Single Touch Payroll - Are you ready?

If you haven’t yet heard about Single Touch Payroll, you may need to conduct a quick headcount to determine if your business needs to comply.

What is Single Touch Payroll ?

Single Touch Payroll (STP) aligns your reporting obligations to your payroll processes.

Your business will be required to report to the ATO each time you pay your employees. Yes that means if you pay your employees Weekly, you will need to report Weekly. If you pay your employees monthly, you will need to report Monthly and so on.

So what makes you compliant?  STP will only become compulsory if your business has 20 or more employees from July 1, 2018, and compulsory for all businesses regardless of how many staff they have from July 1, 2019. So it’s important to begin preparation to comply.

Now what if you’re not ready. Here are a few tips directly from the ATO’s website :

Employers with 20 or more employees:

  • You need to start reporting to us through STP from 1 July 2018 if your software is ready.
  • Some payroll software providers have asked us for more time to update their products – check if your product has a deferred start date.
  • If your software will be ready by 1 July 2018 but you won’t be ready, you will need to apply for your own deferred start date.

You might be thinking, ” How does my business report on our obligations ?”

You can report through Single Touch Payroll (STP) in one of the following ways :

  • Report from your current payroll solution when it is STP-ready. This could be a XERO or MYOB accounting platform or something similar.
  • Report from a new payroll solution which is STP-ready. This may take more time switching over and getting used to.
  • Ask Pherrus, who acts as your registered agent, to report through STP on your behalf.

If your business has 19 or fewer employees, you have at least till 2019, July to comply, although the ATO has advised small businesses to voluntarily start to use Single Touch Payroll systems ahead of time, so that you are at least used to it and are well compliant before the due date. No one likes nasty suprises.

The Insights published on our website have been written by our professional staff strictly for educational purposes. Please note that the information and views expressed above do not constitute professional advice and are general in nature only.

Other Insights from Pherrus

  • What-Are-Fittings-Compared-to-Fixtures

    What Are Fittings Compared to Fixtures?

    “Does it stay or does it go?” If you’ve ever asked this question about something while inspecting a property to buy, sell, or lease, this blog is for you! The difference between fittings and fixtures can affect your rights, responsibilities, and even your final sale price or rental agreement. What are fittings and fixtures? Let’s…

  • What-Is-a-Disbursement

    What Is a Disbursement in Property?

    When you’re buying, selling, or managing property, you have to deal with a lot of numbers. One set of numbers that often causes confusion is disbursements. These aren’t hidden fees or surprise costs. They’re a normal part of the property transaction process.  But if you don’t know what they are, you could end up disputing…

  • Payroll-Software-For-Small-Business-Australia

    Choosing Payroll Software for Your Small Business in Australia (2025 Guide)

    According to the 2024 Australian Payroll Survey by the Australian Payroll Association, 24.1% of employers surveyed were unsatisfied with their payroll technology. Reasons for this dissatisfaction could be outdated systems, poor usability, and a lack of compliance support. What about the effects? Being unsatisfied with your payroll technology can lead to costly errors, wasted time,…