Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson has reminded businesses of the changes coming into effect on 1 July.
“It is essential that small-business owners and managers understand these changes,” Billson said. “Business leaders are responsible for getting this right and should check their payroll and accounting systems have been updated.”
Some of the changes that are taking effect this new financial year are as follows:
National Minimum Wage and Award Rate
Effective 1 July, the National Minimum Wage will increase by 3.75 per cent to $915.90 per week or $24.10 per hour and the minimum award wages will increase by 3.75 per cent as well.
More information can be found at https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/annual-wage-review/2023-2024-annual-wage-review.
Income tax cuts
The income tax rates and thresholds will be changed effective 1 July, with workers getting an income tax cut.
The new tax tables are available at https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/tax-tables-overview.
Super Guarantee
The Super Guarantee (SG) rate will increase from 11 per cent to 11.5 per cent for all employees eligible to receive superannuation on 1 July and employers must use the new rate even if some or all of the pay period is for work done before 1 July. The SG rate is legislated to increase to 12 per cent by 2025.
The Tax Office is also urging employers to ensure that SG payments arrive on time, as processing times for payments made through a clearing house can vary and some take up to 10 days. It must be noted that super contributions are only considered ‘paid’ when the super fund receives them, not the clearing house and the employer needs to lodge a statement and penalties may apply in cases of late payments.
More information can be read at https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers.
Single Touch Payroll
Employers are required to finalise employees’ Single Touch Payroll data by 14 July and must include all employees they have paid in the 2023-24 financial year, even those who are no longer on staff, ensuring that employees have the right information needed to lodge their own income tax return.
More information is available at https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/hiring-and-paying-your-workers/single-touch-payroll.
Instant asset write-off
The instant asset write-off threshold will now be at $20,000 on a per-asset basis for 2024-25 for eligible small businesses with a turnover up to $10 million.
Business name and company registration fees
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission will increase fees for registering, renewing and reserving company and business names from 1 July.
Details are available at https://asic.gov.au/for-business/payments-fees-and-invoices/asic-fees/asic-fee-indexation.
New Commonwealth Procurement Rules
Changes to the Commonwealth Procurement Rules that will take effect on 1 July promise to provide greater opportunities for small businesses to win a government contract. by boosting the target for sourcing from small and medium-sized businesses for contracts below $20 million from 35 per cent to 40 per cent while the target for contracts under $1 billion will lift from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. The SME exemption threshold will also be raised to $500,000 to make it easier for government to buy from SMEs.
The Australian Government’s new Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy will also take effect from 1 July, thus businesses supplying goods or services to the government will be required to undertake activities to substantiate environmental claims and demonstrate compliance with the policy.
More information is available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/sustainable-procurement.
New workplace laws
A range of workplace changes take effect in July and August, such as changes to casual employment, new minimum standards and protections for ‘employee-like workers’ in the gig economy, and new laws around the right to disconnect, although this change does not apply to small businesses with fewer than 15 employees until 26 August 2025.
More details and timelines are available from the Fair Work Ombudsman at www.fairwork.gov.au
