Single Touch Payroll
Single Touch Payroll (STP), is an Australian Government initiative to reduce employers' reporting burdens to government agencies.
With STP, you report employees' payroll information to us each time you pay them through STP-enabled software. Payroll information includes:
- salaries and wages
- pay as you go (PAYG) withholding
- superannuation.
STP started on 1 July 2018 for employers with 20 or more employees and 1 July 2019 for employers with 19 or fewer employees and is a mandatory obligation.
We have provided several concessions depending on business, industry, or employer types. Most of these ended on 1 July 2021. If you have a current concession you will need to be reporting each pay day through STP by this date.
If you haven't started reporting through STP, you need to start reporting as soon as possible as penalties may apply.
Next steps
Expanding data collected from STP
In the 2019–20 BudgetExternal Link it was announced that we would expand the data collected through STP.
This expansion of STP (also known as STP Phase 2) reduces the reporting burden for employers who need to report information about their employees to multiple government agencies. It also helps Services Australia's customers – who may be your employees – get the right payment at the right time.
The mandatory start date for STP Phase 2 reporting will be 1 January 2022.
To support you, our approach to STP Phase 2 will be flexible, reasonable and pragmatic, based on your business readiness and individual circumstances.
We are working closely with digital service providers who will update your STP-enabled solutions for you. When your STP-enabled solution is ready, your provider will let you know what you need to do.
Next step
Find out about
Learn about Single Touch Payroll (STP) and how it changes the way employers report their employees' tax and super information to the ATO.