Australian HR teams are being warned of significant, often overlooked tax and payroll risks as employees abruptly return from roles in the Middle East and continue working from Australia
Data from the government revealed that as of 31 March, over 10,372 Australians returned home on 103 direct commercial flights from the Middle East since 4 March.
The overlooked implication of this are the complex tax legalities that can leave businesses vulnerable.
Speaking with HRD, Jonathan Dunlea, managing partner at Vialto, said emergency returns are often handled first through an immigration and duty‑of‑care lens. Dunlea argued the bigger sleeper issue is tax – for individuals and organisations alike.
He noted that many employers put international remote working policies in place during COVID-19, covering factors like maximum durations, time zones, cybersecurity and high‑level tax parameters. But those frameworks don’t remove core employer obligations when people are physically back in Australia and working from here.
Two main tax issues are emerging for returnees:
Tax residency: whether a returning employee is considered to have resumed Australian tax residency, which would generally expose their worldwide income to Australian tax.
Australian‑source income: even if the individual remains a non‑resident, income earned for duties performed while physically in Australia may still be taxable here.
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