Proposed twelve-month amnesty on unpaid superannuation

On 24 May, the Government announced a compliment of the wider ‘Superannuation Guarantee Integrity Package’, in the form of a one-off 12-month amnesty on unpaid superannuation obligations. The proposal, yet to be presented to Parliament , would mean that employers could access the opportunity to voluntarily report and pay outstanding superannuation amounts without the Superannuation Guarantee Charge or administration fees applying. In a further significant bonus to businesses taking advantage of the proposed amnesty, they will also be able to claim an income tax deduction for these late payments that is otherwise not available.

The nominal interest charge would still be applicable to the late superannuation payments and would be calculated on all salary and wages payments, not just applied to Ordinary Times Earnings (OTE), as is the case, when superannuation is paid on time.

Employers who disclose and pay their outstanding superannuation payments within the amnesty period, that is prior to 23 May 2019, can access the tabled provisions if the legislation is successfully passed.

Employers can nominate to complete either the SG Amnesty Fund Payment Form when paying directly to the employee’s fund or the SG Amnesty ATO Payment Form where a payment arrangement with the ATO is required (General Interest Charge is applicable for this option). Amnesty provisions only apply to superannuation amounts reported and paid in full by the end of the amnesty period.