On 24 May 2018, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services announced the commencement of a 12 month Superannuation Guarantee Amnesty (the Amnesty). The Amnesty is a one-off opportunity for employers to self-correct past super guarantee (SG) non-compliance without penalty. Subject to the passage of legislation, the Amnesty will be available from 24 May 2018 to 23 May 2019. For…
The Government will soon introduce a unique Director Identification Number (“DIN”) to combat illegal phoenix activity and to curb the activities of pre-insolvency advisors who will also be targeted and potentially held liable for their advice. As part of the reforms, the Government is consulting on widening the scope of Directors personal liability to include…
The Government has announced Single Touch Payroll reporting will commence from 1 July 2018. What does this mean for employers? If you have 20 or more employees you will need to report to the ATO through a payroll software that supports Single Touch Payroll from 1 July 2018. If you have 19 or less employees, it is optional to report through Single Touch Payroll for…
Schedule 2 of the Bill amends the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to ensure that an individual’s salary sacrifice contributions cannot be used to reduce an employer’s minimum superannuation guarantee contributions. The amendments provide that amounts an employee salary sacrifices to superannuation cannot reduce an employer’s superannuation guarantee charge. Salary sacrificed amounts will also not…
As part of our service offering to clients, Stanton Mienert has recently taken out an audit insurance policy with Audit Shield (underwritten by AAI Limited). The policy is held in the name of our practice. Participation in the cover is not automatic. Letters of offer to participate in Audit Shield cover are being sent to…
Loaded up on technology and global ambition, the younger generation is ready to take the modern workforce by storm. And fashion icon Margaret Zhang is leading the charge. Last year, a whitepaper from Chartered Accountants ANZ and Deloitte Access Economics posed a provocative question: The Future of Work: How can we Adapt to Survive and…
With the biggest changes to superannuation only 3 months away, it is critical that superannuation members seek professional advice in relation to identifying strategies to optimise their retirement savings and income streams prior to the new Superannuation Reforms taking effect on 1 July 2017. Any members of a SMSF, Industry or Retail Fund who identifies…
Refunds will be fast-tracked for people affected by extreme weather and flooding caused by tropical cyclone Debbie and ex-Cyclone Debbie in Queensland and NSW, according to the ATO. Taxpayers and their tax and BAS agents will also have additional time to lodge income tax returns and activity statements. Automatic deferrals of one month are now…
A new paper examines how trade will continue to be critical for the future prosperity of Australia and New Zealand. Trade has recently come under greater scrutiny, with the US election and Brexit highlighting voters’ opposition to the integration of their nations’ economies into the global economy. Yet international trade is essential to our modern…
Following research indicating small business entities are falling behind on their SuperStream obligations, the ATO has extended the deadline for small businesses to become SuperStream compliant. The ATO announced it will give SMEs until 28 October 2016 to comply with the new SuperStream requirements.
A NOTE FROM JILL HIGNETT, WORKPLACE RELATIONS SPECIALIST AT HR LAW The Fair Work Commission reviews the national minimum wage each year, with the new minimum wage taking effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. In addition, the Commission reviews and updates the wages in the Modern Awards, which similarly…
The Research & Development (R&D) Tax Incentive is a targeted, generous and easy to access entitlement program that helps businesses offset some of the costs of doing R&D. The program aims to help more businesses do R&D and innovate. It is a broad-based entitlement program. This means that it is open to firms of all…
