There has been much discussion concerning the term "temporary" and what it means with regards to people on the 410 visa.  Australians and visitors to Australia are governed by many different departments and this word means different things to different people.

 John Wittering, BEIRIA's Vice-President has given a very clear and concise explanation of what he understands the term means to these various governing departments and also the rest of us; the following is it:

Our visas are temporary visas - therefore we are temporary residents.  However we are regarded by the ATO as resident in Australia for tax purposes (the nearest we get to being permanent residents!!).

The ATO is the only organisation to regard us as "permanently" resident - well, resident for tax purposes, but even their interpretative decisions (ATO ID 2006/161, 162 and 163) are clear on the facts that because we are temporary residents our UK pensions are not subject to Australian tax, that the double taxation agreement does not prevent the UK from taxing our UK pension income, and that we cannot choose to have our UK pensions taxed here.

We have BERIA members in every single state and territory in Australia.  Six of those states and territories accept that we are technically permanent residents because we live here "permanently" and two do not because they say that our visas from the Department of Immigration are temporary visas despite the fact that we live here permanently.

If asked whether I am a permanent resident I always say I live here permanently, unless I am asked specifically whether my visa is permanent or temporary.  I believe, as do my Australian friends and neighbours, that I am a permanent resident of Australia because I live here permanently, and there is no other country in the world where I am considered a permanent resident.  I will live in Australia for the rest of my life and will die here, and it doesn't get more permanent that that!  We may have a few members who are "split" between Australia and their "home" country,  but not very many, and I believe that most members would agree with my views.

Despite all this, I still have a temporary visa in my passport - something I hope will change next year if Chris Evans does what he promised us last April and presents a case for us in next year's Budget.  There has been no indication from him since then that he will not keep his promise.   Incidentally the BERIA working group is now compiling our report on what we believe to be the true costs and benefits of PR (as a comparison with what he will hear from Treasury and the Government Actuary) and we hope to present this to him early in December.  This is, in effect, our challenge to the government that we should be permanent residents.