Hi all,
Ive been doing a global comparison of our benefits and found that a region where we see a lack of benefits is in Australia. This is a fairly new location for our business but will be fast growing so i want to make sure our offering is competitive.
My HRBP over there has informed me that most companies only really offer stat benefits but wondered if anyone could give any insights? Ive recently asked our broker to look into it but wondered if there were any other benefits that we see over there?
Thanks!
Hi Daniel
My understanding is that the tax regime is particularly unsupportive of employer-provided benefits as employer tax (in the form of Fringe Benefits Tax) is applied to any benefits. As a result benefit provision is more limited. We provide EAP, disability insurance, life insurance as part of Superannuation and a cash subsidy towards medical insurance - employees can choose which medical provider they use.
Hope this helps
James
Hi Daniel,
From my recollection in Australia everything runs through the superannuation. So risk benefits such as death and disability would use the Super as the vehicle to set these policies up.
In terms of healthcare Medicare is generally good but I think the private healthcare market may be picking up in terms of employer supported provision since I last managed benefits for Australia.