Australia NRI Guide

Your first weeks in Australia bring a tax file number, a bank account, a super fund and health cover, all while your Indian accounts have to change too. After that, the things that matter most are how Australia taxes your Indian income and what happens to your super if you leave.

Your first few weeks

Apply for a tax file number (TFN) on the ATO website as soon as you arrive. Until your employer has it, they must withhold tax at 47%.

The big four banks (Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ and NAB) let migrants open an account before they arrive. Your employer pays super, currently 12% of your salary, into a fund you choose or its default fund.

India has no reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia, so most NRIs on temporary visas are not eligible for Medicare and need overseas visitors health cover until they become permanent residents.

In India, have your resident savings account converted to NRO and open an NRE account for money you send home. Our NRI banking guide explains the difference.

Tax in two countries

The Australian tax year runs from 1 July to 30 June, which matches neither India’s April-to-March year nor the calendar year. You are an Australian tax resident if you meet any one of the ATO’s residency tests, which look at where you live, your domicile, the 183-day rule and, for government employees, super. The tests are not always clear-cut in your first year, so get advice if you are unsure.

Residents get a tax-free threshold of AUD 18,200 and pay rates of up to 45%, plus the 2% Medicare levy. Non-residents pay tax from the first dollar.

As a resident, you declare Indian income on your Australian return, including interest on NRE deposits, which India does not tax but Australia does. Tax paid in India can be offset under the India-Australia tax treaty; our DTAA estimator shows the effect. Assets held for more than 12 months while you are resident get a 50% capital gains discount, which is worth planning around before you sell Indian shares.

Super

Before-tax contributions, from your employer and any salary sacrifice together, are capped at AUD 32,500 a year from 1 July 2026. You can normally access super from age 60.

If you hold a temporary visa and leave Australia permanently, you can claim your super as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP). The taxed part is taxed at 35%, or 65% for working holiday makers. Permanent residents and citizens cannot use DASP; their super stays preserved until 60.

Saving money in Australia

Figures are as of September 2026.

• Medicare levy if you are not eligible. If your visa does not entitle you to Medicare, you can claim exemption from the 2% Medicare levy with a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia. Once you are eligible, earning above the threshold without private hospital cover adds a surcharge of 1% to 1.5%.
• Salary sacrifice, with a caveat. Sacrificing salary into super swaps your marginal rate for 15% tax in the fund. If you are on a temporary visa and may leave, weigh that against the 35% DASP tax on the way out.
• First Home Super Saver. Voluntary contributions of up to AUD 15,000 a year, AUD 50,000 in total, can be released from super towards a first home, with the tax advantages of super.
• Offset account. Money in an offset account linked to a home loan cuts the interest you pay, and that saving is not taxed the way deposit interest would be.
• Franking credits. Dividends from Australian companies carry a credit for the company tax already paid. Residents offset it against their own tax and receive any excess as a refund.
• Electric cars on a novated lease. Eligible electric cars under the luxury car tax threshold are fully exempt from fringe benefits tax until 31 March 2027, when the exemption starts to phase down; plug-in hybrids lost it in April 2025. Leases signed before each change keep the treatment they started with.

Moving back to India

File a final Australian return for the year you leave. A HELP study debt does not go away when you leave: overseas debtors still have to report their worldwide income to the ATO. In India, you may qualify as resident but not ordinarily resident for your first years back, which can keep foreign income out of Indian tax; our RNOR tracker works out your status.

Before buying property in India from Australia, check the project’s RERA registration with our RERA verifier.