The Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Senator Helen Coonan, said thatmost of this money is held in superannuation accounts established by the employersfor whom the visitors worked.
"Under Australian law employers are required to contribute to an employee'sretirement by paying money into a superannuation account when that employee is paidmore than $A450 a calendar month," Senator Coonan said.
She said most Australians must wait until they retire before they are allowed accessto this money plus the interest it earns.
"Recognising that temporary residents won't be retiring in Australia, the Governmenthas changed the law to allow them access to the money once they depart permanently,"Senator Coonan said.
"The change is retrospective and applies to anyone who has ever visited on aneligible temporary resident visa."
Senator Coonan said some 275,000 foreign nationals apply to visit and worktemporarily in Australia each year.
They include working holiday makers, international students and people working in arange of professions such as medicine, nursing, teaching and information technology.
Regional industry
A significant number of these people have worked as pickers in orchards andvineyards and other primary industry enterprises in country areas, playing a majorrole in ensuring the efficient and timely harvest of fresh produce for local andexport markets.
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) will undertake an information campaign to ensureworking visitors are made aware of their right to access this superannuation money.
Senator Coonan said the Australian Government is urging anyone who believes they mayqualify to recover their superannuation to fill in an on-line application formavailable on the ATO web-site at www.ato.gov.au/super.
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