Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Act 2020 (21 of 2020)

Schedule 1   Superannuation guarantee amnesty

Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992

14   After section 73

Insert:

74 Amnesty in relation to historic amounts of superannuation guarantee shortfall

Qualifying for the amnesty

(1) An employer qualifies for an amnesty for the employer's superannuation guarantee shortfall for a quarter if:

(a) during the period (the amnesty period ) provided by subsection (3), the employer discloses to the Commissioner, in the approved form, information that:

(i) relates to the amount of the employer's superannuation guarantee shortfall for the quarter; and

(ii) was not disclosed to the Commissioner before the amnesty period; and

(b) the amnesty period started after the end of the period of 28 days after the end of the quarter; and

(c) the Commissioner has not, at any time before the disclosure, informed the employer that the Commissioner is examining, or intends to examine, the employer's compliance with an obligation to pay the superannuation guarantee charge for the quarter.

(2) However, if the employer would have a superannuation guarantee shortfall for the quarter even if the information in the disclosure were not taken into account, the employer qualifies for an amnesty for the shortfall only to the extent of the increase in the shortfall as a result of taking the information into account.

(3) The amnesty period is the period that:

(a) started on 24 May 2018; and

(b) ends 6 months after the day the Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Act 2020 receives the Royal Assent.

Ceasing to qualify for the amnesty

(4) The employer ceases to qualify, and is taken never to have qualified, for the amnesty for the employer's superannuation guarantee shortfall for the quarter if the Commissioner notifies the employer under subsection (5).

(5) The Commissioner may notify the employer in writing that the employer has ceased to qualify, and is taken never to have qualified, for that amnesty if:

(a) the employer:

(i) has not, on or before the day on which superannuation guarantee charge on the employer's superannuation guarantee shortfall for the quarter became payable, paid that superannuation guarantee charge; and

(ii) has not, at any time, entered into an arrangement with the Commissioner that includes the payment of that superannuation guarantee charge; or

(b) the employer has entered into such an arrangement, but has failed to comply with it.

(6) For the purposes of subparagraph (5)(a)(i), a payment under this Act of an amount equal to the amount of the superannuation guarantee charge mentioned in that subparagraph is taken to be a payment of that charge whether or not the Commissioner applies the payment to satisfy the employer's liability to pay that charge.