due to inadequate record keeping; succession planning; intergener...

Over the past year, we have become aware of increased sponsorship compliance activity by the Australian Border Force (ABF). This may take the form of “desktop” surveys and requests for documents. At worst, an employer may find themselves dealing with unann...

Background On 12 April 2023, the High Court of Australia in Davis v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs; DCM20 v Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs [2023] HCA 10 held that the Minister’s Guidelines for ...

Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) let you control how your super is invested but they don’t let you access those funds any earlier than you could in a large fund.  Even though it’s your super and (for SMSFs) sits in a bank account you control, acc...

Determining whether you are a resident of Australia for tax purposes (a “tax resident”) is not always straightforward. Many people mistakenly believe tax residency is based on citizenship or permanent residency status. In fact, Australian tax residency is ...