Australia: Beyond Numbers - New Bilateral Social Security Agreements In Force

Australia has entered into a number of international social security agreements, primarily to avoid 'double superannuation coverage'. This is often a topical issue for employers and their international assignees.

Double superannuation coverage arises where an employee is sent to work temporarily in another country and the employer or employee is required to make superannuation (or equivalent) contributions under the legislation of both countries for the same work.

Currently Australia has agreements with:

In general, these agreements provide that where an individual who is resident of one country for the purposes of their social security laws is seconded to another country on a temporary basis, that individual will remain subject to the social security laws of their home country. The length of time falling within the meaning of temporary will vary from treaty to treaty.

In the case of Australian employees going overseas, these agreements provide an exemption from the destination country's compulsory contributions requirements only if the employee remains covered by Australia's superannuation guarantee regime while they are working overseas.

A number of traps can arise for the unwary as the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 provides for a number of exemptions from making ongoing compulsory superannuation contributions in Australia for employees working overseas (i.e. salary or wages paid by an employer who is not a resident of Australia to an employee who is a resident of Australia for work done outside Australia).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.