Monday 22 January - Creating Confidence In How People Are Paid
2024 Australian Payroll Survey - OPEN NOW!
Australian Payroll Association is pleased to invite all members and payroll professionals to respond to its annual payroll survey.
Participation in the survey should take less than six minutes.
Complete now - CLICK HERE.
Lessons from ACU’s payroll underpayment
The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has recently disclosed it has a payroll underpayment issue.
The university revealed that the underpayment relates to systematic payroll errors to a significant number of staff members over several years. Investigations revealed it was caused by a series of errors stemming from the complexities of the university’s payroll system. These included miscalculations of entitlements such as overtime, leave loading, and superannuation contributions.
Several factors contributed to this. Firstly, the sheer scale and diversity of ACU’s workforce, encompassing a range of roles from academic to administrative, presented a formidable challenge in payroll management. Secondly, the intricacies of various employment contracts and award rates added layers of complexity to the payroll process. Lastly, a lack of sufficient checks and balances, alongside inadequate use of payroll technology, resulted in these errors going unnoticed for a considerable time.
The implications of this oversight were far-reaching. Not only did it result in financial loss for the affected employees, but it also led to reputational damage to ACU. Furthermore, it prompted regulatory scrutiny and legal repercussions, highlighting the critical need for stringent payroll governance and compliance.
Key lessons for payroll professionals and executives
The ACU payroll underpayment issue serves as another reminder of the complexities involved in managing payroll in Australia. It highlights the need for payroll professionals to continually evolve and adapt their strategies to ensure accuracy and compliance including ongoing payroll training and payroll membership support.
South Australia Public Holiday Changes
The Public Holidays Act 2023 replaces the Holidays Act 1910 and came into effect on 1 January 2024. The key changes to the Act include:
You can find further information here.
FWO urges compliance with Closing Loopholes law changes
Employers and employees should educate themselves on the new Closing Loopholes workplace laws and make sure they are compliant, the Fair Work Ombudsman said.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said there were important changes to the Fair Work Act that have been made or will be made by the laws, including the creation of a criminal offence for intentional underpayments.
“We urge workplace participants to be across the changes which create new or different rights or responsibilities,” Ms Booth said.
“There can be significant penalties where the laws are not followed – including jail time for the new criminal offence – but we want employers to get it right in the first place and are here to help with free information and advice to ensure they do.”
Most changes started on 15 December 2023, while others start between now and 2025.
Some of the changes affect the work of the FWO, while others affect the work of the Fair Work Commission, the national workplace relations tribunal.
Criminalising intentional wage underpayments
Starting not before 1 January 2025, intentional underpayments of wages by employers will be a criminal offence.
Employers may commit an offence if they owe money to an employee under the Fair Work Act or an industrial instrument (like an Award or an enterprise agreement), and intentionally engage in conduct that results in a failure to pay on or before the money is due. This can include failure to make required superannuation contributions.
A Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code will be established before the changes take effect, and compliance with this Code means a small business won’t be prosecuted if they underpay their employees.
Companies prosecuted face penalties three-times the amount of the underpayment, if a court can determine it, or $7.825 million, whichever is greater. If the court can’t determine the underpayment, the maximum penalty is $7.825 million.
Individuals can be imprisoned for up to 10 years; be fined either three-times the amount of the underpayment, if the court can determine it, or up to $1.565 million, whichever is greater; or be both fined and imprisoned.
“Employers should know – these laws don’t apply to those who unintentionally underpay their employees or pay the wrong amount by mistake,” Ms Booth said.
The Fair Work Ombudsman will, once the offence takes effect in 2025, investigate suspected criminal underpayment offences.
Equal pay for labour hire workers
From 15 December 2023, employees, unions and host employers can apply to the Fair Work Commission for a regulated labour hire arrangement order. When such an order is in effect, employers will be required to pay labour hire employees the same as employees who are employed directly by the host employer.
Under an order, they must be paid at least what they would receive under a host employer’s enterprise agreement, a workplace determination, an equivalent public sector determination and other prescribed instruments made under Commonwealth, State and Territory Laws. Any orders made by the FWC under these rules won’t come into effect before 1 November 2024.
The FWC can’t make an order if it’s not fair and reasonable. A number of exclusions may also apply, for example to host employers who are a small business employer. The FWC can hear disputes about an order that can’t be resolved within the workplace. Further detail is available via our website.
New discrimination protections
From 15 December 2023, employers cannot discriminate by taking adverse action against employees because they have been subjected to family and domestic violence.
Awards and enterprise agreements must also not include terms that discriminate against an employee because they're experiencing (or have experienced) family and domestic violence.
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Who is an employee for PAYG Withholding Purposes
A new Taxation Ruling (TR 2023/4) was introduced on the 6th December, clarifying who an employee is for the purposes of PAYG Withholding.
You can read the ruling - click here.
Australian Payroll Summit: Earlybird Tickets Now on Sale!
We are delighted to share the news of our much-anticipated Australian Payroll Summit, set to take place in Brisbane on the 15th of March. As a leader in the payroll industry, Australian Payroll Association is proud to bring together payroll professionals from across Australia for a day of collaboration, insights, and skill-building.
At Australian Payroll Association, our mission is around creating confidence in how people are paid within the dynamic payroll landscape. We are dedicated to addressing future challenges in collaboration with industry leaders and technical experts. That's why our summit features distinguished speakers covering critical topics such as:
To delve into the comprehensive agenda, click here.
Event Details:
Earlybird Tickets:
In-person:
Virtual:
Secure your spot and gain valuable insights to stay ahead in the payroll landscape!
Act fast to take advantage of our Earlybird Ticket prices - Click Here
Looking to bring your team?
Book today and use code 3FOR2 to receive 3 tickets for the price of 2!
We can't wait to see you at the Australian Payroll Summit, where knowledge meets opportunity. Let's shape the future of payroll together!
Understanding Payroll Qualifications
Join Tracy Angwin as she takes you through the intricacies of pursuing a nationally recognised payroll qualification.
To register for this free event - click here.
Payroll if you are affected by flooding in parts of Australia
There may be individuals and workplaces affected by flooding in parts of Australia.
Stand down
Floods may affect whether some workplaces can stay open.
If a business can’t open or needs to temporarily close, employers may be able to stand down an employee in some circumstances. This includes when an employee can’t do useful work because of:
Employers should consider all available options before making the decision to stand down their employees. This can include:
During a stand down period, an employee:
Some awards, agreements and employment contracts have extra rules about when an employer can stand down an employee without pay.
Taking paid or unpaid leave
There are paid and unpaid leave entitlements employees can access if they’re affected by the floods. They can also take leave to assist with emergency management activities.
Leave options include:
Minimum entitlements to annual leave, sick and carer’s leave and community service leave come from the National Employment Standards (NES). Awards and registered agreements can’t offer less than the minimums in the NES but they can provide more.