Some employers are currently exempt from reporting closely held employees through STP on a monthly or quarterly basis until 30 June 2021.

The ATO have re-confirmed that reporting requirements for these employees will commence from 1 July 2021, meaning that these employers will need to be STP registered and commence reporting per pay event from this date.

Whilst these reporting requirements will commence as planned, the ATO have announced concessions for certain employers, allowing eligible employers to continue to report quarterly.

Employers that may avail themselves to the concession are micro employers, seasonal and intermittent employers, not-for-profit clubs and associations and employers in the agriculture, fishing and forestry industry.

Criteria for STP Concession

The criteria to meet when applying for this concession is very stringent.  Each industry type has its own criteria to meet, but all must:

  • have all amounts owing to the ATO on a payment plan or due at a future date; and
  • all lodgment obligations with the ATO are up to date or are subject to a deferral.

The additional criteria for each employer group are listed below. Please note that each group must meet all of these conditions to be able to apply for the concession.  ATO links have been provided for each type of employer.

Applications are not being accepted to apply for the concession at this time.  The ATO have advised they will update the page with application details once they are available.

Micro Employers

Micro Employers includes businesses that have between 1 and 4 employees. This criteria includes:

  • be a micro employer on the day you apply for the concession IE: Employ 1-4 full time, part time or casual employees;
  • lodge your activity statements electronically through a registered tax or BAS agent;
  • have a non-computerised payroll system.  This could include running your payroll manually and keeping records on spreadsheet or paper; and
  • meet the guidelines for exceptional circumstances, being no or unreliable internet connection with an inability to connect to the internet, consistent dropouts or disconnections and exceedingly slow data.

Seasonal & Intermittent Employers

This criteria includes business that have 1-4 employees for most of the year, then have an increase of employees for less than 3 months of the financial year (they don’t have to be consecutive months). This criteria includes:

  • 5-19 seasonal or short-term employees for a 3 month period or less;
  • 20 or more seasonal or short-term employees – an application for concession will be considered by the ATO on a case-by-case basis.

Not-For-Profit Clubs and Assocations

This criteria includes school parent association, school canteen, or local sporting clubs. This criteria includes:

  • be a micro employer on the day that you apply for the concession.

Agricultural, Fishing, and Forestry Industry

This criteria includes:

  • be a micro employer on the day that you apply for the concession.

If you have any questions or would like further information in relation to Single Touch Payroll, please contact your Davidsons team member or email us at info@davidsons.com.au.

Disclaimer: this information is of a general nature and should not be viewed as representing financial advice. Users of this information are encouraged to seek further advice if they are unclear as to the meaning of anything contained in this article. Davidsons accepts no responsibility for any loss suffered as a result of any party using or relying on this article.