ATO to be assessed on SG recovery

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

9 May 2023

The Government has moved to provide the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) with an extra $27 million in funding to track unpaid superannuation and at the same time the tax office will be assessed on its recovery targets.

The additional funding will be in the new financial year.

As well as confirming its pre-Budget announcement that it would be moving to implement pay day superannuation, the Government announced the funding for the ATO which would go towards helping the tax office match employer payments of the superannuation guarantee with superannuation fund received.

Under the Budget changes, from 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees’ super at the same time they pay their wages.

The Government said this would enable employees to track their entitlements to ensure they are being paid on time and in full.

It said around 8.9 million Australians will benefit from higher retirement savings from receiving their Superannuation Guarantee contributions earlier and more frequently throughout their working life.

Under the heading of “increasing the visibility of unpaid super for the ATO” the Government said it was  investing $27 million in 2023—24 for the ATO to improve data capabilities, including matching both employers and super fund data at scale.

It said the ATO will also receive $13.2 million to consult and co-design with stakeholders on a new ATO compliance system which will proactively identify instances of under or unpaid super in near-real time.

As well, the Government said it would implement enhanced unpaid superannuation recovery targets for the ATO and that from 2023-24 the tax office would be assessed on its performance on the payments made to employees as a proportion of super raised and the amount of super raised and distributed within 12 months.