Parliament of Australia:Senate:Committees:Legal and Constitutional:Inquiry into the Australian expatriates


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They still call Australia home: Inquiry into Australian expatriates

8 March 2005

View the report as a single document - (PDF 712KB)

View the report as separate downloadable parts:


Membership of committee	(PDF 98KB)	(HTML format)
Foreword	(PDF 168KB)	(HTML format)
Abbreviations	(PDF 127KB)	(HTML format)

Chapter One - Introduction	(PDF 152KB)	(HTML format)
Reference Conduct of the inquiry Acknowledgments Scope of the report Note on references

Chapter Two - The Australian expatriates phenomenon	(PDF 214KB)	(HTML format)
Introduction Defining an expatriate Characteristics of expatriates Why Australians go overseas Evidence from submissions Evidence from the Hugo 2002 survey Why some Australian expatriates stay overseas long-term or permanently Work opportunities Remuneration and financial issues Friends and family The lure of the lifestyle Stasis Still call Australia home? Implications for Australia Brain drain or brain gain? The Committee's view

Chapter Three - The extent of Australia's expatriate community	(PDF 204KB)	(HTML format)
Determining the extent of Australia's expatriate community Possible ways of more accurately determining the number of Australian expatriates The Committee's view

Chapter Four - Communication, policy formulation, and the role of Government	(PDF 204KB)	(HTML format)
Communication, access to information, and use of the Internet A web portal? Enhancing mission websites? Lack of coordination of government policy

Chapter Five - The legal concerns of overseas Australians	(PDF 305KB)	(HTML format)
Citizenship issues Background and history of Australian citizenship Dual citizenship: the repeal of section 17 Dual citizenship: renunciation of citizenship under section 18 Other citizenship issues Information and awareness relating to citizenship Voting issues Statistics on overseas voters Current requirements under the Commonwealth Electoral Act Should the enrolment restrictions be relaxed for Australians overseas? The Committee's view Administrative considerations Education and information on voting for overseas Australians

Chapter Six - Repatriation and related concerns	(PDF 198KB)	(HTML format)
Do expatriates want to return to Australia? And will they? Assistance for repatriation? Realities of repatriation Employment

Chapter Seven - Other concerns of expatriates	(PDF 220KB)	(HTML format)
Taxation issues Income tax rates Withholding tax for expatriates Lack of a tax-free threshold for expatriates on superannuation pensions Section 23AF of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (expatriates working in countries with no personal income tax) Superannuation Portability of superannuation Residency requirements for small superannuation funds Driver's licence issues Medical insurance issues Social security agreements Working holiday arrangements

Chapter Eight - Measures taken by other countries regarding their expatriates	(PDF 211KB)	(HTML format)
Introduction Legislative representation of expatriates Expatriates' representative bodies sponsored by government France Greece Switzerland India Ireland Other countries Identification cards for expatriates Awards for expatriates Schemes to encourage the return of expatriates Other measures Registers of expatriates Measures to facilitate economic development

Chapter Nine - Promoting Australia's interests through its expatriates	(PDF 224KB)	(HTML format)
Introduction Engaging with academic expatriates Fellowship schemes Short-term return schemes Networking of researchers Engaging with expatriate professionals Attracting expatriate professionals Networking of expatriate professionals Engaging with expatriates at overseas posts Encouraging expatriates to invest in Australia Expatriate networks

Chapter Ten - The Committee's conclusions	(PDF 213KB)	(HTML format)
Communication and access to information Policy formulation and coordination Australian missions overseas Concerns regarding voting and citizenship rights Citizenship issues Voting issues Engagement with expatriates

Additional comments by Government senators	(PDF 108KB)	(HTML format)
Communication and access to information Policy formulation and coordination Australian missions overseas Concerns regarding voting and citizenship rights voting issues Engagement with expatriates

Appendix One - Organisations and individuals that provided the committee with submissions	(PDF 125KB)	(HTML format)

Appendix Two - Witnesses who appeared before the Committee	(PDF 156KB)	(HTML format)
Sydney, Tuesday 27 July 2004 Melbourne, Wednesday 28 July 2004 Canberra, Thursday 29 July 2004 Canberra, Wednesday 4 August 2004

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone: +61 2 6277 3560

Fax: +61 2 6277 5794

Email: legcon.sen@aph.gov.au

Comments to: web.senate@aph.gov.au
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