{"id":"payroll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012","name":"Pay-roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012","slug":"pay-roll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":105986,"registerId":"wa-payroll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Pay-roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nPay-roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012\n\nWestern Australia\n\nPay-roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n3. Terms used 2\n\n4. Pro rata amounts 3\n\n5. Relationship with *Taxation Administration Act 2003* and *Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 2002* 3\n\nPart 2 — Rebate of pay‑roll tax on WA indigenous wages\n\n6. Rebate of pay‑roll tax on WA indigenous wages 5\n\n7. Eligible employer 5\n\n8. Eligible employee 7\n\n9. Calculation of rebate 7\n\nPart 3 — Overpayment and underpayment of rebate\n\n10. Overpayment of rebate 9\n\n11. Underpayment of rebate 9\n\n12. Amounts of tax and rebate may be offset against each other 9\n\nPart 4 — Miscellaneous\n\n13. Prescription of indigenous wages subsidy 11\n\n14. Wages prepaid before 1 July in an assessment year 11\n\n15. Notices about rebate 11\n\n16. Regulations 12\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 13\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nPay‑roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012\n\nAn Act to provide a rebate on pay‑roll tax paid on wages paid to certain indigenous persons, and for related matters.\n\nThe Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis is the *Pay‑roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation as follows —\n\n(a) Part 1 other than sections 3, 4 and 5 — on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent;\n\n(b) the rest of the Act — on the day after that day.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\n(1) If a term is given a meaning in the *Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 2002* or the *Taxation Administration Act 2003*, it has the same meaning in this Act unless the contrary intention appears.\n\n(2) In this Act —\n\nAustralia‑wide wages means WA taxable wages and interstate taxable wages;\n\neligible employee has the meaning given in section 8;\n\neligible employer, for an assessment year, has the meaning given in section 7;\n\nindigenous wages subsidy means —\n\n(a) a wages subsidy provided by the Commonwealth to employers who employ indigenous persons, under the scheme known as the Indigenous Employment Program; or\n\n(b) a wages subsidy, provided by the Commonwealth (directly or indirectly) to employers who employ indigenous persons, that is prescribed for the purposes of this definition;\n\nWA indigenous wages means WA taxable wages paid or payable to or in relation to an eligible employee of an eligible employer.\n\n(3) In this Act, a reference to a period in an assessment year includes a reference to the whole of the year unless the contrary intention appears.\n\n##### 4. Pro rata amounts\n\nIn this Act, a reference to an amount pro rata in relation to a period or periods is a reference to that amount multiplied by —\n\n![]()\n\nwhere —\n\nD is the total number of days in the period or periods.\n\n##### 5. Relationship with *Taxation Administration Act 2003* and *Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 2002*\n\n(1) The following provisions of the *Taxation Administration Act 2003* apply, as described, in relation to the administration and enforcement of this Act as if this Act were, for that purpose, specified as a taxation Act in section 3(1) of that Act —\n\n(a) Part 4 applies, as limited by subsection (2), in relation to a decision under this Act as if —\n\n(i) the decision were a decision referred to in section 34(1)(b) of that Act; and\n\n(ii) a person liable to repay an overpaid amount under section 10 of this Act were a taxpayer;\n\n(b) Part 5 Division 1 and Part 6 Division 1 apply as if —\n\n(i) an overpaid amount under section 10 of this Act were tax; and\n\n(ii) a person liable to repay an overpaid amount under section 10 of this Act were a taxpayer.\n\n(2) An objection to or review of a decision made under this Act cannot be made or sought under the *Taxation Administration Act 2003* Part 4 if the objection or review relies upon objecting to or seeking the review of an assessment of pay‑roll tax.\n\n(3) The *Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 2002* section 43 applies in relation to this Act as if this Act were a pay‑roll tax Act as defined in the Glossary to that Act.\n\n## Part 2 — Rebate of pay‑roll tax on WA indigenous wages\n\n##### 6. Rebate of pay‑roll tax on WA indigenous wages\n\n(1) An employer who was an eligible employer for an assessment year commencing on or after 1 July 2012 is entitled to a rebate of pay‑roll tax on WA indigenous wages paid or payable during the year, calculated in accordance with section 9.\n\n(2) Subject to section 12(2), the rebate to which an eligible employer is entitled is to be paid by the Commissioner to the employer.\n\n##### 7. Eligible employer\n\n(1) An employer is an eligible employer for an assessment year if —\n\n(a) the employer was registered during the whole or part of the year; and\n\n(b) the employer employed an eligible employee during the whole or part of the year; and\n\n(c) the employer meets the threshold requirement in subsection (2); and\n\n(d) the employer, and the DGE of each group of which the employer was a member during the year, have lodged all returns for the year by 31 December following the end of the year.\n\n(2) To meet the threshold requirement for the purposes of subsection (1)(c), the employer must satisfy at least one of the following —\n\n(a) if the employer was a non‑group employer for the whole of the year — the employer paid or was liable to pay Australia‑wide wages, less rebatable WA indigenous wages, during the year of less than $15 million;\n\n(b) if the employer was a non‑group employer for only part of the year — the employer paid or was liable to pay Australia‑wide wages, less rebatable WA indigenous wages, during the period or periods, in the year, during which the employer was a non‑group employer of less than $15 million pro rata;\n\n(c) if the employer was a member of a particular group for the whole of the year — the group paid or was liable to pay Australia‑wide wages, less rebatable WA indigenous wages, during the year of less than $15 million;\n\n(d) if the employer was a member of a particular group for only part of the year — the group paid or was liable to pay Australia‑wide wages, less rebatable WA indigenous wages, during the period, in the year, during which the group existed of less than $15 million pro rata.\n\n(3) In determining what are rebatable WA indigenous wages for the purposes of subsection (2), the employer is to be treated as if the employer were an eligible employer for the relevant period.\n\n(4) In subsections (2) and (3) —\n\nrebatable WA indigenous wages means WA indigenous wages in respect of which a rebate is payable under section 6.\n\n(5) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), an employer is to be taken to have been registered during a month in an assessment year if —\n\n(a) under the *Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 2002* section 24(1) or (2), the employer was required to apply for registration on the basis of the wages that the employer paid or was liable to pay during the month; and\n\n(b) the employer has made an application for registration under section 24 of that Act.\n\n##### 8. Eligible employee\n\n(1) If an employer receives or received an indigenous wages subsidy in respect of a new employee, the employee is an eligible employee at any time, while the employee is an employee of the employer, during the 24 months commencing on the day on which the employee first commenced employment with the employer.\n\n(2) An employee of an employer is a new employee if the employee —\n\n(a) commences employment with the employer on or after 1 July 2012; and\n\n(b) was not an employee of the employer, or of any other employer in a group of which the employer is a member, at any time prior to the commencement of employment referred to in paragraph (a).\n\n##### 9. Calculation of rebate\n\n(1) If an eligible employer was a non‑group employer for the whole of an assessment year, the rebate for the employer for the year is equal to the amount of pay‑roll tax that the employer was liable to pay for WA indigenous wages paid or payable during the year.\n\n(2) If an eligible employer —\n\n(a) was a non‑group employer for only part of an assessment year; and\n\n(b) meets the threshold requirement in section 7(2)(b) for the period or periods, in the year, during which the employer was a non‑group employer,\n\nthe rebate for the employer for the period or periods is equal to the total amount of pay‑roll tax that the employer was liable to pay for WA indigenous wages paid or payable during the period or periods.\n\n(3) If an eligible employer was a member of a particular group for the whole of an assessment year, the rebate for the group for the year is equal to the amount of pay‑roll tax that the group was liable to pay for WA indigenous wages paid or payable during the year.\n\n(4) If —\n\n(a) an eligible employer was a member of a particular group for only part of an assessment year; and\n\n(b) the group meets the threshold requirement in section 7(2)(d) for the period, in the year, during which the group existed,\n\nthe rebate for the group for the period is equal to the amount of pay‑roll tax that the group was liable to pay for WA indigenous wages paid or payable during the period.\n\n(5) If, in relation to an eligible employer who was a member of a particular group for a period in an assessment year, a rebate is calculated for the group, the employer is entitled to the same proportion of the rebate as the amount of WA indigenous wages paid or payable by the employer during the period bears to the amount of WA indigenous wages paid or payable by the group during the period, in the year, during which the group existed.\n\n(6) The amounts to be used in calculating the rebate for an eligible employer are to be taken from the most recent assessment of the employer’s or group’s pay‑roll tax liability for the assessment year.\n\n## Part 3 — Overpayment and underpayment of rebate\n\n##### 10. Overpayment of rebate\n\n(1) If the Commissioner is satisfied, whether as a result of an assessment or otherwise, that —\n\n(a) a rebate has been paid to a person who was not entitled to a rebate; or\n\n(b) a rebate has been overpaid to an eligible employer,\n\nthe person to whom the rebate was paid must repay the overpaid amount except to the extent to which, within 30 days after the day on which notice of the overpayment is issued under section 15, the Commissioner credits the overpaid amount under section 12(3).\n\n(2) Any amount to be repaid under subsection (1) must be paid to the Commissioner —\n\n(a) within 30 days after the day on which notice of the overpayment is issued under section 15; or\n\n(b) in accordance with a tax payment arrangement.\n\n(3) A reference in subsection (1) to a rebate paid, or overpaid, to a person includes a reference to amounts credited under section 12(2) in relation to the person.\n\n##### 11. Underpayment of rebate\n\nIf the Commissioner is satisfied, whether as a result of an assessment or otherwise, that an eligible employer has been paid less than the amount of rebate to which the employer is entitled, the Commissioner must pay, or credit under section 12(2), the employer with the amount of the underpayment.\n\n##### 12. Amounts of tax and rebate may be offset against each other\n\n(1) In this section —\n\npay‑roll tax liability means —\n\n(a) a primary liability for pay‑roll tax; and\n\n(b) a liability to pay another amount under a taxation Act (such as penalty tax, interest or costs) in connection with that primary liability.\n\n(2) Instead of paying a rebate, or any additional amount under section 11, to an eligible employer, the Commissioner may credit all or part of the rebate or amount against —\n\n(a) any existing unpaid pay‑roll tax liability of that employer; or\n\n(b) any overpaid amount of rebate to be repaid by the person to the Commissioner under the *Pay‑roll Tax Rebate Act 2010* or the *Pay‑roll Tax Rebate Act 2012*.\n\n(3) Instead of —\n\n(a) refunding pay‑roll tax overpaid by a person in accordance with the *Taxation Administration Act 2003* section 54(1); or\n\n(b) paying a rebate under the *Pay‑roll Tax Rebate Act 2010*, or any additional amount under section 10 of that Act; or\n\n(c) paying a rebate under the *Pay‑roll Tax Rebate Act 2012*, or any additional amount under section 10 of that Act,\n\nthe Commissioner may credit all or part of the refund, rebate or amount against any overpaid amount (of rebate) otherwise to be repaid by the person under section 10 of this Act.\n\n## Part 4 — Miscellaneous\n\n##### 13. Prescription of indigenous wages subsidy\n\nRegulations prescribing a wages subsidy for the purposes of the definition of ***indigenous wages subsidy*** in section 3(2) may be made and published during a year for which the prescription is expressed to have effect.\n\n##### 14. Wages prepaid before 1 July in an assessment year\n\nIf, in relation to an eligible employer, the Commissioner is satisfied that —\n\n(a) the employer paid wages before 1 July in an assessment year; and\n\n(b) the employer was not liable to pay the wages until on or after that day; and\n\n(c) if the employer had paid the wages on or after that day, the amount of rebate otherwise payable to the employer would be reduced,\n\nthe amount of rebate payable to the employer must be calculated as if the wages were paid on that day.\n\n##### 15. Notices about rebate\n\n(1) The Commissioner must give a notice to a person —\n\n(a) if a rebate is to be paid to the person; or\n\n(b) if satisfied that an overpayment or underpayment of rebate has been made to the person.\n\n(2) The notice must —\n\n(a) be in a form approved by the Commissioner; and\n\n(b) state the amount of the rebate, overpayment or underpayment; and\n\n(c) if an amount is to be repaid by the person under section 10(1) — indicate the due date for payment of the amount and state the amount to be repaid; and\n\n(d) give details of any credit made under section 12.\n\n##### 16. Regulations\n\nThe Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for giving effect to this Act, including —\n\n(a) the calculation of a rebate;\n\n(b) records to be kept in relation to the entitlement to a rebate;\n\n(c) notification to be given regarding the rebate to eligible employers or other persons.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Pay‑roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012*. The following table contains information about that Act.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Pay‑roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012* | 27 of 2012 | 3 Sep 2012 | s. 1 and 2: 3 Sep 2012 (see s. 2(a));   Act other than s. 1 and 2: 4 Sep 2012 (see s. 2(b)) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nAustralia‑wide wages 3(2)\n\neligible employee 3(2), 8(1)\n\neligible employer 3(2)\n\nindigenous wages subsidy 3(2)\n\npay‑roll tax liability 12(1)\n\nrebatable WA indigenous wages 7(4)\n\nWA indigenous wages 3(2)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on available information, the Act appears to remain focused on its original and narrow purpose: providing payroll tax relief to employers of Indigenous workers in Western Australia. There is no evidence from the available metadata of scope creep or amendments that materially altered the original intent. However, this assessment is limited by the unavailability of the full legislative text."},"complexity_factors":["Full legislative text was unavailable, preventing detailed analysis of eligibility criteria or conditions","Payroll tax law generally involves interaction with the Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA) and related regulations","Determining 'Indigenous' status for eligibility purposes may involve definitional complexity","Rebate mechanisms in tax law can involve administrative and compliance requirements for employers","Score is kept low because the Act appears narrow and targeted in scope based on its title"],"plain_english_summary":"The Pay-roll Tax (Indigenous Wages) Rebate Act 2012 (WA) appears to give Western Australian employers a rebate on payroll tax when they pay wages to Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) workers, lowering the cost of employing Indigenous staff. It thus affects WA employers, Indigenous workers (indirectly), and state revenue.\n\nIt aims to encourage Indigenous employment by creating a financial incentive. Exact rebate details and eligibility could not be verified; consult official sources for specifics."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act establishes a targeted rebate scheme and defines its own scope and limits. The text imposes eligibility and administrative rules and applies existing taxation enforcement and assessment provisions (s 5) but does not, on its face, expand or withdraw the underlying pay‑roll tax base beyond providing a rebate mechanism."},"complexity_factors":["Eligibility depends on multiple linked conditions: employer registration, timely lodgement of returns, meeting a <$15 million Australia‑wide wages threshold, and employing an ‘eligible employee’ (ss 7, 8).","Group aggregation and non‑group distinctions require determining whether rebate is assessed at employer or group level and allocating group rebates to members (ss 7(2)–(4), 9(3)–(6)).","Calculation uses assessments of pay‑roll tax liability and pro rata adjustments for partial‑year membership or registration (ss 4, 9(6)).","Interaction with Commonwealth indigenous wages subsidies: eligibility of employees depends on receipt of such a subsidy or a prescribed substitute (s 3(2), s 8).","Administrative and enforcement interplay with other Acts: Taxation Administration Act 2003 and Pay‑roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 apply for appeals, offsets and collection rules, with specified limits (s 5).","Commissioner discretion to credit rebates against existing tax liabilities or overpayments, and to require repayment of overpaid rebates (ss 10–12).","Regulation‑making power to prescribe subsidy types, calculation details and record/notification requirements introduces delegated‑legislation complexity (ss 13, 16).","Special rules for prepaid wages and timing that can reduce rebates require factual determinations of payment timing (s 14)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act creates a rebate of Western Australian pay‑roll tax for employers on wages paid to certain Indigenous employees (generally the first 24 months of a new hire) if the employer is registered, lodges required returns and meets payroll‑size thresholds. The Commissioner administers and pays or credits rebates and may recover overpayments. The rebate is calculated from pay‑roll tax assessments and interacts with Commonwealth Indigenous wages subsidies and existing taxation and pay‑roll tax laws, so it alters employers' tax liabilities and administrative obligations."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of providing a targeted rebate on pay-roll tax for Indigenous wages supported by Commonwealth subsidies. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific policy objective."},"complexity_factors":["Extensive cross-referencing to two other Acts (Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 and Taxation Administration Act 2003) for definitions, administrative procedures, and enforcement mechanisms","Multiple conditional calculations based on employer grouping status (non-group employer vs group member) and time periods (whole year vs part year)","Pro rata calculations required for employers who are non-group employers or group members for only part of an assessment year","Nested definitions requiring tracking through multiple sections (e.g., 'eligible employee' defined in s.3(2) by reference to s.8, which itself depends on 'indigenous wages subsidy' defined in s.3(2))","Threshold test ($15 million) that requires hypothetical treatment of wages as 'rebatable' even when determining eligibility (s.7(3))","Complex offsetting provisions allowing rebates to be credited against other tax liabilities and vice versa (s.12)","Anti-avoidance provision regarding prepaid wages (s.14) requiring counterfactual calculation"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law gives employers a rebate (refund) on the pay-roll tax they pay when they hire Indigenous workers who are supported by a Commonwealth wages subsidy.\n\n**What it does:**\n- If an employer hires a new Indigenous employee who is receiving a subsidy under the federal Indigenous Employment Program (or similar scheme), the employer can get back the pay-roll tax they paid on that worker's wages for up to 24 months.\n- The rebate covers the full amount of pay-roll tax owed on those specific wages.\n\n**Who qualifies:**\n- **Employers:** Must be registered for pay-roll tax, have lodged all required returns, and have total Australia-wide wages (excluding the Indigenous wages) under $15 million for the year. This threshold applies differently depending on whether the employer is part of a corporate group or stands alone.\n- **Employees:** Must be new hires starting on or after 1 July 2012, and must be receiving a Commonwealth Indigenous wages subsidy. The employee remains \"eligible\" for 24 months from their start date.\n\n**How it works:**\n- The rebate is calculated based on the employer's actual pay-roll tax liability for the Indigenous worker's wages.\n- If an employer is part of a group of related companies, the $15 million threshold applies to the whole group, and the rebate is shared proportionally based on wages paid.\n- The Commissioner of State Revenue can pay the rebate directly, or use it to offset other tax debts the employer owes.\n- If too much rebate is paid, the employer must pay it back. If too little is paid, the employer gets topped up.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a financial incentive designed to encourage WA businesses to hire Indigenous Australians, particularly those entering the workforce through subsidised employment programs. It reduces the cost of employment for participating businesses while supporting Indigenous job participation."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012","history":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012/history","analysis":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/pay-roll-tax-indigenous-wages-rebate-act-2012/documents"}}