Commonwealth legislation

Single Touch Payroll – Exemption for Employers Having a Seasonal Workforce

RepealedCTH

This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

3/10 complexity

This instrument creates an exemption from Single Touch Payroll (STP) for genuinely seasonal employers who briefly exceed the 20‑employee threshold.

To qualify (measured at the most recent 1 April) employers must satisfy look‑back and look‑forward tests showing they have and expect fewer than 20 employees for most months, and not be part of a wholly‑owned group. It prevents short seasonal spikes (e.g., harvest hires) triggering full STP compliance and costly red tape.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Single Touch Payroll – Exemption for Employers Having a Seasonal Workforce.

Single Touch Payroll – Exemption for Employers Having a Seasonal Workforce

Legislative Instrument

Taxation Administration – Single Touch Payroll – Exemption for Employers Having a Seasonal Workforce

I, Deborah Anne Jenkins, Deputy Commissioner of Taxation, make this determination under subsection 389-10(1) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.

Deputy Commissioner of Taxation

Dated: 14 May 2018

Name of instrument

This is the Single Touch Payroll – Exemption for Employers Having a Seasonal Workforce instrument.

Effective dates

This instrument commences on the day following its registration.

Application

This instrument applies to an entity that is a substantial employer within the meaning of subsection 389-5(6) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.

Determination

An entity that would otherwise have obligations under section 389-5 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 is exempt from those obligations if the following circumstances applied on the most recent 1 April:

a) for at least 10 out of the immediately preceding 12 months before that day, the employer had fewer than 20 employees at any one time; and

b) for at least 10 out of the immediately following 12 months after that day, the employer reasonably expects to have fewer than 20 employees at any one time; and
c) the employer is not a member of a wholly-owned group for the purposes of subsection 389-5(6) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.

Source text

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 Single Touch Payroll – Exemption for Employers Having a Seasonal Workforce