Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 Advisory Group key messages 29 September 2021

Welcome and introduction

Chair Michael Karavas opened the meeting. Further to discussion at the August Single Touch Payroll (STP) Phase 2 Advisory Group meeting, Digital Service Providers (DSPs) voted unanimously that ATO should not publish DSP deferral information on the website. Instead, DSPs will continue to manage and share this information directly with their clients. DSP products will be added to the register once the product has passed through whitelisting.

Industry update

Industry members provided the following insights and feedback:

• Following last week’s webinar, several industry groups have seen increase in questions to their call centres, in particular about annualised salaries and allowances. The webinar proved very popular with some employers reporting that they were unable to access or connect to the session.
• A number of organisations will look to supplement support for their industry client groups with additional information sessions and educational workshops. ATO can provide education and support material to support these sessions.
• Some members expressed concern that ATO would not be publishing or displaying deferral dates, citing the potential confusion and burden that this could create for agents and DPSs.

DSP readiness and transition

ATO provided a report on DSP readiness and transition and reported that over 700 employers have commenced reporting STP Phase 2 data. ATO has also commenced processing Phase 2 deferral requests.

Mid-year transition options

ATO provided a paper on mid-year transition options. Discussion points noted:

• Disaggregation of data is a significant issue and change for Phase 2 year to date reporting. For an employer to correctly transition and report they will require a full financial year of the data to do this successfully.
• Industry noted that some employers did not have this. A small focus group of DSPs will be established to work through this issue, test ideas and options including liaison with Services Australia to understand which option it could support.
• Further information on the agreed option will be communicated with DSPs and published through updates to the Employer Guide.

Employer engagement and communications

ATO’s tabled communication strategies on deferral processes for employers. As there was limited time to discuss this item, it was noted. It will be socialised with the STP Employer Transition Working Group and discussed at the next meeting.

Consultative group updates

These items were noted, there was no time to discuss key points from the STP Employer Transition Working Group or the STP Phase 2 Digital Service Provider Transition Working Group.