Are you currently living and working in another country or could your job take you overseas in the near future?
If you are an executive, professional or business owner in mining and resources who is spending 12 months or more living an expatriate life, this series of articles is for you. Over the next four weeks, we’ll cover the important topics you need to consider so that you and your family may make the most of the experience – professionally, personally and importantly, financially.
Moving overseas for an extended period of time involves a significant amount of planning in multiple areas.
You need to be well prepared, which includes understanding the implications of complex and interrelated questions around conditions of your employment and remuneration, financial, legal and tax matters, as well as the general organisational issues of coordinating a major relocation.
The following questions are just some you’ll need to address:
- Will you remain an Australian tax resident and/or be a foreign tax resident?
- What should you look for in an overseas employment contract?
- What should you do with the family home in Australia while you’re away, and what are the implications of this decision?
- Can you still contribute to your superannuation fund or SMSF while overseas?
- Where do you save funds and make investments going forward?
- Will your existing insurance policies still be valid and do they provide appropriate cover?
- What implications could there be for your tax position in Australia?
- Is your Australian Will valid overseas?
All of these matters can have an impact on your financial position and any misunderstandings can result in severe financial consequences. For example, not receiving appropriate advice in regard to your tax residency could result in you paying significantly more tax.
The financial implications of any overseas relocation must be central to your planning, and as illustrated above, you will need advice that is based on an expert understanding of the complexity of your situation. Your financial adviser will also need to be skilled in identifying the legal, tax and property matters that must be considered concurrently.
It is unlikely you’ll find one professional who will be suitably qualified and experienced to advise you across ALL these areas.
In our experience, the best solution is to select a financial professional as your central coordinator to lead an advice team that will collaborate in addressing matters of tax, accounting & business, legal concerns and property needs.
The selection of your advice team is important and depends on your individual requirements. Members of your advice team need significant experience and understanding of the specific complexities found in mining and resources; they also need to know how to work together to achieve seamless multi-disciplinary outcomes for you.
And this is precisely why Resources Unearthed exists.
Resources Unearthed is an information hub that allows executives, professionals and business owners in mining and resources to easily access specialised financial, business, legal and property services, among others, that directly address the needs that are often unique to these business sectors.
As the founder of Resources Unearthed, I am a Principal of Stratus Financial Group and a former mining engineer. Resources Unearthed evolved from my own experiences as the ‘central coordinator’ described earlier, and my successful collaboration with aligned specialised professionals to achieve the outcomes needed by those in mining and resources.
Please take a moment now to view/download our strategy paper for mining and resources personnel who live and work overseas. Stay tuned for upcoming articles relating to the legal, tax and business, and property matters you need to know about.
I also have significant experience assisting mining and resources executives navigate the conditions and requirements of their Executive Share Scheme. Click here for my mini case study on Executive Share Schemes.
To discuss any aspect of living and working overseas, please contact Brett on (07) 3007 2000 or email contact@resourcesunearthed.com.au
Resources Unearthed is a solutions hub that provides integrated financial, legal, property and accounting & business advisory services for executives, professionals and business owners in mining and resources.
Stratus Financial Group and its advisers are Authorised Representatives of Fortnum Private Wealth Ltd ABN 54 139 889 535 AFSL 357306. This is general advice only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether the advice is relevant to your personal circumstances. You should also read the relevant Product Disclosure Statements (PDS) before making any financial decisions.
