Hi,
I am an international student currently in Australia who has been here for a little over 2 years. About a year and a half ago I got caught up in an employment scam, where the scammer had me employed as a part time “payroll officer” and I was tasked with “paying employees”. They abruptly sent a huge sum of money into my account and asked me to pay those funds to the employees. At the time I did not know, but the funds were sent from the ATO into my bank account, and I did not receive any sort of notification from the ATO, that these funds would be put in my account. At the time being 17 and not knowing any better, I did as the employer told and transferred the funds.
Way later on I got contacted from my bank about the transactions and I explained to them what happened. I was told that this was a scam and to cut contact with the scammer, which I did. After claiming that they would investigate it, the bank instead closed off my account and banned me from making future accounts. Later on I got contacted by the ATO for an “administrative overpayment”, and they demanded the money be paid back. I contacted the ATO and explained my situation to them, and they launched an investigation and stopped demanding immediate payment.
My issue right now is that after 1 and a half years, I still have not gotten any response or update regarding the investigation. When I call up the staff and give the reference number, all departments mention that they are unable to provide any information. I still have the debt accumulating in my account with added interest, and every return I lodge gets adjusted against it. I even had my lawyer send an objection detailing all the information a year ago, but have gotten no response to it or if it has been acknowledged.
My student visa is expiring in a few months, and I plan on applying for a TR (485) visa, and I fear this debt in my account would cause issues to my application. Can anyone provide me some advice on what I should do in this situation?
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