{"id":"tas:sr-2020-089","name":"Payroll Tax (Pandemic) Order (No. 3) 2020","slug":"payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-3-2020","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"89 of 2020","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":184120,"registerId":"tas-tas:sr-2020-089-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 1 Short title\n\n> This order may be cited as the [Payroll Tax (Pandemic) Order (No. 3) 2020](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/sr-2020-089) .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### 2 Commencement\n\n> This order takes effect on the day on which its making is notified in the *Gazette*.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"### 3 Interpretation\n\n> > (1)  In this order –\n> > \n> > > ***relevant deed*** means a deed, entered into by the Crown and a relevant employer, that specifies that the deed is for the purpose of assisting the employer, and some or all of the employer’s staff, to comply with COVID Safe Measures in connection with the delivery of –\n> > > \n> > > > > (a) a hotel quarantine service; or\n> > > > \n> > > > > (b) services related to, or necessary to enable, the provision of a hotel quarantine service, including but not limited to transportation, cleaning, and interpreting services;\n> > \n> > > ***relevant employee*** means a person to whom a relevant employer is liable to pay, or pays, in accordance with the terms of a relevant deed, a wage supplement amount;\n> > \n> > > ***relevant employer*** means a person who is required under a relevant deed to pay a wage supplement amount;\n> > \n> > > ***wage supplement amount***, in relation to a relevant employee, means an amount of money paid, or payable, to the relevant employee, in accordance with the terms of a relevant deed, by a relevant employer.\n> \n> > (2)  The [Acts Interpretation Act 1931](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1931-059) applies to the interpretation of this order as if this order were by-laws.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Waiver","content":"### 4 Waiver\n\n> > (1)  A relevant employer is not required to pay payroll tax in relation to so much of the amount of the taxable wages of a relevant employee as consists of a wage supplement amount paid or payable to the relevant employee.\n> \n> > (2)  The amount of payroll tax that a relevant employer is not required under [subclause (1)](#GS4@Gs1@EN) to pay in relation to the taxable wages of the relevant employee is to be calculated as if the wage supplement amount paid or payable to the relevant employee were not taxable wages in relation to the relevant employee.\n\nDisplayed and numbered in accordance with the *[Rules Publication Act 1953](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1953-050)*.\n\nNotified in the *Gazette* on 23 December 2020\n\nThis order is administered in the Department of Treasury and Finance.","sortOrder":3}],"analysis":{"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This order maintains its original narrow scope. It was designed specifically to provide payroll tax relief for hotel quarantine wage supplements during COVID-19, and it does exactly that without expansion into broader areas."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document (4 operative sections)","Only 4 defined terms, all closely related and context-specific","Single clear operative provision (the waiver in section 4) with straightforward calculation rule","No cross-references to other legislation beyond standard interpretation act application","No exceptions, conditions, or nested logic beyond the basic deed requirement"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a Tasmanian government order that gives a tax break to employers running hotel quarantine during COVID-19.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Exempts certain COVID-19 payments from payroll tax.** If an employer signed a government contract (called a 'relevant deed') to provide hotel quarantine services — or related services like transport, cleaning, or interpreting — any extra 'wage supplement' payments they made to staff specifically to help comply with COVID safety rules don't attract payroll tax.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Employers** who contracted with the Tasmanian government to deliver hotel quarantine services\n- **Their employees** who received special wage supplements under those contracts\n\n**Why it matters:**\nDuring the pandemic, the government needed private companies to run hotel quarantine. These jobs involved extra health risks, strict safety protocols, and unusual working conditions. To encourage employers to take on this work and properly compensate staff for the added burden, this order ensured that extra 'top-up' wages wouldn't be hit with payroll tax — making the government contracts more financially viable for businesses.\n\n**Key terms explained:**\n- **Payroll tax:** A state tax on the total wages a business pays its employees\n- **Relevant deed:** A formal contract with the Crown (government) specifically for quarantine services\n- **Wage supplement amount:** Extra pay given to workers for COVID-safe compliance, on top of normal wages"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This order narrows the payroll tax base by excluding wage supplement amounts paid under Crown deeds for hotel quarantine and related services. It removes those amounts from taxable wages for relevant employers and requires calculations as if they were not taxable (ss 3–4)."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument with four clauses (ss 1–4).","Narrow, sector-specific scope limited to deeds for hotel quarantine and related services (s 3).","Several defined terms (relevant deed, relevant employer, relevant employee, wage supplement amount) determine application (s 3).","Cross-reference to Acts Interpretation Act 1931 for interpretation rules adds a formal rule-of-construction layer (s 3(2)).","Simple computational rule: treat wage supplement amounts as non‑taxable for payroll tax calculation (s 4(2)), requiring employers to identify and segregate those payments.","Implementation depends on documentary proof (existence and terms of a relevant deed), creating an administrative compliance task for employers and the administering department (ss 3–4)."],"plain_english_summary":"This order exempts from payroll tax the part of an employee’s wages that is a “wage supplement amount” paid under a deed between the Crown and an employer to help staff comply with COVID Safe Measures for hotel quarantine or related services. Relevant employers do not pay payroll tax on those amounts; the order requires that those wage supplements be treated as if they were not taxable wages for calculation purposes (ss 3–4)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available metadata, there is no indication the scope changed from its original intent. The Order appears to have remained focused on its original purpose of providing pandemic-related payroll tax relief to Tasmanian employers, consistent with its title and the broader legislative response to COVID-19."},"complexity_factors":["The document as provided contains only metadata — no operative legal provisions are present to analyse","Payroll tax concepts are moderately straightforward for most businesses already familiar with payroll obligations","As a subordinate instrument (an Order rather than an Act), the legal structure is typically simpler than primary legislation","Being the third in a series assumes familiarity with preceding Orders (No. 1 and No. 2), adding minor contextual complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This emergency Tasmanian order (Payroll Tax (Pandemic) Order (No. 3) 2020) continues pandemic-era payroll tax relief for employers hit by COVID‑19. It offers measures such as payment deferrals, waivers, extended lodgment deadlines, or reduced liability to help businesses keep staff on the payroll.\n\nThe supplied document is metadata only; the specific operative provisions and eligibility details are not included, so exact relief terms can’t be confirmed here."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-3-2020","history":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-3-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-3-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-3-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-3-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/payroll-tax-pandemic-order-no-3-2020/documents"}}