Modern Award Facts for Employers

Modern wards have been a feature of the Australian workplace relations system since their implementation in January 2010. Despite this, we continue to meet many employers who still say they don’t understand them or don’t even know they exist. This lack of awareness can have very serious consequences. Here are 5 key facts about modern […]

ASBEFO Inquiry into Payment Times to the Small Business community

An inquiry investigating payment times and practices in Australia is in full swing with preliminary findings confirming that big businesses and some governments are taking longer than ever to pay small businesses. Early results from the Inquiry – which is being conducted by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) in partnership with […]

Protected Earnings for 2017

The Protected Earnings Amount (PEA) is the amount of wage or salary that is exempt from child support deductions. This is the minimum amount a worker must receive as net pay, that is, after the tax and child support has been deducted. It is calculated on the basis of 75% of the basic Newstart Allowance. […]

Simpler Business Activity Statements

GST or Not Included The ATO has simplified the GST reporting system to make it simpler for a business to conduct its trading with less complexity in applying the GST law. To trade in Australia a business must: Obtain an ABN. Decide whether to register for GST, (compulsory once your turnover is more than $75,000pa […]

Christmas Annual Leave and Payroll obligations – confused? We can help!

Annual Christmas Shutdown Many businesses have a scheduled period of closing business operations during the Christmas and New Year period. How an employer must treat this depends on the award or agreement the employee is governed by. These guidelines apply to permanent employees – casual employees do not have to be paid during a scheduled […]

Building Budgets – Let us show you how.

What does it Cost to Run your Business? Take a look at the fixed costs, the operating expenses, of running your business. We call these fixed costs because they don’t tend to change as the volume of business increases but that doesn’t mean they are locked in. It’s good practice to review your fixed costs […]

ATO continues its program of Reinvention

Reinventing the ATO The ATO continues its path of “reinvention”. Below we provide a relevant extract that applies to our interactions with the ATO. This extract and the associated vision statements on the website outline how the ATO is saying it wants to behave and the type of interactions it is aiming to have with […]

Important Changes to Annual Leave

A number of very important changes have recently been made by the Fair Work Commission to annual leave entitlements for employees covered by the Fair Work Act 2009. It is now critical for you to familiarise yourself with these changes because: the changes are already in full legal effect non-compliance may result in prosecution and […]

Warped Versions of GST

Wouldn’t it be great if GST applied equally to all goods and services? Here are some examples of where the rules are different. Taxis Drivers, Chauffers and other ‘Ride-Sourcing’ Providers If you provide “ride sourcing or sharing services” (taxi etc) then you MUST register for GST. No $75k threshold – you are in! ATO – […]

How Secure is your Email

Did you know….? Some email accounts, (typically free accounts or those as part of a wider service like gmail, Hotmail even Bigpond, Optus etc), are routinely and systematically scrutinised and analysed for what you are doing and what you are sending and who to. Email bounces via of a number of servers and through various […]