Recent News
Income tax updates
As we're getting closer to the end of the financial year, Associate Director of Tax And accounting Andrew Patrick outlines some changes to this financial year's income tax. Increased income tax thresholds The 2018-19 financial year has seen an increase of the 32.5%...
Tools for keeping your business on track
Are you a tradie running your own business? Did you know it’s important to keep records of your finances? Good record keeping will help you stay on top of your tax and super, and track how your business is going. You need to hang on to your records for five years, so...
Company Director’s Personal Liability to the ATO
If you are a director, you can become personally liable for the company’s unpaid pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding, superannuation guarantee (SG) and superannuation guarantee charge (GC) payments to the ATO under its “director penalty regime”. Since 2015 the failure to...
New Workplace Laws Enforced For The First Time
The Federal Government’s amendment to the Fair Work Act through the Protecting Vulnerable Workers Act 2017, now requires employers disprove wage claims made in a court if they don’t meet their record-keeping or pay slip obligations and cannot give a reasonable excuse....
Single Touch Payroll Reporting – Are you ready?
As a small business employer you would have by now heard of Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting and perhaps haven’t really had to pay much attention until now….. Single Touch Payroll is the next step in streamlining your payroll reporting. It will change the way you...
Exciting changes affecting 2019 Tax Time
Effective 29 January 2019 The small business instant write off threshold increases to $25,000!! Plus has been extended up to 30 June 2020 – great news for small business operators Effective 1 July 2019 SMSF maximum allowable members has increased from 4...
What is Probate and when is it required?
What is Probate: It is the official recognition by the Supreme Court that a Will is legally valid and those named as executors are authorised to administer the deceased person’s estate. Why do I need to apply: Certain organisations such as banks, nursing homes,...
New Casual Employee Fair Work Regulations
The Federal Government has recently introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Casual Loading Offset) Regulations 2018 in response to the Federal Court’s decision in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018]. The Federal Court found that an employer’s payment of casual loading will not...
The Dangers of Sham Contracting
The Fair Work Ombudsman has delivered a timely reminder for businesses to avoid dodgy sham contracting practices and of the risk of personal liability for directors and HR managers. The Federal Circuit Court has handed a Gold Coast tour bus operator a fine of $164,475...
Reverse Mortgage – Is it right for you?
Borrowing against your home A reverse mortgage can help older Australians unlock the wealth in their homes after retirement. However, there can be long-term financial risks. What is a reverse mortgage? A reverse mortgage is a type of loan that allows you to borrow...
Is not paying a worker legal?
Generally all workers must be paid for their work. However under the Fair Work Act certain unpaid work arrangements can be lawful. These arrangements can be valuable for both employees and employers for a number of reasons, including assessing a potential employee’s...
Flexible work arrangements – what happens to the employment contract?
While the benefits of flexible work arrangements are now well known, the prescriptive requirements of employees and employers when it comes to requesting these arrangements can be daunting. Employees who have worked continuously with the same employer for more than 12...
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