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4 Check you’re paying to the right place Your employees are generally entitled to choose their super fund, unless they are under an enterprise agreement or workplace determination. You need to provide them with a standard choice form so they can advise you of their chosen fund. You also need to nominate a default fund that you will pay their contributions into if they don’t choose a fund. The standard choice form is available for download at ato.gov.au/choiceform The super fund selected must meet specific legal requirements. You can check whether a fund is complying by going to Super Fund Lookup superfundlookup.gov.au/
5 Check you’re paying the right way You must pay the SuperStream way. This means you pay your employees’ super, and send associated data, electronically. The data needs to be in a standard format so it can be transmitted consistently across the super system – between employers, funds, service providers and the ATO. The data is linked to the payment by a unique payment reference number. There are a number of ways you can pay super to ensure you’re meeting the SuperStream standard. These include using your payroll system, your super fund’s online system or a super clearing house.
The benefit of a super clearing house is that you make a single electronic payment and the clearing house distributes the money into your employees’ funds on your behalf, in the standard SuperStream format. The ATO offers a free super clearing house for small businesses with 19 or fewer employees, or annual turnover below $10 million. The service is called the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) and is one option to ensure you are paying super correctly. Information on how to access the service can be found at ato.gov.au/sbsuperclearinghouse
6 Check you’re keeping accurate records And of course, you need to keep accurate records. You must be able to show the ATO how much super you paid each of your employees and how it was calculated. You must also be able to show you offered each eligible employee their choice of super fund. You can use whatever method suits you best to keep records, but they must be in English (or in a format that can be easily accessed and converted into written English). You must keep records for five years. This is the case with tax and super. If you keep electronic records, software must be available to access older floppy discs, CDs or computer records. Finally, you can also visit ATO Community at community.ato.gov.au to ask specific questions about your own situation.
32 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand
“The ATO takes the nonpayment of SG seriously. Superannuation provides income for workers in retirement. Employers that are failing to pay super to their employees are taking away money from their retirement.” For information on Super for employers visit ato.gov.au/superforemployers (you can also enter search terms on the ATO website). John Ford is an Assistant Commissioner, who has been with the ATO since 1998. He has held senior roles in a number of areas within the tax office. Having most recently led the ATO operational response to the Panama and Paradise papers, John moved to Superannuation in February 2018 and now leads Engagement and Assurance. In this role he works closely with the superannuation industry and leads over 400 officers across the country who administer the superannuation compliance program. John is also the chair of the Superannuation Risk Committee that is responsible for identifying, assessing and ensuring treatment strategies are in place. Find a list of the supporting services for small business at ato.gov.au/sbsupport For information on small business, visit ato.gov.au/business (you can also enter search terms on the ATO website). For information specific to franchising and tax, visit ato.gov.au/franchise
