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Are we a 'substantial employer'?

In short, you will need to count the number of employees on your payroll on 1 April 2018 to find out if you are a 'substantial employer'. You need to do a headcount, not a count of your full time equivalent (FTE). If you have 20 or more employees on 1 April, you will be a 'substantial employer' and will need to report through Single Touch Payroll from 1 July 2018. Once you are a substantial employer you will be required to continue reporting through Single Touch Payroll even if your employee numbers drop below 20.

For more detailed information please refer to the ATO's How to count your employees article.

What happens if we're not a 'substantial employer'?

If you're not classified as a 'substantial employer' then there is no requirement to report via STP starting 1 July 2018. However, since Infinet Cloud's STP solution will be available in your account, you may choose to report via STP anyway - the choice is yours. Using STP has many benefits including the ability to electronically lodge TFN Declarations for new employees and a possible reduction in end-of-year Payroll processes (e.g. distributing payment summaries). 

It is expected that all employers (including non-substantial) will be required to report via STP starting the 2019/2020 financial year.

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Should we be worried about complying with the new regulations and incurring a penalty?

No, our STP solution will be in your account and available prior to 1 July 2018. When you start reporting through STP, the first 12 months will be a transition period. The ATO will be working closely with employers (and if required their Digital Service Provider, aka us) to help ensure submitted information is correct. Employers will also likely be exempt from administrative penalties for failures to report on time. For further information see: Penalties, exemptions and deferrals

Will we need to issue Payment Summaries for the 2017/2018 FY?

Yes, employers’ obligations for the 2017/2018 financial year are un-changed. Therefore, your end-of-year process should be the same as last - you will need to distribute Payment Summaries to employees and submit the relevant Payment Summary Annual Report (PSAR file) to the ATO.

Once using STP, will we need to issue Payment Summaries?

For detailed information on this topic see Finalising your Single Touch Payroll Reporting. You will not have to provide payment summaries for the following payments if you reported them voluntarily through Single Touch Payroll:

• payments under voluntary agreement
• payments under a labour hire arrangement
• death benefit employment termination payment.

You will need to provide a payment summary for any payments not reported through STP.

Will our pay run process need to change?

Since you will need to submit pay event information to the ATO on or before each pay date - there will be an additional step to the pay run process. We are striving to keep this as simple and intuitive as possible for you with a minimal learning curve. This means, that meeting your obligation to report through STP will be down to just a few more clicks.

Is Infinet Cloud's STP solution an integration?

No, our STP solution - much like our Payroll solution - is built-in within NetSuite. No external integration(s) are necessary and your NetSuite account will connect directly to the ATO's servers to submit STP information.

Are there any additional security concerns with STP?

No, at Infinet Cloud we take security very seriously. All your payroll data will continue to reside within your NetSuite account. When submitting pay data via STP, your NetSuite account will connect securely directly to the ATO's servers and communicate directly - your data will not be transported through any other 3rd party. Further, prior to any STP submission, you will have an opportunity to review the data being submitted.

What is Infinet Cloud's relationship with the ATO?

We have a long-standing relationship with the ATO and ABSIA. Under the their definitions, we are a Software Provider and Digital Service Provider (DSP) of STP-enabled payroll software.

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Once using STP, how will employees view their Payment Summary information?

Pay information submitted through STP will be visible to individual employees through the ATO's online services (accessible through MyGov). Obviously employees will need to register for MyGov access and link their ATO Online Services if they haven't done so already.

Can we report data for employees via STP even if they haven't signed up to MyGov?

Yes, you must report pay data for all employees as required, regardless of their MyGov access. MyGov and ATO Online Services access is each employee's individual responsibility.