It’s that time again! Time to examine updates in the Australian accounting spheres.
Interested to see what’s new, what’s changed and how these accounting updates may affect you?
Find out with the Gold Coast Accounting team at Crest below.
ATO support for employers with expansion of STP
As part of the expansion of Single Touch Payroll (known as STP Phase 2), from 1 January 2022, employers will need to report additional payroll information in their STP reports including:
- disaggregation of gross amounts (including separate reporting of paid leave, allowances, overtime, directors’ fees and salary sacrifice amounts);
- employment and taxation conditions (including information from the TFN declaration); and
- income types (for example, salary and wages, working holiday maker income, foreign employment income).
To support employers with the move to STP Phase 2 reporting, the ATO will take the following approach:
- Employers that can start Phase 2 reporting by their digital service provider’s deferral date (if applicable), do not need to apply to the ATO for more time.
- If an employer’s software will be ready for 1 January 2022 and they are able to start reporting before 1 March 2022, they do not need to apply to the ATO for more time (that is, an automatic extension applies).
The ATO has also advised that penalties will not be applied for genuine mistakes in the first year of Phase 2 reporting until 31 December 2022.
If you are currently using Xero for STP reporting and are interested in finding out what new information will be included and what you need to do now, continue reading – click here.
Extra super step when hiring new employees
This November, the way you onboard employees and set up their funds will change with super stapling, a government initiative that’s part of the broader Your Future Your Super (YFYS) reforms.
Employers will need to do something extra when a new employee starts to work for them -currently, if a new employee does not choose their own fund, their employer can pay contributions for them to a default fund.
From 1 November 2021, if a new employee does not choose a specific fund, their employer may need to request the employee’s ‘stapled super fund’ details from the ATO.
Stapled super fund explained:
A stapled super fund is an existing account which is linked (or ‘stapled’) to an individual employee, so it follows them as they change jobs.
- The introduction of super stapling by the ATO means working Australians will be attached to one super fund for life unless they choose otherwise. This is designed to reduce the number of super accounts people may collect throughout their working life and maximise retirement savings.
Your new onboarding process
Businesses will be able to request stapled super fund details for new employees using ‘Online services for business’, or by asking their registered tax or BAS agent to do this for them.
- The ATO has created a directory via ATO Online Services.
- After logging in, you’ll need to enter details such as an employees’ TFN, full name, date of birth and address to then receive the details on their stapled fund.
- If the ATO search returns a stapled fund account for your new employee, you’ll need to set this up as normal within Xero or your chosen super clearing house software
If you have any questions or would need guidance with updating your onboarding process, contact the Crest Accountants team today.
Director Identification Numbers
As part of the 2020 Budget Digital Business Plan, the government announced the full implementation of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) program. A key element of this program was contained in Schedule 2 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Act 2020 (Cth) (the Act) which introduced the requirement for a Director Identification Number (DIN) – a perpetual unique identifier for every company director.
Need more information about a director’s obligations? Continue reading to find out the start date and how to apply.
Guidance from a business accountant
Need help with your examining, keeping compliant and understanding your business accounting requirements?
Contact Crest Accountants today for a team of local Gold Coast accountants who are dedicated to helping you.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this news post is general in nature and is intended to provide a general summary only and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice.
