Blog categorized as Compliance

The 2025-26 fringe benefits tax year ended on 31 March. As employers gear up for FBT tax time, there are a few changes for 2025-26 that employers should be aware of, especially if you provide plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to your employees.

2026-27 Federal Budget was ambitious, announcing significant reforms to capital gains tax and negative gearing in a bid to support home ownership and improve the fairness of the tax system.

Since November 2023, including an unfair term in a standard form small business contract carries a direct financial penalty — not just unenforceability — and many B2B contracts wrongly assume they're excluded from these protections.

Many SMEs assume data breach notification only applies to large corporations, but the obligation applies broadly once a business crosses the Privacy Act's turnover threshold — and the definition of a notifiable breach is wider than most owners expect.

A statutory demand isn't ordinary debt collection correspondence — failing to respond within 21 days creates a legal presumption of insolvency that a creditor can use to wind up the company, regardless of whether the company is actually insolvent.

Safe harbour protects directors from personal liability for insolvent trading while genuinely working toward a better outcome, but the protection is conditional — it can be lost mid-period if employee entitlements or tax obligations lapse.

Every discretionary trust has a vesting date buried in its deed that automatically ends the trust once it passes — and older trusts, especially those established decades ago without a deed review, are at real risk of this arriving unnoticed.

The Div 7A minimum yearly repayment isn't a figure companies choose — it's calculated from the ATO's annually published benchmark rate using an amortisation formula, and getting it wrong triggers an immediate deemed dividend.

Foreign parent companies often treat the Australian resident director requirement as a formality, but genuine governance activity and where central management and control actually sits both affect the company's tax residency position.

Selling digital products internationally requires correctly identifying where customers actually are, not assuming all overseas-looking sales are automatically GST-free.

Confusing GST-free and input-taxed supplies is one of the most common BAS mistakes, and it directly affects whether GST credits can be claimed.

Running multiple related businesses can trigger payroll tax grouping, combining their wages against a single threshold even if each entity looks compliant on its own. This guide explains what triggers grouping, why it's often missed, and how to check your exposure across states.

The ATO rarely audits at random — it relies on benchmarking, data matching, and consistency checks to flag returns. This guide breaks down the most common audit triggers and the recordkeeping habits that keep your business defensible if you're selected.

Informal money movements between a company and its directors can accidentally trigger Division 7A, turning a simple withdrawal into taxable income at the director's personal rate. This guide explains what triggers it, how to structure a compliant loan, and why the fix depends on timing.

When was the last time you reviewed your cybersecurity precautions? We’ve highlighted five important ways to protect your company and customer data from malicious attacks.

From 1 July 2026, Australian employers must transition from calculating super on "Ordinary Time Earnings" to the new "Qualifying Earnings" (QE) standard.

From 1 July 2026, a new tax (Division 296) will be introduced to reduce concessional tax rates on superannuation earnings above $3 million. But how does Division 296 work, and are you affected?

From 1 July 2026, all Australian employers must pay superannuation contributions on the same day they pay salary and wages.

From 26 August 2026, small business employees in Australia will have the legal right to ignore work-related contact outside of their scheduled hours unless the refusal is deemed unreasonable.

Are you in the dark when it comes to sustainability reporting? ASIC’s new educational modules provide training for small businesses and their report preparers.