Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Bill 2019 passed the Senate without amendments on 24 February 2020 and is awaiting Royal Assent. The Bill includes the long awaited superannuation guarantee (SG) amnesty to encourage employers to self-correct historical SG non-compliance.
The amnesty applies for any quarter between 1 July 1992 and 31 March 2018. To apply to access the amnesty an employer must self report SG non-compliance to the ATO between 24 May 2018 and the day, six months after the date of Royal Assent (the amnesty expires at this date).
The Bill also limits the Commissioner’s ability to remit penalties for historical SG non-compliance, where an employer fails to disclose information relevant to their historical SG shortfall. This is intended to strengthen the operation of the amnesty through legislated minimum penalties on employers who fail to come forward.
From the attached press release
- This policy is all about reuniting hardworking Australians with their super,
- Employers will not be off the hook. To use the amnesty, they must still pay all that is owing to their employees, including the high rate of interest. However, the amnesty will make it easier for workers to secure the super they are owed by not hitting employers with the penalties usually associated with late payment.
- If employers do not take advantage of the amnesty, they will now face significantly higher penalties when they are caught – in general, a minimum 100 per cent penalty on top of the SG shortfall they owe, and up to 200 per cent for the most serious cases. In addition, throughout the amnesty period the ATO will still continue its usual audit and enforcement activity against employers for historical obligations they do not own up to voluntarily.
Find out more => https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/jane-hume-2019/media-releases/laws-passed-reunite-australians-their-unpaid-super
