Australian Tax Return for Pakistani Students: The 31 October 2026 Deadline and What You Get Back

Who needs to lodge a tax return as an international student?

Anyone who earned income in Australia during the tax year should check. That includes part-time work in a cafe, a warehouse, a tutoring job or a campus role. The tax year in Australia runs from 1 July to 30 June, so the return due this month covers July 2025 to June 2026, not the calendar year.

The ATO is clear for one group. The ATO says you must lodge if you are a foreign resident who earned $1 or more in Australia during the tax year, excluding income that had non-resident withholding tax taken out. If you are a resident for tax purposes the rule is less blunt, but the practical answer is the same. If your employer withheld tax from your pay, the return is the only way the ATO can work out whether you paid too much, and the refund does not arrive on its own.

Did you have a Tax File Number?

Your employer needed your Tax File Number to withhold at the right rate. If you started work without one, ask your employer how they treated your pay and read our guide to the Australian Tax File Number for Pakistani students before you lodge. Missing or late numbers are one of the most common reasons students overpay.

What is the deadline for the 2025 to 2026 return?

The ATO says your tax return covers the income year from 1 July to 30 June and must be lodged, or a tax agent engaged, by 31 October, and its page on lodging from outside Australia describes the normal lodgment period as 1 July to 31 October. Today is 22 October 2026, so the self-lodgment deadline is nine days away. The same ATO page notes that if you use a registered tax agent, you may have a later due date under the agent's lodgment program. Do not assume that applies to you. Ask the agent in writing.

If you miss it

Lodge as soon as you can and do not wait for a perfect set of papers. A late return is better than no return, and a tax agent can tell you what the ATO expects for your case. We do not quote penalty amounts here because we did not verify them against the ATO for this article.

Are you a resident or a foreign resident for tax?

This is the question that changes your numbers. The ATO page on Australian residents for tax purposes says a person enrolled in a course that is more than 6 months long may be an Australian resident, and the ATO page for students says students in a course of 6 months or more may be an Australian resident for tax purposes. The word "may" matters: the ATO has residency tests, and your own facts decide. A student on a two year master's degree who lives in Australia and studies full time is the usual example of a resident.

Why residency matters

Residents get the tax-free threshold and the resident rate scale. Foreign residents do not. According to the ATO student page, residents can claim the tax-free threshold, tax offsets and generally face lower rates than foreign residents. The threshold may apply in part if you were only in Australia for part of the year. The ATO says part-year residents have a tax-free threshold of at least $13,464, with the rest of the $18,200 prorated by the months you were a resident.

Temporary residents and overseas income

The ATO also notes that students on a temporary visa may be temporary residents. For a temporary resident who is also an Australian resident for tax, most foreign income is not taxed in Australia, although income earned in Australia is. Salary from a job in Australia always counts. If you earned rental income or interest in Pakistan, do not guess. Check the ATO guidance or speak to a tax agent.

What rates and thresholds apply in 2026?

As of 22 October 2026, the ATO says that for Australian residents for tax purposes the first $18,200 of yearly income is not taxed, and the ATO resident rates table shows nil tax on taxable income from $0 to $18,200. Above that amount the ATO scale applies.

As of 22 October 2026, the ATO resident rates for 2025 to 2026 charge 16 cents for each dollar over $18,200 up to $45,000, then $4,288 plus 30 cents for each dollar over $45,000 up to $135,000. Your return due on 31 October 2026 uses those 2025 to 2026 rates, because it covers income earned before 1 July 2026. As of 22 October 2026, the same ATO rates page shows the first bracket falling to 15 cents for each dollar for 2026 to 2027, with $4,020 plus 30 cents above $45,000, and the ATO tax cuts page confirms the first bracket moves from 16 percent to 15 percent on 1 July 2026 and 14 percent on 1 July 2027. That change helps you from your next return onwards. It does not change what you owe for the year you are lodging now.

The figures above come from the ATO rates page as of 22 October 2026. A student working the permitted hours on a student visa will rarely get near the upper brackets, so for most Pakistani students the first two lines are the story. Our guide on part-time work rules for students in Australia explains the hour limits, and the article on minimum wage and pay rights explains what your employer owes you before tax.

What about the Medicare levy?

As of 22 October 2026, the ATO rates page states that its tables do not include the 2% Medicare levy, and the ATO Medicare levy exemption page refers to a full 2% levy exemption in its worked example. The levy is a separate charge on top of income tax. Residents usually pay it. It can be reduced or removed in some situations, and the ATO has a reduction or exemption section in the return for this reason.

Exemption for people not entitled to Medicare

Most Pakistani students hold Overseas Student Health Cover rather than Medicare. Our guide to OSHC for Pakistani students explains what it covers. A person who is not entitled to Medicare benefits may be able to claim a full exemption from the levy for that period.

The ATO Medicare levy exemption page says you can apply for a Medicare Entitlement Statement through myGov from 1 July, that processing can take up to 8 weeks, and that you should not lodge your return until you receive it. The ATO page also warns that having a statement does not automatically make you exempt, and that your dependants must also be exempt. The page we read gives an example involving a temporary skilled worker visa and does not mention students by name, so treat the student position as something to confirm with the ATO or a registered tax agent before you claim.

How do you lodge, step by step?

1. Create or check your myGov account. Link it to the ATO. The ATO recommends a Digital ID, and it advises updating your sign-in settings before travelling so you can reach the account abroad.
2. Collect your income statements. Download each employer's statement from myGov after your employer finalises it. If an employer has not finalised, you may need to wait or use a payment summary.
3. Prepare your records. Have your TFN, passport, visa details, Australian bank account details and any records of other income ready.
4. Work out your residency. Use the ATO residency tool or ask a tax agent. This decides your rates and threshold.
5. Start myTax. Enter income, answer the Medicare questions, add any deductions you can document and check the pre-filled data against your own records.
6. Submit and save the notice of assessment. Keep the PDF with your visa papers. Future migration applications may ask for tax records.
7. Check your refund. The ATO page on lodging from outside Australia says you need an Australian bank account to receive any refund, and the ATO page on lodging before leaving says the same for myTax lodgment from overseas. Do not close the account before the refund lands.

Should you use a tax agent?

If your tax affairs are simple, one employer and no overseas income, myTax is the easiest way, according to the ATO. If you changed jobs often, had overseas income, were part-year resident or want a Medicare levy exemption, a registered tax agent is worth the fee. Agents are paid to read the rules so you do not have to.

What does a simple example look like?

This is an illustration, not advice, and it simplifies a real return. It ignores offsets, deductions and any Medicare levy reduction.

Hira is a Pakistani master's student in Sydney. She is a resident for tax purposes, earned $24,000 from a part-time job in the 2025 to 2026 year, and her employer withheld $2,000 in tax.

• Taxable income: $24,000.
• Income tax on the 2025 to 2026 scale: 16% of ($24,000 minus $18,200) is 16% of $5,800, which is $928.
• Medicare levy at 2%: $480, if no reduction or exemption applies.
• Total tax: $1,408.
• Tax already withheld: $2,000.
• Estimated refund: $592.

If Hira qualified for a full Medicare levy exemption, her total tax would be $928 and her estimated refund would be $1,072. If her employer withheld less than $1,408, she would owe the difference. The numbers will differ for you, but the shape is common: a student who worked part of the year, claimed the threshold and had tax withheld during the year often finds the withholding exceeds the final bill.

What if you are leaving Australia?

Many students finish a course in June and fly home before the deadline. You have options, and the right one depends on whether you are leaving permanently.

Lodge from overseas

The ATO says you can lodge from outside Australia using myTax, a registered tax agent, a paper return, lodging before leaving, or a friend or family member who lodges for you with a power of attorney if they sign. Living overseas may not end your Australian residency, so do not assume that going home changes your status.

Lodge early before you leave

The ATO says early lodgment before leaving uses the paper form and that processing for early lodgments is 50 business days. You must stop deriving Australian-sourced income other than interest, dividends and royalties, and foreign residents must be leaving permanently. If you have a HELP or similar debt, the ATO says to use the normal lodgment period instead.

A student moving to a post-study work visa

If you are staying in Australia on a graduate visa, you are not leaving, and you lodge in the normal period. Our guide to the Subclass 485 post-study work visa explains how that transition works.

What happens to your super when you go home?

Your employer may have paid superannuation into a fund on your behalf. The ATO page on temporary residents says contributions generally do not depend on your visa, so long as you have work rights, or your tax residency status. When you leave for good, you may be able to claim that money.

The ATO says you can only submit a DASP claim after you have left Australia and your visa has ended, and the ATO page on super for temporary residents repeats that you can only claim after you have left and your visa has expired. That means you cannot claim while you are still on a valid visa, and the ATO recommends starting the online application before you leave so you can finish it once you are overseas.

As of 22 October 2026, the ATO DASP page lists withholding of 35% on the taxable component taxed element and 45% on the untaxed element for ordinary applicants, and 65% for working holiday makers, and the ATO payments from super page shows the same rates. Tax is taken before you receive the money, which is why many students are surprised by the amount that reaches their account. The ATO says DASP is available for super accumulated while working on a temporary visa issued under the Migration Act, excluding subclasses 405 and 410. Its page does not name student visas specifically, so confirm eligibility with your fund or the ATO before you rely on it.

Practical points about DASP

• The online application is free. Funds may ask for certified ID copies.
• For balances of $5,000 or more, the ATO says a fund may require a Certification of Immigration Status from Home Affairs.
• The ATO says payment is generally made within 28 days of a complete application.
• Check with every employer that super has actually been paid before you apply.

Which mistakes cost students money?

1. Assuming no return is needed because the job was small or cash-in-hand. Undeclared income is a problem you do not want in your file.
2. Lodging before the employer has finalised the income statement, which can lead to an amended return.
3. Closing the Australian bank account before the refund is paid.
4. Claiming a Medicare levy exemption without the Medicare Entitlement Statement.
5. Forgetting super entirely, so the money sits unclaimed after you leave.
6. Paying an unregistered person to lodge. Use a registered tax agent and keep copies of everything.

What are the key takeaways?

Frequently asked questions