Our Employment Taxes Update series is an exclusive event tailored for the Corporate, NFP and Government sectors. In each session, our experts will delve deeper into the ever-evolving world of employment taxes, offering you a unique opportunity to stay well informed to empower your organisation to navigate the complexities of the current tax landscape with confidence.

Session details

Session 1: Payday Super – What you need to know ahead of 1 July

A significant reform to superannuation means the super guarantee will need to be paid in line with salary and wages from 1 July 2026. With the ATO taking a proactive compliance approach, this change will require updates to your payroll processes, systems and internal controls to ensure you remain compliant.

This session will help you understand what these changes mean for your business. Get insights into the broader implications, learn a practical roadmap to help you prepare and walk through the latest compliance details released by the ATO.

Hear from Paul Hum, Tax Director and Employment & Payroll Tax Specialist, who has guided organisations through complex payroll reviews and regulatory changes.

Session 2: FBT update

In this session, our experts Jason Ch’ng and Rahul Sanghani will provide you with an update on:

• New and topical developments including:
  • Grandfathering provisions for Plug-in Hybrid Electric VehiclesCourt case – benefits provided to owners
  • ATO compliance activity including employee contributions
• FBT recap and savings opportunities for cars, dual cabs, carparking, entertainment, exemptions, combining business & personal travel and exemptions & rebates for not-for-profits
• Use of FBT software to streamline FBT Return preparation process.

Date

Session 3: Employee share schemes and reporting obligations, incentives, ESAS

This informative session will provide the benefits of employee share schemes, including different plan structures, designs and alternatives, tax reporting obligations and the employee shares scheme start-up concessions. Kurt Tiam of Dentons Australia Limited will join our tax expert Justin Batticciotto for a discussion on how to design and implement an effective ESS plan and the key terms to consider.

Session 4: Employee vs contractor

Our tax expert Paul Hum and Vanessa Priest will walk through the latest employment tax and income tax developments, including how the rules treat contractors and what this means for your business. We will touch on current audit activity, the Fair Work and common law changes affecting employee vs contractor assessments, and the practical issues we see when clients get reviewed.

We will also discuss the Commissioner’s updated personal services income guidance, providing context that may assist you when negotiating terms or engaging labour‑based contractors.

We will demonstrate how technology can support better contractor governance, from improving data matching to strengthening review processes and reducing manual work.

This session will provide the latest developments in legislation and case law, regulator practices and leveraging technology to assist with compliance.

Who should attend?

• Tax managers and their support staff
• Human resource management/remuneration and benefits managers
• Other staff interested in employer tax compliance, such as CFOs, financial controllers, CEOs and directors

Expert speakers

Stephen O’Flynn
Director
SW

Paul Hum
Director
SW

Vanessa Priest
Director 
SW

Kirsty McDonnell
Director
SW

Rahul Sanghani
Associate Director 
SW

Jason Ch’ng
Head of Tax Information Solutions
SW

Justin Batticciotto
Associate Director 
SW

The post Employment Taxes Update series 2026 appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

What has happened

On 1 August 2025, the Court of Appeal unanimously held that Uber’s payments to its drivers were subject to NSW payroll tax, reversing an earlier Supreme Court ruling in Uber’s favour.

The Court of Appeal agreed that relevant contracts were established under the driving arrangements as drivers provided driving, referral, and rating services to Uber. The decisive issue was that the payments to drivers were found to be “for or in relation to” the work performed in contrast to the Supreme Court view. While the Court of Appeal considered the “relevant contract” framework and the statutory exclusions under the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW), Uber was largely unsuccessful in substantiating that any exclusion applied.

Uber’s argument that it merely acted as an agent for rider payments was rejected, with the Court noting the driving service is fundamental to Uber’s business, reinforcing the connection between drivers’ work and the payments.

On 29 August 2025, Uber filed its special leave application to challenge the Court of Appeal’s reasoning.

Implications for other companies

This decision fits within a progression of cases in which revenue authorities have tested and broadened the application of payroll tax provisions to contractor models and new industries. The trend has been towards expansive interpretations, particularly the types of payments that can be considered “for or in relation to work”.

If the decision stands, exposure may not be limited to the gig economy which includes rideshare, food delivery, and freelance platforms. Revenue-share arrangements in other sectors such as sales and content platforms, may also be scrutinised. Authorities may additionally question distributions described as “profit,” particularly where amounts can be traced to the performance of work.

How SW can help

Although this is a watch-and-see period, at-risk businesses should begin reviewing contracting arrangements and payment flows for similar exposure. Practical levers include the structure of payment arrangements and the design and implementation of processes, controls, and evidence to substantiate any available exemptions.

Contact SW today to assess the payroll tax risk in your current contracts and payment practices and safeguard your business against potential payroll tax risks. Don’t wait, proactive steps now can save significant costs later.

Contributor

Oliver McDonald

The post Payroll tax and the gig economy: Uber seeks High Court appeal  appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Our experts provided an update on:

• New and topical developments including recent car parking case and ATO FBT compliance activity
• FBT recap and hot topics – including changes to hybrid electric vehicles and NFP exemption
• Global mobility – including flexible remote working arrangements and key employer considerations
• Payday superannuation
• Fair work changes – implications on employee v contractors
• Latest developments in payroll tax and audit activity
• Wage theft laws
• TASA change impact on clients

Expert speakers

Stephen O’Flynn
Director
SW

Paul Hum
Director
SW

Sam Morris
Director 
SW

Kirsty McDonnell
Director
SW

Vanessa Priest
Director 
SW

Justin Batticciotto
Associate Director 
SW

Rahul Sanghani
Associate Director 
SW

The post Employment Taxes Update 2025 appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Upcoming ATO reporting obligations

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have reporting obligations in place, affecting employers who issue shares or share options to their employees.  The deadlines to comply with the reporting requirements are:

• ESS statements are due to be issued to employees by 14 July 2024.
• ATO reports are due for lodgement with ATO by 14 August 2024. 

What do the ATO reporting obligations mean for you?

Our innovation solution | CTS ESS Toolkit

Our ‘Complete Tax Solutions Employee Share Scheme’ Toolkit (CTS ESS Toolkit), an ATO-approved and compliant software enables employers to simplify their online annual employee share scheme reporting obligations.

Using the CTS ESS Toolkit, SW have been successfully working with businesses to meet their ESS lodgement requirements since electronic reporting began. We are one of only a handful of providers to have passed ATO testing and have ATO approval for our specialised software. CTS ESS Toolkit is designed to help you meet the ATO’s ESS reporting requirements.

The table below outlines the types of companies that are most likely to benefit from using the CTS ESS Toolkit.

Significant Global Entities

Significant Global Entities (SGE) are entities which are part of a group with annual global turnover of A$1 billion or more. SGEs are subject to increased Failure to Lodge (FTL) penalties for late lodgement of each and every ATO document or approved form. The SGE penalties are currently $156,500 for each 28 days in which an approved form is lodged after the due date up to a maximum of $782,500. The penalties apply to each and every late lodgement of an approved form. We consider the lodgement of ESS reporting would fall within this definition.

The public officer of the company is responsible for the company’s obligations under the income tax law, including the timely lodgement of approved forms with the ATO. If your company is part of an SGE, we recommend that you implement systems to ensure timely lodgements of the relevant ESS reports with the ATO.

Next steps

Time is limited to make the necessary arrangements to comply with the ESS reporting requirements.  The ATO is particularly keen to ensure corporates are compliant and provide timely and accurate reporting.

Now is the time to ensure your business is not left behind and that everything is ready for reporting season.  We can provide a fully outsourced service or license our software.

To discuss how to comply with the ATO reporting requirements or learn more about how our ESS Toolkit will help you, please contact Sam Morris or Justin Batticciotto on the details below.

Contributors

Sam Morris

E: smorris@sw-au-com

Justin Batticciotto

E: jbatticciotto@sw-au.com

The post 2024 Employee Share Scheme (ESS) Reporting appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

During the session, our experts will provide insights and actionable knowledge that will empower your organisation to navigate the complexities of the current tax landscape with confidence.

During these webinars our tax experts will provide an update on:

• New Developments: Examine recent cases and the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) compliance activities. This session will cover hot topics including guidance on electric vehicles, and recent updates in the application of the otherwise deductible rule, helping you understand their implications on your organisation.
• FBT Focus: In addition to a recap on the basics of some common benefits, explore hot topics in FBT, including FBT record-keeping concessions and recent updates in the application of the otherwise deductible rule, helping you understand their implications on your sector. Special emphasis on exempt electric vehicles, reflecting the shift towards sustainable practices.
• Global Mobility: Learn about proposed tax residency changes and how they intertwine with flexible remote working arrangements.
• Superannuation: Gain insights into ATO audit activities, powers of the FWO and their potential impact on your organisation. Additionally, prepare for the upcoming legislative changes requiring employers to pay super on payday from 1 July 2026, aligning superannuation guarantee payments with wage payment frequencies.
• Employee vs Contractor: Understand the ATO’s updated rulings and how they affect your workforce management.
• Payroll Tax: Stay informed about the latest developments in Payroll Tax. This segment will focus on the application of relevant contract provisions, the implications of the new temporary Payroll Tax surcharge, new payroll tax obligations for some private schools in Victoria and the impact of increased thresholds. We will also speak about how to make your payroll tax return preparation processes more efficient and reduce the chance of error. 
• Wage remediation: Wage underpayments continue to be the focus of media and government scrutiny and can have immense adverse effects on employers. We will speak about some common causes of wage underpayments, how STP 2 and payday super may super charge audit activity and the role of tax practitioners in the wage remediation process.

Webinar recordings

Session details

Session 1 | Employment Tax update: Corporate sector

Date

Wednesday 20 March 2024

Location

Online nationally – via Zoom webinar

Time

1.30pm – 2.30pm (AEDT)

10.30am – 11.30am (Perth)

12.30pm – 1.30pm (Brisbane)

Register

Session 2 | Employment Tax update: Not-for-Profit and Government sectors

Date

Thursday 21 March 2024

Location

Online or SW Melbourne office, Level 10, 530 Collins Street, Melbourne

Time

1.00pm arrival for a 1.30pm start, concludes 2.30pm (AEDT)

Light lunch will be provided in the SW Melbourne office for those attending in person

Register

Expert speakers

Stephen O’Flynn
Tax Director
SW

Sam Morris
Director
SW

Paul Hum
Employment Taxes Director
SW

Helen Wicker
Director
SW

Justin Batticciotto
Associate Director 
SW

Rahul Sanghani
Associate Director 
SW

The post Employment Taxes update 2024   appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Throughout his career, Paul has been proud to help his clients create value through innovation and commercially-based critical thinking and he is passionate about bringing new opportunities.

The post Paul Hum, Partner appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

During these webinars our tax experts will provided an update on:

• New and topical developments including recent cases and ATO FBT compliance activity
• FBT recap and hot topics – including exempt electric vehicles
• Global mobility – including proposed tax residency changes and flexible remote working arrangements 
• Superannuation and ATO audit activity 
• ATO’s updated ruling on employee v contractors
• CTSplus FBT demo – Flexible cloud solution that makes FBT simple

Expert speakers

Stephen O’Flynn
Director, Tax
SW

Helen Wicker
Director, Tax
SW

Justin Batticciotto
Associate Director, Tax
SW

Tony Principe
Associate Director, Tax 
SW

Rahul Sanghani
Senior Manager, Tax 
SW

Alice Mulvogue
Assistant Manager, Tax
SW

The post Employment Taxes update 2023 appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

On 15 December 2023, the ATO released the following two draft publications for public comment:

• Draft TR 2022/D3 – Income Tax – PAYG withholding – Who is an employee
• Draft PCG 2022/D5 – Classifying workers as employees or independent contractors – ATO compliance approach.

Draft TR 2022/D3 replaces TR 2005/16 from 15 December 2022 and has mainly been updated to reflect recent court cases.

Key features of ATO draft publications

A business’ employment tax obligations can vary based on how a worker is classified. Correct classification is important to ensure that both the business and the worker satisfy their tax and superannuation obligations correctly.

TR 2022/D3 – Who is an employee?

The draft TR 2022/D3 explains the meaning of “employee” for PAYG withholding purposes. In accordance with the earlier High Courts cases, the Commissioner states:

• the totality of the contractual arrangement between parties will determine the classification of the worker, and
• the substance of the contractual arrangement, rather than the labels used in it, will be of primary importance.

The Commissioner has emphasised that even if a worker is an independent contractor, Superannuation Guarantee (SG) may be payable if the worker satisfies the extended definition of an employee under SG rules.

PCG 2022/D5 – Classification of workers

The draft compliance guide PCG 2022/D3, provides the Commissioner’s approach to audit activity based on a business’s risk profile, where he believes that the classification of workers is not being applied correctly. The key components considered by the Commissioner when determining the risk profile are:

Very Low risk – arrangements that satisfy all the following criteria will be considered low risk and will not attract ATO compliance activity:

• the parties agree on and understand the intended classification
• the substance of the arrangement agrees to the contractual terms
• the classification has been supported by advice from a qualified professional.

It will also be considered very low risk when an employer decides to voluntarily treat all workers as employees.

Low risk – Arrangements that satisfy all the following criteria will be considered low risk and will not attract ATO compliance activity:

• The parties agree on the intended classification.
• The substance of the arrangement agrees to the contractual terms.
• The classification has been supported by advice from a qualified professional.

Medium risk – Arrangements that satisfy the following criteria will be considered medium risk

• The parties agree on the intended outcome.
• The classification has been supported by advice from a qualified professional.

High risk – All arrangements that do not satisfy very low, low or medium risk criteria will be considered high risk. They will also be considered high risk if one of the parties coerced the other to accept the arrangement or one of the parties made false or misleading representations to the other party.

Key takeaways to minimise risk of ATO review

1. It is important for businesses to discuss the tax implications of being an independent contractor with the worker.
2. Obtain professional advice to support the position adopted for the class of workers.
3. When an arrangement with a worker changes, businesses should re-assess their classification.
4. Where disgruntled worker lodge an unpaid superannuation query and the ATO determines that the arrangement is considered:
   • very low risk – they will advise the worker accordingly and not take any further action
   • low risk – the ATO will apply compliance resources to test if that worker satisfied the definition of an employee
   • medium risk – the ATO will apply compliance resources to an arrangement (e.g. for a group of workers)
   • high risk – Compliance resources will be given the highest priority to an arrangement (e.g. for a group of workers) and businesses may be subject to higher penalties.
5. This PCG does not provide employers protection from payroll tax and workcover classification of workers.

How SW can help

Reach out to your SW contact or our team to assist in ensuring your employees are classified correctly to minimise the risk of an ATO review.

Contributors

Rahul Sanghani

Sabrina Camilleri

The post Employees vs Contractor ATO risk ratings now out appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

During these webinars our tax experts provided an update on:

• New and topical developments including recent cases and ATO FBT compliance activity
• FBT recap and hot topics – including impacts of COVID-19 in Australia
• Global mobility – including proposed tax residency changes and flexible remote working arrangements
• Superannuation and ATO audit activity
• Payroll tax – including the impact of recent cases on employee v contractors

Not-for-profit | Government

Corporate

Your guides online

Stephen O’Flynn Director, SW	Sam Morris Director, SW	Helen Wicker Director, SW
Justin Batticciotto Associate Director, SW	Tony Principe Associate Director, SW	Rahul Sanghani Senior Manager, SW

The post Employment Taxes update 2022 appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

What is the Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy?

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy was a recommendation of the Victorian Government’s State Mental Health Royal Commission which found the mental health system operates in crisis mode, fails patients and requires a complete rebuild.

In order to rebuild and implement a range of mental health services as recommended by the Royal Commission, a levy is required to fund this program.

All revenue collected by the levy will be required to be spent on the provision of mental health services.

When does it come into effect?

The levy will be implemented as a payroll tax surcharge and will come into effect from 1 January 2022.

Who is it applicable to?

Employers must pay the surcharge if they pay Victorian taxable wages and Australian wages exceed the first annual threshold of $10m, with a first monthly threshold of $833,333.

Employers must also pay an additional surcharge if they pay Victorian taxable wages and Australian wages exceed the second annual threshold of $100m, with a second monthly threshold of $8,333,333.

How much is the levy?

The surcharge will be levied at the following rates:

• 0.5% of the portion of Victorian taxable wages above $10m
• 1% of the portion of Victorian taxable wages above $100m

If employers are members of a group, these thresholds apply at the group level.

These annual thresholds will be adjusted proportionately if an employer does not employee for a full financial year.

In respect of the period from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022 (transitional period), the respective annual thresholds are $5m and $50m.

Employers which are currently exempt from payroll tax, such as private schools, hospitals, charities and local councils will not be required to pay the levy.

When is this levy to be reported and paid ?

The surcharge will be payable when the payroll tax payment is due.

For example, if an employer pays payroll tax monthly, the employer will also pay the surcharge monthly. If an employer pays payroll tax annually, the employer will pay the surcharge annually.

What employers need to do prior to 1 January 2022 to get ready?

The surcharge will be separately calculated from the monthly or annual payroll tax calculation, however, the surcharge will be included in the same monthly or annual return.

Employers will not need to register with the State Revenue Office and will not lodge separate returns.

How can SW help?

Our team can:

• Assist with the payroll function – SW can assist employers understand and become familiar with the new requirements to make this change as seamless as possible.
• SW can prepare/review monthly or annual payroll tax reconciliations to ensure taxable Australian wages have been calculated correctly including determining if exempt wages have been identified and correctly classified.
• SW can provide assistance and advice where employers employ in other Australian jurisdictions during the financial year. For example, annual thresholds are required to be adjusted by the ratio of the total Victorian taxable wages to total Australian wages.

Contributors

Janelle McPhee

E jmchpee@sw-au.com

Joshua Teo

E jteo@sw-au.com

The post Mental Health & Wellbeing Levy appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.