A. Update

The Albanese Government has announced a significant superannuation reform "Superannuation Paid on Payday" requiring employers to pay Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions simultaneously with employees' wages starting from July 01, 2026.

Under the new reform, contributions must reach employees' super funds within seven days of payday or else, employers will face penalties under the updated SG charge framework.

If contributions are not deposited timely, employers will incur the SG charge which will include penalties and interest to fully compensate employees for any delays. The reform simplifies super payments, allowing late contributions to automatically count toward the earliest unpaid period, eliminating the need for employers to specify which period the late payments apply to.

To ensure compliance with this reform, employers will need to adjust their payroll systems to ensure timely SG contributions. Small and irregular payments outside regular pay cycles will not count until the next payday. Additionally, employers must report both Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) and super liabilities through Single Touch Payroll (STP), enhancing the ATO's ability to monitor compliance and address late payments proactively.

To support the transition, the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House will close by July 01, 2026, encouraging businesses to seek alternative solutions.

Legislative design for this reform will proceed through late 2024, with the ATO engaging with industry stakeholders to refine the details, ultimately aiming for a fairer and more efficient superannuation system in Australia by 2026.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: September 18, 2024

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2026

A. Update

Payroll tax surcharge rate will be applicable for large businesses at an additional rate as under:

• 0.25 per cent on ACT taxable wages above the payroll tax threshold, for businesses with Australia-wide wages above $50 million per annum or $4,166,666.66 monthly; and
• 0.5 per cent on ACT taxable wages above the payroll tax threshold, for businesses with Australia-wide wages above $100 million per annum or $8,333,333.33 monthly.

The payroll tax surcharge does not apply to eligible universities with an ACT campus.

The general and surcharge rates will result in:

• For a payroll tax registered employer with annual Australia-wide wages under $50 million, payroll tax of 6.85 per cent applying to all ACT taxable wages above the relevant tax-free threshold amount.
• For a payroll tax registered employer with annual Australia-wide wages between $50 million and $100 million, payroll tax of 7.10 per cent (comprising 6.85 per cent plus 0.25 per cent) applying to all ACT taxable wages above the relevant tax-free threshold amount.
• For a payroll tax registered employer with annual Australia-wide wages over $100 million, payroll tax of 7.35 per cent (comprising 6.85 per cent plus 0.5 per cent) applying to all ACT taxable wages above the relevant tax-free threshold amount.

Note: The Australia wide wages thresholds apply at the group level.

ACT payroll tax rates (general and surcharge) and thresholds from July 01, 2024 are as under:

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 2024

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2024

A. Update

PAYG Tables for the tax year 2024-25 have been released by ATO with following changes:

• Schedule 1- Changes in thresholds of Statement of formulas for calculating amount to be withheld including Medicare levy parameter (NAT 1004)
• Schedule 8 - Changes in thresholds of Statement of formulas for calculating study and training support loans components (NAT 3539)
• Changes in both tax-free and no tax-free thresholds of study and training support loans
• Schedule 15 - Change in Taxable income threshold for working holiday makers (NAT 75331)

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 17, 2024

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2024

A. Update

The Treasurer, the Honorable Dr. Jim Chalmers MP, handed down the 2024-25 Federal Budget on Tuesday i.e., May 14, 2024. The Budget is presented before the Parliament for enactment with initiatives to address the below economic challenges:

• Delivering cost-of-living relief
• Strengthening Medicare
• New Housing investments for Australians
• Investing in a stronger and more secure economy
• Broadening opportunity and equality

Key proposed changes impacting payroll are as under:

a. Personal Tax Rates – Stage 3 Tax Cuts

From tax perspective, for individuals, the Government has re-proposed the changes to Stage 3 tax cuts proposed earlier. As part of Stage 3 tax changes, Individuals are proposed to be taxed at reduced marginal tax rates as under:

• At the tax rate of 16% for income earned between $18,200 and $45,000,
• At the tax rate of 30% for income earned between $45,000 and $135,000, and
• At the tax rate of 37% of income earned between $180,000 and $190,000.

The revised resident individual income tax rates will be as follows:

b. Superannuation on Government Paid Parental Leave

For parents giving birth or adopting child on or after July 01, 2025, it is proposed that Australian Tax office (ATO) will pay superannuation contribution directly to employee’s superannuation fund on the government-funded Paid Parental Leave.

c. Payday Superannuation

Superannuation is paid at least quarterly. From July 01, 2026, it is proposed that employers will be required to pay their employees' super at the same time they pay their wages. This will enable employees to track their entitlements to ensure they are being paid on time and in full.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 14, 2024

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2024 and later

A. Update

The Australian Tax Authority (ATO) has revised the Superannuation, ETP thresholds and redundancy tax free amounts for the year 2024. The updated threshold and amounts are as under:

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 19, 2024

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2024.

A. Update

The New South Wales Local Court has updated the garnishment limits for Garnishee orders issued in the civil jurisdiction of the Local and District Courts for wage or salary. Such orders must include instruction to the garnishee regarding the amount that a judgment debtor is entitled to retain, per Section 122 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

The amounts attached under garnishee order must not reduce the net amount of any wage or salary received by the judgment debtor from the garnishee to less than the garnishment limits.

The new limits are as under:

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 28, 2024

C. Effective Date: April 01, 2024

A. Update

The Protected Earnings Amount (PEA) is the part of an employee’s or contractor’s wages that are exempt from child support deductions. The PEA is adjusted on January 01 each year to allow for increases in the cost of living.

The following rate applies from January 01, 2024:

• Weekly rate $514.50
• Fortnightly $1029.00 (weekly rate x 2)
• Four-week period $2058.00 (weekly rate x 4)
• Monthly period $2237.16 (daily rate x 30.4375)

The daily rate (unrounded) is calculated by the weekly rate divided by 7 (that is, 514.50 / 7 = 73.50000).

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: October 26, 2023

C. Effective Date: January 01, 2024

A. Update

The New South Wales Local Court has updated the garnishment limits for Garnishee orders issued in the civil jurisdiction of the Local and District Courts for wage or salary. Such orders must include instruction to the garnishee regarding the amount that a judgment debtor is entitled to retain, per Section 122 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

The amounts attached under garnishee order must not reduce the net amount of any wage or salary received by the judgment debtor from the garnishee to less than the garnishment limits.

The new limits are as follows:

• Daily : $81.43
• Weekly rate : $570
• Fortnightly : $1140
• Four-week period : $2280
• Monthly period : $2470

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: September 28, 2023

C. Effective Date: October 01, 2023

A. Update

From 1 July 2023, partnered couples can claim up to 20 weeks paid parental leave between them. Parents who are single at the time of their claim can access the full 20 weeks. The former Dad and Partner Pay entitlement has been removed. The additional 2 weeks’ pay has been combined with the existing entitlement to 18 weeks Parental Leave Pay.

These changes affect employees whose baby is born or placed in their care on or after 1 July 2023.

Other changes include:

• Allowing partnered employees to claim a maximum of 20 weeks’ pay between them, with each partner taking at least 2 weeks (except in some circumstances)
• Introducing a $350,000 family income limit (indexed annually from 1 July 2024) for claiming paid parental leave pay
• Expanding the eligibility rules for fathers or partners to claim paid parental leave pay.
• Making the whole payment flexible so that eligible employees can claim it in multiple blocks until the child turns 2
• Removing the requirement to return to work to be eligible for the entitlement.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: July 1, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

The payroll tax Act 2007 introduces a temporary payroll tax surcharge to commence from 1 July 2023, expiring after 10 years. The surcharge applies to employers who pay Australia wide wages of $10 million or more for a financial year and will be payable on Victorian wages above the relevant threshold.

• A surcharge of 0.5% will apply to businesses with national payrolls above $10 million.
• Businesses with national payrolls above $100 million will pay an additional 0.5%.

Further, the Payroll Tax Act 2007 is amended to increase the annual payroll tax-free threshold from $700,000 to $900,000 from 1 July 2024 and from $900,000 to $1 million from 1 July 2025. And from 1 July 2024 to limit the application of the payroll tax exemption to schools that the Minister for Education, in consultation with the Treasurer, declares to be exempt. In determining which schools will be exempt, the Minister for Education will consider the fees and charges imposed, financial contributions received and any other matter that the Minister for Education considers appropriate.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 27, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

The Government has announced an extension of the payroll tax discount for regional employers for an additional seven years, now extended until 30 June 2030. The measure was first introduced in the 2019-20 Queensland Budget and provides a one per cent discount on the payroll tax rate for employers with an ABN registered business address in regional Queensland, as well as at least 85 per cent of their taxable wages paid to employees located outside South East Queensland.

The extension of this measure results in a reduced payroll tax rate of 3.75 per cent for employers paying $6.5 million or less in Australian taxable wages, or 3.95 per cent for employers paying more than $6.5 million in Australian taxable wages, continuing to apply for eligible businesses. The Government estimates that 3,400 regional Queensland businesses will benefit from this extension.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 20, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

Tax deductible rate for work-related car expenses has been increased to 85 cents per kilometer and applies to those employees who opt to use the cents per kilometer method.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 13, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

From July 2023 the threshold limit for payroll tax will be as follows:

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 26, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

The Treasurer, the Honorable Dr. Jim Chalmers MP, handed down the 2023-24 Federal Budget on Tuesday 9 May 2023. The Budget is currently before Parliament and has not yet passed

The Government announced a five-point plan for cost of living relief which includes:

• Delivering cost-of-living relief
• Strengthening Medicare
• Investing in a stronger and more secure economy
• Broadening opportunity
• Strengthening the Budget and Funding our priorities

Key proposed changes impacting payroll are as under:

a. Personal Tax Rates – Stage 3 Tax Cuts

From tax perspective, for individuals, the Government has not announced any changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts which have been legislated to commence from July 01, 2024. As part of Stage 3, the 37% tax rate will be removed and the 32.5% tax rate will be reduced to 30%. Individuals will be taxed at a marginal tax rate of 30% for income earned between $45,000 and $200,000. No substantial changes have been announced for individuals from a tax point of view and as a reminder, the temporary low-and middle-income tax offset no longer applies from the 2022-23 income year onwards.

From July 01, 2024, resident individual income tax rates will be as follows:

b. Securing Superannuation

Previously Superannuation was paid at least quarterly. From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees' super at the same time they pay their wages. This will enable employees to track their entitlements to ensure they are being paid on time and in full.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 09, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023 and later

A. Update

Australian Government has announced that paid parental leave period will be changed from 18 weeks to 20 weeks (or 100 days) while you care for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2023.

To get this payment, all of the following must apply:

• Be caring for a child who is born or adopted from 1 July 2023
• Have met the income test
• Not be working on your Parental Leave pay days, except for allowable reasons
• Have met the work test
• Have registered or applied to register your child’s birth with your state or territory birth registry, if they’re a newborn.

Parental Leave Pay has to be claimed within the claiming timeframes.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 27, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022, form part of an Australian Government’s commitment to improve job security and put gender equality at the centre of the workplace relations system.

When an employee makes a request to extend their unpaid parental leave, the employer can agree to the request, or discuss and agree with the employee to a different extension period.

The employer needs to put this in writing to the employee within 21 days of the request. If an employer refuses a request to extend unpaid parental leave, the employer needs to respond to the request in writing within 21 days.

Employers can only refuse a request if:

• The employer has discussed and genuinely tried to reach an agreement with the employee about an extension, but not reached an agreement
• The employer has considered the consequences of refusing the extension
• The refusal is on ‘reasonable’ business grounds.

The written response needs to:

• Include details of the reasons for refusal, including the employer’s particular business grounds and how those grounds apply to the request
• State an alternative period of extension the employer would be willing to agree to or that there isn’t any extension they would agree to
• Include the new dispute resolution provisions that the Commission will have.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 14, 2023

C. Effective Date: June 06, 2023

A. Update

The ATO has updated the Superannuation, Employee Termination Payment (ETP) thresholds and redundancy tax free amounts effective from July 01, 2023. The following threshold and amounts have been updated:

• Maximum Super contribution Base: $62,270 per quarter
• Super guarantee contribution rate: 11%
• Life and Death Benefit ETP Cap: $235,000
• Tax free part of genuine redundancy and early retirement scheme payments: $11,985 and $5,994 for each complete year of service.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 5, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

Local Court has updated the garnishment limits for Garnishee orders issued in the civil jurisdiction of the Local and District Courts for wage or salary. Such orders must include instruction to the garnishee regarding the amount that a judgment debtor is entitled to retain, per Section 122 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

The amounts attached under garnishee order must not reduce the net amount of any wage or salary received by the judgment debtor from the garnishee to less than the garnishment limits.

The new limits are as follows:

• Daily : $80.49
• Weekly rate : $563.40
• Fortnightly : $1126.80
• Four-week period : $2253.60
• Monthly period : $2441.40

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 31, 2023

C. Effective Date: April 01, 2023

A. Update

The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022 introduced on November 30, 2022, has now become an Act. On March 06, 2023, both the Houses of Parliament passed the Bill. The key changes brought by this Act are as under:

• From July 01, 2023, the Act extends the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) pay from 18 weeks to 20 weeks by combining Parental Leave Pay (18 weeks) and Dad and Partner Pay (2 weeks) into one payment.
• The Act reserves 2 weeks on a 'use it or lose' basis where neither parent in a couple can take more than 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay (PLP). To claim the full 20 weeks, each parent must take at least 2 weeks of PLP. Single parents can claim the full 20 weeks.
• It also removes the requirement that the applicant of parental leave pay must be the birth parent so that both the birth and non-birth parents are allowed to receive the payment if they meet the eligibility criteria.
• The Act replaces the earlier block of 6-week flexible PPL with a single period of flexible PPL of 20 weeks to be taken flexibly by the parents within 2 years of the birth or adoption. This means parents will no longer lose weeks of PLP if both of them return to work before using all 12 weeks of PLP.
• The Act introduces a $350,000 family income limit under which families can be assessed and allows an eligible father or partner to receive PLP regardless of whether the birth parent meets the income test limit of $156,647, residency requirements or is serving a newly arrived resident's waiting period.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 06, 2023

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2023

A. Update

ATO has updated Disaggregation of Gross Position Paper for Digital Service Providers (DSPs) to reflect changes to Fair Work (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Regulations 2023 and its treatment in STP 2.

The Position Paper acknowledges the special rules for reporting the paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave (FDVL) required to display information on payslip. STP reporting of FDVL amounts should reflect the payment type shown on the employee's payslip. This may be as:

• Gross if shown as an employee’s ordinary hours of work, or
• a payment made in relation to the performance of the employee’s work, including (but not limited to) an allowance, bonus or a payment of overtime, or
• where requested by the employee (or, before the grace period till June 04, 2023), an amount paid for taking a period of another type of leave (other than a period of paid family and domestic violence leave).

Any amounts that would ordinarily be considered ordinary time earnings (OTE), if the employee was at work, should still be treated as OTE for super guarantee (SG) purposes, and the superannuation details reported accordingly.

For Fair Work (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Regulations 2023, kindly refer to our earlier update titled as “Displaying paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave on a Payslip”.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: February 14, 2023

C. Effective Date: February 04, 2023

A. Update

The Government has released Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Regulations 2023 bringing the following changes to the existing Fair Work Regulations 2009 with respect to information in payslip about paid family and domestic violence leave (PFDVL):

1. Note to the regulation 3.47, newly added by Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022, has been repealed. This note provided that amount paid in respect of paid family and domestic violence leave could be included in a pay slip as “special leave”, “miscellaneous leave” or “leave—other”, as examples. This is no longer applicable. Kindly refer to the old update “Changes in Pay slip” as published on this page.
2. New regulation 3.48 has been inserted which provides as under:
   • An amount paid to an employee for taking a period of paid family and domestic violence leave:
     • i. must not be reported on a pay slip as an amount paid to the employee for taking a period of such leave; and
     • ii. must instead be reported on the pay slip as an amount paid to the employee:
       • for the performance of the employee’s ordinary hours of work; or
       • as another kind of payment made in relation to the performance of the employee’s work, including (but not limited to) an allowance, bonus or a payment of overtime.
   • Only if an employee has requested the employer to report the amount on the pay slip as an amount paid for taking a period of a particular kind of leave (other than paid family and domestic violence leave), the amount may be reported on the pay slip as an amount paid to the employee for taking a period of that kind of leave.
3. Notes to newly added regulation 3.48 have been inserted in line with another new regulation 7.06. These provide for a grace period of 4 months from the effective date during which an amount paid to an employee for taking a period of paid family and domestic violence leave may be reported on a pay slip as an amount paid to the employee for taking a period of leave (other than a period of paid family and domestic violence leave) like “special leave”, “miscellaneous leave” or “leave—other”. This grace period is granted to transition from the provisions of repealed Note to regulation 3.47 (as mentioned in point (a) above).
   During this grace period, employers will not be penalised if they report a period of paid family and domestic violence leave on a pay slip as a period of leave (other than paid family and domestic violence leave).

Impact on STP2

Impact of the changes to reporting PFDVL in a payslip on STP 2 is still under deliberation and clarification is awaited. It will depend on how PFDVL is treated and shown on a payslip.

B. Statutory Release Date: February 03, 2023

C. Effective Date: February 04, 2023

A. Update

Fair Work Legislation Amendment Regulations 2022 have been approved by the Federal Executive Council providing changes in the content of a pay slip. These changes are as under:

1. Related to Stapled Fund

In furtherance to Your Future, Your Super Reforms and introduction of Stapled Super Fund, changes have been made in the pay slip. A new sub-regulation 3.46 (5A) has been inserted in Fair Work Regulations 2009 providing that a pay slip is not required to include the name, or the name and number, of a fund if:

1. the pay slip is required to be given to the employee within the period of 14 days commencing on the first day on which the employer pays an amount to the employee in relation to the performance of work; and
2. by the time the pay slip is given to the employee:
1. there is no chosen fund for the employee; and
2. the Commissioner of Taxation has not notified the employer or the employer’s agent of whether the Commissioner is satisfied that there is a stapled fund for the employee or, if the Commissioner is satisfied that there is a stapled fund, of the details of the fund.

These changes become effective from December 14, 2022.

2. Related to Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave

In furtherance to the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022 that replaced the current entitlement of five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period with an entitlement of ten days of paid leave effective from 2023, changes have been made in the pay slip content. A new regulation 3.47 has been inserted in Fair Work Regulations 2009 providing the following information that should not be included in a pay slip in relation to paid family and domestic violence leave:

a) a statement that an amount paid to an employee is a payment in respect of the employee’s entitlement to paid family and domestic violence leave; and

b) a statement that a period of leave taken by the employee has been taken as a period of paid family and domestic violence leave; and

c) the balance of an employee’s entitlement to paid family and domestic violence leave.

Note: An example of the way in which a statement could be included in a pay slip that an amount is a payment in respect of a particular kind of leave is to state that the amount is paid as special leave, miscellaneous leave or “leave-other”.

These changes will come into force from the commencement date of Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022 which is February 01, 2023, and August 01, 2023.

B. Statutory Release Date: December 08, 2022

C. Effective Date: December 14, 2022, and February 01, 2023

A. Update

The Protected Earnings Amount (PEA) has been updated for the Financial Year 2023. PEA is the part of an employee’s or contractor’s wages that are exempt from child support deductions. This means that after the employers have deducted tax from employees’ gross income, they must set aside the following amount before making any further personal deductions, including child support, for:

For child support purposes, a year is 365.25 days (allowing for the leap year) and the number of days in a month is 30.4375. The daily rate is calculated by the weekly rate divided by 7 (that is, 456.53 / 7 = 65.21857).

The PEA does not apply to garnishee notices requesting deductions under section 72A of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.

B. Statutory Release Date: December 14, 2022

C. Effective Date: January 01, 2023

A. Update

Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022, Act No. 50, 2022 (‘The Act’), received Royal Assent on November 09, 2022, and has now become a law.

The Act replaces the current entitlement of five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period with an entitlement of ten days of paid leave for full-time, part-time and casual employees under the National Employment Standards.

The Act also extends the definition of family and domestic violence to include conduct of a current or former intimate partner of an employee, or a member of an employee's household.

Further, the Act provides that the employer must not include on the pay slip any information prescribed by the regulations made for the purpose of paid domestic violence leave. Clarity on these regulations is still awaited.

The leave will be available from:

• February 01, 2023, for employees of non-small business employers (employers with 15 or more employees on February 01, 2023), and
• August 01, 2023, for employees of small business employers (employers with less than 15 employees on February 01, 2023).

The new leave provisions will be independently reviewed after 12 months to consider the impacts on small businesses, sole traders and people experiencing family and domestic violence.

Meanwhile, employees will continue to be entitled to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave until they can access the new paid entitlement.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: November 09, 2022

C. Effective Date: February 01, 2023, and August 01, 2023

A. Update

The Treasurer, Honourable Dr Jim Chalmers MP, handed down the 2022-23 October Budget on October 25, 2022. The Budget is currently before Parliament and has not yet passed.

The Government announced a five-point plan for cost of living relief which includes:

1. Cheaper child care;
2. Expanding Paid Parental Leave;
3. Cheaper medicines;
4. More affordable housing;
5. Getting wages moving again.

Key proposed changes impacting payroll are as under:

a. Fringe Benefits Tax on Electric Car

It is proposed to exempt battery, hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in hybrid electric cars from fringe benefits tax (FBT) effective July 01, 2022, and the 5% import tariffs, if they have a first retail price below the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient cars which is currently $84,916 inclusive of GST.

b. Personal Tax Rates – Stage 3 Tax Cuts

From tax perspective, for individuals, the Government has not announced any changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts which have been legislated to commence from July 01, 2024. As part of Stage 3, the 37% tax rate will be removed and the 32.5% tax rate will be reduced to 30%. Individuals will be taxed at a marginal tax rate of 30% for income earned between $45,000 and $200,000. No substantial changes have been announced for individuals from a tax point of view and as a reminder, the temporary low- and middle-income tax offset no longer applies from the 2022-23 income year onwards.

From July 01, 2024, resident individual income tax rates will be as follows:

c. Parental Leave

The Government will introduce reforms from July 01, 2023, to make the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) Scheme flexible for families so that either parent is able to claim the payment and both birth parents and non-birth parents are allowed to receive the payment if they meet the eligibility criteria. Weeks of the payment will be available for parents to access concurrently, allowing them to take paid leave on the same days. This will provide parents the choice and flexibility to manage work and care arrangements in ways that best suits their needs.

To further increase flexibility, from July 2023, parents will be able to take Government-paid leave in blocks as small as a day at a time, with periods of work in between, so parents can use their weeks in a way that works best for them. PPL is an important mechanism for supporting gender equality and narrowing the gender pay gap. A key driver of the gender pay gap is the disproportionate amount of unpaid care and work performed by women.

From July 01, 2024, the Government will start expanding the scheme by two additional weeks a year until it reaches a full 26 weeks from July 01, 2026.

In the Budget, following example has also been provided to explain the measures:

“Next year, Grace and Chris make plans to have a child and want to share work and care responsibilities equally. Under the expanded scheme, they will be able to access Paid Parental Leave for a total of 22 weeks from July 2024 and can use it flexibly. When the baby arrives, Grace will take leave to recover from the birth and breastfeed. Once she is ready to return to work, Grace will take leave 2 days a week and Chris will take leave 3 days a week, with each accessing a total 11 weeks of leave.”

Currently, the PPL scheme is comprised of two payments for eligible carers of a newborn or recently adopted child. Parental Leave Pay is available for up to 18 weeks for the birth parent, while Dad and Partner Pay is available for up to 2 weeks to fathers and partners. While Parental Leave Pay may be taken in conjunction with employer paid leave, Dad and Partner Pay cannot.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: October 25, 2022

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2022 and later

A. Update

It has been announced that Thursday September 22, 2022 will be a public holiday for the National Day of Mourning for Her Majesty The Queen. The normal public holiday rules and entitlements will apply for the public holiday for the National Day of Mourning for Her Majesty the Queen in each state or territory.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: September 11, 2022

C. Effective Date: September 22, 2022

A. Update

The Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 has recently been approved by the Queensland Parliament and has now become the Revenue Legislation Amendment Act 2022.

Relevant amendments in the Payroll Tax Act 1971 include:

1. Extension of Apprentice and Trainee Rebate
   If apprentice and trainee wages are exempt from payroll tax, an employer can also claim a payroll tax rebate that reduces the payroll tax amount for the particular liability (periodic, annual or final return). The 50% apprentice and trainee rebate has been extended to June 30, 2023. The rebate is automatically calculated when entering apprentice and trainee wages and lodging a return via QRO Online.
2. Increase in Payroll Tax Deduction
   For annual Australian taxable wages over the $1.3 million threshold, the deduction reduces by $1 for every $4 of taxable wages over this amount. The deduction reduces to zero when Australian taxable wages reach $6.5 million. In relation to taxable wages paid or payable from January 01, 2023, this deduction range will increase, which means a reduction in payroll tax for small and medium businesses. For annual Australian taxable wages over the $1.3 million threshold, the deduction will change to $1 for every $7 of taxable wages over this amount.
3. Introduction of Mental Health Levy
   From January 01, 2023, a mental health levy will be applied to payroll tax to fund mental health and associated services. The levy:

   3a. will apply to employers and groups of employers who pay more than $10 million in annual Australian taxable wages

   3b. will be applied to annual Queensland taxable wages.

The Mental Health Levy rate will be as under:

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 30, 2022

C. Effective Date:

For above items:

1. July 01, 2022
2. January 01, 2023
3. January 01, 2023

A. Update

Tax Tables for the Income year 2022-23 have been released by ATO and there are not many changes. With the annual indexing of the repayment incomes for study and training support loans, the following schedule and tax tables were updated for the 2022–23 year:

• Schedule 8 – Statement of formulas for calculating study and training support loans components (NAT 3539)
• The study and training support loans weekly, fortnightly, and monthly tax tables.

Updates were also made to the following schedule to incorporate changes to the introductory content, with the inclusion of an additional visa (COVID-19 pandemic event 408 visa) that the schedule applies to:

• Schedule 15 – Tax table for working holiday makers (NAT 75331)

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 24, 2022

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2022

A. Update

The temporary rate reduction due to COVID-19 as brought by the State Budget of 2020-21 has been restored to 5.45% by the State Budget of 2022-23.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 21, 2022

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2022

A. Update

Tax deductible rate for work-related car expenses has been increased to 78 cents per kilometer and applies to those employees who opt to use the cents per kilometre method.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 09, 2022

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2022

A. Update

The New South Wales Local Court has updated the garnishment limits for Garnishee orders issued in the civil jurisdiction of the Local and District Courts for wage or salary. Such orders must include instruction to the garnishee regarding the amount that a judgment debtor is entitled to retain, per Section 122 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

The amounts attached under garnishee order must not reduce the net amount of any wage or salary received by the judgment debtor from the garnishee to less than the garnishment limits.

The new limits are as follows:

• Daily - $77.89
• Weekly rate - $545.20
• Fortnightly - $1090.40
• Four-week period - $2180.80
• Monthly period - $2362.54

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 01, 2022

C. Effective Date: April 01, 2022

A. Update

The ATO has updated the Superannuation, Employee Termination Payment (ETP) thresholds and redundancy tax free amounts effective from July 01, 2022. The following threshold and amounts have been updated:

• Maximum super contribution Base: $60,220 per quarter
• Super guarantee contribution rate: 10.5%
• Life and Death Benefit ETP Cap: $2,30,000
• Tax free part of genuine redundancy and early retirement scheme payments: $11,591 and $5,797 for each complete year of service.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 17, 2022

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2022

A. Update

Currently, individuals aged 67 to 74 years can only make voluntary contributions (both concessional and non-concessional) to their superannuation or receive contributions from their spouse if they are working at least 40 hours over a 30-day period in the relevant financial year.

On May 11, 2021, as part of the 2021–22 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced it will remove this work test, subject to existing contribution caps. Individuals aged 67 to 74 years will still have to meet the work test to make personal deductible contributions.

The change is now law by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Superannuation Outcomes) Regulations, 2022 with royal assent on March 03, 2022.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 03, 2022

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2022

A. Update

On May 11, 2021, as part of the 2021–22 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced it will remove the $450 per month threshold to expand coverage of super guarantee to eligible employees regardless of their monthly pay.

The change is now law by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Superannuation Outcomes For Australians and Helping Australian Businesses Invest) Act, 2021 with royal assent on February 22, 2022.

From July 01, 2022, employers will be required to make super guarantee contributions to their eligible employee's super fund regardless of how much the employee is paid. Employees must still satisfy other super guarantee eligibility requirements.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: February 22, 2022

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2022

A. Update

The Protected Earnings Amount (PEA) is the part of an employee’s or contractor’s wages that are exempt from child support deductions. The PEA is adjusted on January 01 each year to allow for increases in the cost of living.

The following rate applies from January 01, 2022:

• Weekly rate $429.98
• Fortnightly $859.96 (weekly rate x 2)
• Four-week period $1719.92 (weekly rate x 4)
• Monthly period $1869.65 (daily rate x 30.4375)

The daily rate (unrounded) is calculated by the weekly rate divided by 7 (that is, 429.98 / 7 = 61.4257142857).

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: November 01, 2021

C. Effective Date: January 01, 2022

A. Update

The New South Wales Local Court has updated the garnishment limits for Garnishee orders issued in the civil jurisdiction of the Local and District Courts for wage or salary as per section 122 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

The amounts attached under garnishee order must not reduce the net amount of any wage or salary received by the judgment debtor from the garnishee to less than the garnishment limits.

The new limits are as follows:

• Daily - $76.70
• Weekly rate - $536.90
• Fortnightly - $1073.80
• Four-week period - $2147.60
• Monthly period - $2326.57

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: October 07, 2021

C. Effective Date: October 01, 2021

A. Update

In continuation to our earlier update on legislative instrument released by Commissioner of Taxation on February 03, 2021, employers were required to mandatorily do the reporting through the STP phase 2 expanded data set by July 01, 2021, which has been deferred to 1 January 2022.

We are happy to announce that our product has been whitelisted for STP Phase 2. The product is registered as “Magna 2.2“on ATO website (https://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/product-register).

The journey has been quiet smooth for us wherein we completed the ECT testing within a month’s time covering 60+ test cases. Also, we are among the first 20 software providers out of 300+ software’s listed on the ATO website. The timely whitelisting will help our customers to have ample time for transition.

Moreover, in order to make the transition to STP Phase 2 reporting flexible, reasonable and pragmatic, ATO has revealed that employers that begin reporting additional payroll information required under STP Phase 2 by March 01, 2022, will be considered to have met its January 01, 2022, deadline.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: September 23, 2021

C. Effective Date: September 23, 2021

A. Update

On September 10, 2021, the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021 (Respect at Work amendments) was made effective. As per the Respect at Work amendments, an update has been brought in the Fair Work Act 2009 (‘FWA’) wherein under compassionate leave an additional reason of miscarriage has been added.

Employees can take up to two days of paid compassionate leave (unpaid for casuals) if they or their current spouse or partner has a miscarriage. Employees are also entitled to compassionate leave if they experience a stillbirth or death of a child.

An employee may also be entitled to take compassionate leave if the infant was, or would have been, an immediate family or household member of such employee.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: September 10, 2021

C. Effective Date: September 10, 2021

A. Update

In the 2020–21 federal Budget, the government announced the Super Reforms – Your Future, Your Super measure.

From 1 November 2021, employers will no longer be able to use a default fund if a new employee does not select a choice fund.

From this date, where employees do not choose a super fund, employers will have to check with the ATO if their employee has an existing super account, known as a 'stapled super fund', to pay the employee's super guarantee.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 22, 2021

C. Effective Date: November 01, 2021

A. Update

Age-Pension Age Increase

The Labor Government introduced measures in 2009 to increase the pension age to 67 through gradual increases during the period July 2017 to July 2023.

On 1 July 2021, Age-Pension age increased to 66 years and 6 months for people born from 1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956, inclusive.

If the birthdate is on or after 1 January 1957, they will have to wait until they turn 67. This will be the Age-Pension age from 1 July 2023.

Increase to the high-income threshold

The high-income threshold increases from $153,600 to $158,500 from July 01, 2021. This figure is indexed annually.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: July 01, 2021

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2021

A. Update

The Victorian Budget 2021-22 has been announced listing the following measures:

• Bringing forward the increase in the payroll tax threshold to $700,000
• Bringing forward the reduction in the regional employer payroll tax rate to 1.2125%.
• Mental health and wellbeing levy (payroll tax surcharge) on wages paid in Victoria by businesses with national payrolls over $10 million a year has been introduced. A rate of 0.5% will apply for businesses with national payrolls above $10 million, and businesses with national payrolls above $100 million will pay an additional 0.5%. The levy is effective from January 01, 2022.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 20, 2021

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2021 / January 01, 2022.

A. Update

The Treasurer has delivered the Federal Budget 2021-22 on May 11, 2021. The following key measures has been announced:

1. Superannuation

The following key measures were announced as part of Budget:

• The government has decided not to review or repeal the legislated increase in the superannuation guarantee from 9.5% to 10%. Therefore, the increase will go ahead as expected from July 01, 2021.
• The minimum earnings of $450 gross per month to be eligible for superannuation will be removed. This means that employers will now be required to make superannuation contributions for their low-income earners unless another exemption applies. The removal of this threshold will take effect from July 01 2022, though it has not yet been legislated.
• Currently, individuals aged 67 to 74 years can only make voluntary contributions (both concessional and non-concessional) to their superannuation or receive contributions from their spouse if they are working at least 40 hours over a 30-day period in the relevant financial year. The Government has announced that it will remove this work test, subject to existing contribution caps. Individuals aged 67 to 74 years will still have to meet the work test to make personal deductible contributions.
• Members of SMSFs living overseas currently have a two-year window in which they can manage their funds while temporarily living overseas without breaching rules that require central management and control of the fund to ordinarily be in Australia. This window is to be extended to five years.
• Members of superannuation funds with certain legacy retirement products will have a two-year window of opportunity to exit these products along with associated reserves. This will enable members to move their benefits back to accumulation phase and for reserves to be allocated without counting to the member’s contributions cap.

2. Threshold Changes

The following key measures were announced:

• The Low and Middle Income Tax offset (LMITO) is extended for a further one year period, broadly providing certain middle income earners with a second year of “super-charged” tax rate cuts. Tranche 3 of the personal income tax plan remains unchanged and commences in 2024-25 as legislated.
• Medicare Levy remains unchanged at 2% of taxable income.
• The Government is removing the exclusion of the first $250 of deductions for prescribed courses of self-education.
• The Government will replace the individual tax residency rules with a new, modernised framework. The primary test will be a simple ‘bright line’ test — a person who is physically present in Australia for 183 days or more in any income year will be an Australian tax resident. Individuals who do not meet the primary test will be subject to secondary tests that depend on a combination of physical presence and measurable, objective criteria. The measure will have effect from the first income year after the date of Royal Assent of the enabling legislation.
• The Government is removing the exclusion of the first $250 of deductions for prescribed courses of self-education.
• The personal income tax rates are unchanged and are as follows:

• The Government has passed the legislation updating the PAYG Tax rate Tables effective from July 01, 2021. Please refer attachment for the updated PAYG Tax rate tables:

PAYG Rate tables 2021-22

Please note that the ATO shall provide implementation details after it becomes a legislation.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 11, 2021

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2021

A. Update

The ATO has updated the Superannuation, ETP thresholds and redundancy tax free amounts effective from July 01, 2021. The following threshold and amounts has been updated:

• Maximum super contribution Base: $58,920
• Concessional Cap: $27,500
• Life and Death Benefit ETP Cap: $2,25,000
• Tax free part of genuine redundancy and early retirement scheme payments: $11,341 and $5,672 for each complete year of service.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 31, 2021

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2021

A. Update

In the 2010-2011 Federal Budget, it was first announced to increase the Super Guarantee (SG) gradually from 9% to 12%.

Under that change, the incremental increases to the SG rate were to be phased in from July 01, 2013 and reach 12% by July 01, 2019.

However, the Government subsequently delayed the increases and the rate was scheduled to stay at 9.5% until 2021 and reach 12% in 2025.

The Super Guarantee is scheduled to increase from 9.5% to 10% on July 01, 2021, but the Federal Government is yet to officially commit to this increase and a decision on whether to proceed (due to Covid-19) with the increase is expected in the May 2021 budget.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: To Be Announced

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2021

A. Update

The Commissioner of Taxation had released a Legislative Instrument on STP phase 2 on December 08, 2020 for public consultation wherein the employers were required to mandatorily do the reporting through the STP phase 2 expanded data set by July 01, 2021, and voluntary reporting was to start from January 01, 2021.

Public consultation was undertaken from December 09, 2020 to January 14, 2021. In response to the public consultation and feedback received during that period, the new STP Phase 2 legislative instrument was released on February 03, 2021. The new legislative instrument delays the mandatory reporting under STP Phase 2 to January 01, 2022. However, the voluntary reporting can still be commenced from the date which an entity chooses to commence reporting, post January 04, 2021.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: February 03, 2021

C. Effective Date: January 01, 2022

A. Update

In the Federal Budget for 2019-20, it was announced that ATO would expand the data collected through STP to streamline a range of government reporting obligations. STP data will be expanded to include more information about gross pay amounts and other details. Some of the key changes includes introduction of country codes, tax treatment codes, new income types, lump sum E letters, additional transition fields and disaggregation of gross income as separately itemized components. These changes will reduce the compliance burden for employers and individuals reporting information to multiple Government agencies.

For application of these changes by Software providers, ATO has published Business Implementation Guide (BIG) for STP Phase 2 along with guidance notes and position papers. Further, the software providers need to go through the testing process before getting into production through External Vendor Testing Environment (EVTE) & Extended Conformance Testing (ECT).

The Commissioner of Taxation released a Legislative Instrument on STP phase 2 for public consultation wherein the employers are required to mandatory do the reporting through the STP phase 2 expanded data set by July 01, 2021, and voluntary reporting to start from January 01, 2021. The ATO are currently in the consultation phase of this legislative instrument, and took public submissions until January 14, 2021, however the outcome is still to be announced.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: December 08, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2021

A. Update

Services Australia has announced extended work test if Covid-19 has affected work, when employee claim Parental Leave Pay. Employee can access the extended work test when both of the following conditions apply:

• they do not meet the standard work test because their employment hours are reduced, or they stopped work, due to COVID-19
• their child’s birth or adoption is between March 22, 2020 and March 31, 2021.

If they are eligible, their work test period will extend. It will change from 13 months to 20 months (600 Days) before the birth or adoption of child.

They will still need to meet the other work test requirements within the extended 20 months’ period. These include all of the following:

• worked at least 10 months in your extended work test period
• worked at least 330 hours in that 10-month period
• had no more than a 12 week break between any workdays in that 10 months period.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: December 07, 2020

C. Effective Date: March 22, 2020

A. Update

On October 06 2020, the Government has announced the introduction of JobMaker Hiring Credit (JMHC). On December 04 2020, following a consultation period, the Government released the final rules for the scheme.

The JMHC will be available to employers when they hire an eligible person aged 16 to 35. The scheme will apply for each new job created until October 06 2021. Employers can receive the payment for eligible employees who work, or are paid, an average of 20 hours per week for a period of up to 12 months.

From 7 October 2020, eligible employers can qualify for:

• $200 a week for each additional eligible employee they hire aged 16 to 29, and
• $100 a week for each additional eligible employee aged 30 to 35.

The JMHC will be claimed quarterly in arrears by the employer from the ATO from 01 February 2021. Employers need to report through STP-enabled software to be able to identify, nominate and report their eligible additional employees through their STP enabled software.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: October 06, 2020

C. Effective Date: October 07, 2020

A. Update

The Protected Earning Amount (PEA) is a set minimum amount that must be left after tax and child support is deducted from a person's wage. Effective January 01 each year, the PEA is adjusted for increase in the cost of living. Accordingly, the PEA amounts effective from January 01, 2021 are as follows:

• Weekly rate $383.10
• Fortnightly $766.20 (weekly rate x 2)
• Four-week period $1532.40 (weekly rate x 4)
• Monthly period $1665.80 (daily rate x 30.4375)

For child support purposes, a year is 365.25 days (allowing for the leap year). The number of days in a month is 30.4375, which is equal to 365.25 divided by 12. Figures are rounded, where applicable.

The daily rate (unrounded) is calculated by the weekly rate divided by 7 (that is, 383.10 / 7 = 54.72857).

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: November 11, 2020

C. Effective Date: January 01, 2021

A. Update

The Fair Work Amendment (Improving Unpaid Parental Leave for Parents of Stillborn Babies and Other Measures) Bill, 2020 has been introduced on 3 September 2020, to create a guaranteed entitlement of 12 months of unpaid leave for eligible parents.

On 27 November 2020, following changes to unpaid parental leave entitlements in the Fair Work Act, 2009 has been introduced:

• Access to up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave for parents impacted by stillbirth or infant death
• Access to flexible unpaid parental leave options to allow employees to use up to 30 days of their existing entitlement to 12 months unpaid parental leave on a flexible basis (in days or weeks) any time up to two years after the birth or adoption of their child.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: November 27, 2020

C. Effective Date: November 27, 2020

A. Update

The 2020/21 New South Wales (NSW) State Budget has announced a temporary reduction in the payroll tax rate to 4.85 per cent (from 5.45%) for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

The threshold will also increase to $1,200,000 for the 2020/21 and subsequent financial years.

The Handling of the retrospective change is yet to be announced by the NSW Government.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: November 17, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

The Government has announced the following measures as part of the 2020 Budget on October 06, 2020.

Stage 2 of its Personal Income Tax Plan will be brought forward and shall apply for the 2020–21 income year. The low and middle income tax offset will continue to be available for the 2020–21 income year but will not apply for the 2021–22 income year and later years.

Threshold changes

Once enacted, the measures will:

• Increase the low income tax offset (LITO) from $445 to $700 and adjust the phase out rules
• Increase the top threshold of the 19% personal income tax bracket from $37,000 to $45,000, and
• Increase the top threshold of the 32.5% personal income tax bracket from $90,000 to $120,000.

The Government has passed the legislation updating the PAYG Tax rate Tables effective October 13, 2020. Please refer attachment for the updated PAYG Tax rate tables:

PAYG Tax Rates_13102020.xlsx

ATO has provided time till November 16, 2020 for the Employers to implement the tax rates changes.

Superannuation

The Budget has announced reforms to default superannuation accounts. The reforms were announced in a package entitled “Your Future, Your Super” and included the following key measures:

• To avoid the creation of multiple superannuation accounts, superannuation accounts will be ‘stapled’ to members. This aims to ensure members keep their current existing superannuation account when they change jobs unless they elect an alternate fund.
• From July 01, 2021, a new online YourSuper comparison tool will be available to more readily compare MySuper superannuation products.
• The Government will legislate additional requirements set to ensure Trustees act in the best financial interests of members. This will include providing members, in advance of Annual Members’ Meetings, with key information regarding how Trustees manage and spend money.
• MySuper products will be subject to an annual performance test. Where funds fail two consecutive annual underperformance tests, they will not be permitted to accept new members. These funds will need to disclose this underperformance and will not be able to re-open to new members unless their performance improves. By July 01, 2022, annual performance tests will be extended to other superannuation products.
• There are no changes with respect to rates.

JobMaker Hiring Credit

A $4 billion JobMaker Hiring Credit will be payable for up to 12 months for each new job and is available from tomorrow to employers who hire eligible employees aged 16-35. The Hiring Credit will be paid quarterly in arrears at the rate of $200 per week for those aged between 16-29, and $100 per week for those aged between 30 to 35 years. Eligible employees are required to work a minimum of 20 hours per week. To be eligible, employers will need to demonstrate an increase in overall employee headcount and payroll for each additional new position created.

Please note that the ATO shall provide more details in the days to come (after legislation) for implementing the same.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: October 06, 2020

C. Effective Date: October 13, 2020

A. Update

The Government has announced the following measures as part of the 2020 Budget which was announced on October 06, 2020.

The Government has announced that stage 2 of its Personal Income Tax Plan will be brought forward and apply for the 2020–21 income year. The low and middle income tax offset will continue to be available for the 2020–21 income year but will not apply for the 2021–22 income year and later years.

Threshold changes

The enacted measure will:

• increase the low income tax offset (LITO) from $445 to $700 and adjust the phase out rules
• increase the top threshold of the 19% personal income tax bracket from $37,000 to $45,000, and
• increase the top threshold of the 32.5% personal income tax bracket from $90,000 to $120,000.

The Government has passed the legislation updating the PAYG Tax rate Tables effective October 13, 2020. Please refer attachment for the updated PAYG Tax rate tables:

PAYG Tax Rates_13102020.xlsx

Please note that ATO has provided time till November 16, 2020 for the Employers to implement the changes for tax rates.

Superannuation

The Budget has announced reforms to default superannuation accounts. The reforms were announced in a package entitled “Your Future, Your Super” and included the following key measures:

• To avoid the creation of multiple superannuation accounts, superannuation accounts will be ‘stapled’ to members. This aims to ensure members keep their current existing superannuation account when they change jobs, unless they elect an alternate fund
• From 1 July 2021, a new online YourSuper comparison tool will be available to more readily compare MySuper superannuation products
• The Government will legislate additional requirements set to ensure Trustees act in the best financial interests of members. This will include providing members, in advance of Annual Members’ Meetings, with key information regarding how Trustees manage and spend money
• MySuper products will be subject to an annual performance test. Where funds fail two consecutive annual underperformance tests, they will not be permitted to accept new members. These funds will need to disclose this underperformance and will not be able to re-open to new members unless their performance improves. By 1 July 2022, annual performance tests will be extended to other superannuation products. There are no changes with respect to rates.

JobMaker Hiring Credit

A $4 billion JobMaker Hiring Credit will be payable for up to 12 months for each new job and is available from October 7, 2020 to employers who hire eligible employees aged 16-35.

• For new workers aged between 16 and 30 - $200 per week
• For new workers aged between 30 and 35 - $100 per week

Eligible employees are required to work a minimum of 20 hours per week. To be eligible, employers will need to demonstrate an increase in overall employee headcount and payroll for each additional new position created.

Please note that the ATO shall provide more details in the days to come (after it becomes a legislation) for implementation.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: October 06, 2020

C. Effective Date: October 13, 2020

A. Update

The Government is extending the JobKeeper Payment by a further period of six months up till March 28, 2021. The Parliament has passed the same on September 01, 2020.

The payment and reporting obligations provided in Job Keeper 2.0 are summarised below:

Employer Obligation

• 1. From September 28, 2020, businesses and not-for-profits will be required to reassess their eligibility with reference to their actual GST turnover in the June and September quarters 2020. They will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant decline in turnover test in both of those quarters to be eligible for the JobKeeper Payment from September 28, 2020 to January 03, 2021.
• 2. From January 04, 2021, businesses and not-for-profits will need to further reassess their turnover to be eligible for the JobKeeper Payment. They will need to demonstrate that they have met the relevant decline in turnover test with reference to their actual GST turnover in each of the June, September and December quarters 2020 to remain eligible for the JobKeeper Payment from January 04, 2021 to March 28, 2021.
• 3. To be eligible for JobKeeper Payments under the extension, businesses and not-for-profits will still need to demonstrate that they have experienced a decline in turnover of:
  • 50 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of more than $1 billion;
  • 30 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less; or
  • 15 per cent for Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission-registered charities (excluding schools and universities).

If a business or not-for-profit does not meet the additional turnover tests for the extension period, this does not affect their eligibility prior to September 28, 2020.

Job-keeper Payment Rates

From September 28, 2020 to January 03, 2021, the JobKeeper Payment rates will be:

• $1,200 per fortnight for all eligible employees who, in the four weeks of pay periods before March 01, 2020 or July 01, 2020, were working in the business or not-for-profit for 20 hours or more a week on average, and for eligible business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 20 hours or more per week on average in the month of February 2020; and
• $750 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants.
• The period with the higher number of hours is to be used for employees who were eligible at March 01, 2020

From January 04 2021 to March 28, 2021, the JobKeeper Payment rates will be:

• $1,000 per fortnight for all eligible employees who, in the four weeks of pay periods before March 01, 2020 or July 01, 2020, were working in the business or not-for-profit for 20 hours or more a week on average and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for 20 hours or more per week on average in the month of February 2020; and
• $650 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants.
• The period with the higher number of hours is to be used for employees who were eligible at March 01, 2020

Businesses and not-for-profits will be required to nominate which payment rate they are claiming for each of their eligible employees (or business participants).

Employee Eligibility

Employees are eligible in the extension period if they:

• are currently employed by an eligible employer (including if you were stood down or rehired)
• were for the eligible employer (or another entity in their wholly-owned group) either:
  – a full-time, part-time or fixed-term employee at July 01, 2020; or
  – a long-term casual employee (employed on a regular and systematic basis for at least 12 months) as at July 01, 2020 and not a permanent employee of any other employer.
• were aged 18 years or older at July 01, 2020 (if you were 16 or 17 you can also qualify if you are independent or not undertaking full time study).
• were either: – an Australian resident (within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991); or – an Australian resident for the purpose of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and the holder of a Subclass 444 (Special Category) visa as at July 01, 2020.
• were not in receipt of any of these payments during the JobKeeper fortnight: – government parental leave or Dad and partner pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010; or – a payment in accordance with Australian worker compensation law for an individual's total incapacity for work.

Reporting through STP

In addition to the existing reporting requirements, the ATO also wants the Tiers to be reported through other allowances with zero value. The ATO further provided an option for corrections in tier reporting.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: July 21, 2020

C. Effective Date: September 28, 2020

A. Update

The government has introduced changes to the JobKeeper Payment, making it easier for businesses to qualify.

These rule changes include:

• Employees’ eligibility for the JobKeeper Payment can now be assessed from July 01, 2020, rather than March 01, 2020.
• Employees can now be nominated by new employers if their employment has changed since the JobKeeper Payment began. However, they can still only be nominated by one employer at any given time
• Employers have until August 31, 2020 to meet the wage condition for new eligible employees under the July 01, 2020 eligibility test for:
  • Fortnight 10 – commencing on August 03, 2020 and
  • Fortnight 11 – commencing August 17, 2020.
  Eligible businesses and not-for-profits can still enroll at any time until the program closes. Businesses can claim reimbursement for their new eligible employees between 01 to 14 September, 2020 when they lodge their August monthly declaration.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: August 07, 2020

C. Effective Date: August 03, 2020

A. Update

The rule changes relating to JobKeeper payments for approved child care providers have been confirmed.

Eligibility for JobKeeper payments will stop from July 20, 2020 for both employees and business participant. Approved providers of child care services cannot claim JobKeeper payments for themselves or their employees whose ordinary duties relate principally to the operation of the child care service. Family Day Care educators (that are not approved providers of a child care service) may still meet eligibility requirements for JobKeeper.

Approved providers of child care services that also run other businesses (mixed business) will remain eligible for JobKeeper for employees of the other businesses whose ordinary duties do not relate principally to the operation of approved child care services.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: July 20, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 20, 2020

A. Update

The cents per kilometer (km) rate has increased from 68c to 72c and accordingly, the tax free limit for private car usage for business purposes will be up to 5000 km at 72c per km.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: June 11, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

Please refer to the revised Tax codes 41 to 46 relating to STSL below:

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 13, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

The regional rates in Victoria will reduce from 2.425% to 2.02%.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 18, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

The Maximum Quarterly employer SG contribution threshold of $55,270 for 2019-20 has been increased to $57,090.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 14, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

• The Life Benefit termination payment ETP cap will be increased to $215,000 from $205,000 and Death Benefit termination payment ETP cap to $215, 000 from $210,000.
• The Redundancy Tax-free base amount will be increased to $10,989 from $10,638 and tax -free amount for completed years of service to $5,496 from $5,320.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 14, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

The tax-free threshold for New South Wales will increase from $900,000 to $1 million and for Western Australia will increase from $950,000 to $1 million for the financial year commencing on July 01, 2020.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 06, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

Payroll tax will apply at the reduced rate of 1.2125% for regional employers in bushfire affected local government areas. This halves the current payroll tax rate of 2.425% for these regional employers and will apply retrospectively from July 01, 2019.

The reduced rate applies until June 30, 2022. After this date, the reduced rate will apply for regional employers across Regional Victoria.

It is proposed that Employers will voluntarily report deductions related to child support from employee salary or wages through Single Touch Payroll if new draft legislation is passed.

Note:

With a registered address in the following local government areas: East Gippsland, Mansfield, Wellington, Wangaratta, Towong and Alpine

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: January 29, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

Businesses significantly impacted by COVID-19 will receive payment of $1,500 per fortnight for each eligible employee (as at March 01, 2020) as a wage subsidy from March 30, 2020 to September 27, 2020. Employers will be eligible for the subsidy if they suffered a decline in turnover of >50% (if turnover > $1 billion) or >30% (if turnover < $1 billion).

To be eligible, an employee must be at least 16 year’s old and should fall under one of the below category:

• Australian citizen
• the holder of a permanent visa
• a Protected Special Category Visa Holder
• a non-protected Special Category Visa Holder who has been residing continually in Australia for 10 years or more
• a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder

Application process

Employer to register (Expression of interest) through the ATO website and notify eligible employees and obtain confirmation through employee declaration statement before enrolling through either of the three methods (ATO Business Portal, Online services for agents, Online services for Individuals) from Monday, April 20, 2020 till April 30, 2020 and provide details about eligible employee’s and other information.

Reporting

Data needs to be reported to the ATO on a payment basis and also complete a monthly declaration online. The reporting can happen based on either of the 3 methods – Online (less than 200 employees), STP, File upload. In STP, Top up amount under Other allowances (JOBKEEPER-TOPUP description and YTD amount) and One time Start fortnight period (JOBKEEPER-START-FNxx) and last fortnight period if before  September 27, 2020 (JOBKEEPER-FINISH-FNxx) needs to be reported for eligible employees.

JobKeeper related Leaves

This is available only for National system employer who qualify for the JobKeeper scheme and to eligible employees. The Employer will be able to temporarily, stand down an employee (including by reducing their hours or days of work), change an employee’s usual duty, change an employee’s location of work, and make an arrangement with employee. The payment shall be either the JobKeeper payment or their usual pay for any hours that the employee does work – whichever is more. The employee’s hourly base pay rate can’t be reduced.

Further, the qualifying employer may request an employee in writing to take paid annual leave at half their usual pay for twice the length of time (keeping minimum balance of 2 weeks). Employees still accrue their usual leave entitlements for the period the agreement applies (as if the agreement hadn't been made). Service is considered continuous for the purposes of redundancy and pay in lieu of notice (i.e. it counts as time worked).

Other leave impact

The Fair Work Commission made determinations to 99 awards. The determinations inserted a temporary new schedule into these awards. The employees are eligible for 2 weeks of unpaid pandemic leave and ability to take twice as much annual leave at half their normal pay, if employer agrees. The schedule in each award applies from an employee’s first full pay period on or after April 08, 2020 until June 30, 2020. This end date can be extended by application to the Commission.

Payroll-Tax

Every state in Australia has rules regarding the handling of the Job-keeper payment. There are four states (Victoria, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory) which have exempted the Top-up amount from Payroll tax wages. The Other four states (Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia) have exempted the entire Job-keeper payment to maximum of AUD $1,500 per fortnight. The salary and wages above this amount is subject to Payroll-tax.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 08, 2020

C. Effective Date: March 30, 2020

A. Update

The Queensland State Government to provide payroll tax relief to businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the measure, small and medium businesses throughout Queensland with a wage bill up to $6.5 million may be eligible to defer their payroll tax payment for six months. This may impact customers based on their wage bill and accordingly payroll tax will not be calculated.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 08, 2020

C. Effective Date: February 01, 2020

A. Update

Income-tax

As per ATO clarification, please do not to apply the working holiday maker (WHM) rates to any tax-free component of an ETP. Apply the same withholding treatment for allowances for WHM that applies to other employees.

AUSkey Transition

• 1. For the state of Victoria, from February 24, 2020, clients must use the PTX Express log in details or myGovID for payroll-tax lodgment.
• 2. For the state of Western Australia, from February 26, 2020, clients must use either ROL login details or myGovID for payroll-tax lodgment.
• 3. For the state of Australian Capital Territory (ACT), from March 27, 2020 clients must use MyGovID to access the Self-Service Portal for Payroll-tax lodgment.
• 4. From March  27,  2020, AUSkey and manage ABN connections will be retired. These credentials will be replaced by myGovID and Relationship Authorization Manager (RAM). Device AUSkey will also be replaced by new machine credentials which are a component of the Machine to Machine (M2M) authentication solution.

Leaves

Eligibility for 12 months unpaid leave after stillbirth: Parents dealing with a stillbirth or infant death will be guaranteed 12 months of unpaid parental leave, giving them the same entitlements as parents with healthy babies. This law is expected to be passed in Parliament soon.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: February 24, 2020

C. Effective Date: February 24, 2020 (Victoria payroll-tax),
February 26, 2020 (Western Australia payroll-tax),
March 27, 2020 for (ACT payroll-tax) and AUSkey decommissioning

A. Update

The Queensland Government has passed the legislation for a part-day public holiday on Christmas Eve.

The part-day public holiday starts at 6 PM and finishes at 12 midnight.

This means that the Christmas public holidays in Queensland are:

• December 24 - Christmas Eve (from 6 PM to 12 midnight)
• December 25 - Christmas Day
• December 26 - Boxing Day

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: December 17, 2019

C. Effective Date: December 20, 2019

A. Update

In order to further support stable employment and ensure employment, and reduce the tax burden of the new recruits' personal income tax withholding, the following is an announcement¹ regarding the improvement and adjustment of the personal income tax withholding for those who obtain wages and salary income for the first time in the middle of the year:

• For a resident individual who obtains income from wages and salaries for the first time in a tax year, the withholding agent can calculate the cumulative standard deduction by multiplying 5000 Yuan per month by the number of months ending in the taxpayer's current year. This means that in the first month of employment of such first-time earners, cumulative standard deduction shall be granted starting from January till the month of tax withholding in a tax year.
  For example, for a fresh graduate who commences employment on July 01, 2020 and receives the first salary for July, the deduction for that month will be the standard monthly amount of CNY 5,000 plus the accumulated deductions of CNY 30,000 for 6 months, from January to June, prior to the commencement of the first employment, i.e. CNY 35,000 in total.
• If a student receiving full-time academic education obtains labor remuneration for internship, the withholding agent should withhold personal income tax in the erstwhile cumulative manner, without giving effect to this announcement. In short, this announcement is not applicable to interns.
• Employees who comply with the provisions of this announcement should promptly declare to the withholding agent/employer and truthfully provide the relevant supporting materials or undertakings. Such supporting materials or undertakings should be kept for future reference.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: July 28, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020

A. Update

In order to further support stable employment and ensure employment, and reduce the tax burden of the new recruits' personal income tax withholding, the following is an announcement¹ regarding the improvement and adjustment of the personal income tax withholding for those who obtain wages and salary income for the first time in the middle of the year:

• For a resident individual who obtains income from wages and salaries for the first time in a tax year, the withholding agent can calculate the cumulative standard deduction by multiplying 5000 Yuan per month by the number of months ending in the taxpayer's current year. This means that in the first month of employment of such first-time earners, cumulative standard deduction shall be granted starting from January till the month of tax withholding in a tax year.
  For example, for a fresh graduate who commences employment on July 01, 2020 and receives the first salary for July, the deduction for that month will be the standard monthly amount of CNY 5,000 plus the accumulated deductions of CNY 30,000 for 6 months, from January to June, prior to the commencement of the first employment, i.e. CNY 35,000 in total.
• If a student receiving full-time academic education obtains labor remuneration for internship, the withholding agent should withhold personal income tax in the erstwhile cumulative manner, without giving effect to this announcement. In short, this announcement is not applicable to interns.
• Employees who comply with the provisions of this announcement should promptly declare to the withholding agent/employer and truthfully provide the relevant supporting materials or undertakings. Such supporting materials or undertakings should be kept for future reference.

B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: July 28, 2020

C. Effective Date: July 01, 2020