NOTICE OF A DATA EXCHANGE TO ENHANCE COMPLIANCE IN THE TEMPORARY SKILLED VISA PROGRAM

The Department of Home Affairs (including its independent operational arm, the Australian Border Force, referred to in this notice together as ‘the Department’) will obtain data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to identify whether business sponsors are complying with their sponsorship obligations (eg, paying visa holders correctly) and whether temporary skilled visa holders are complying with their visa conditions (eg, to work only for an approved employer).

The Department will provide to the ATO

• biographical details, including name, address and date of birth of clients who are, or were in the three most recent financial years, holders of Skills in Demand or Temporary Skills Shortage (subclass 482) primary visas

These details will be electronically matched against ATO data holdings. Where there is an identity match, the ATO will return Single Touch Payroll employment data for the relevant individual(s) to the Department. It is estimated that records will be shared relating to around 58,000 individuals.

Outcomes of this one-off data exchange may be used by the Department to establish a regular data exchange program with the ATO, in which case a protocol document describing the program will be prepared and published to the Department’s website.

A copy of the Department’s Privacy Policy is available from the Department’s website www.homeaffairs.gov.au/privacy.