1 July Changes
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE IS NOT THE ONLY CHANGE EFFECTIVE FROM 1ST JULY.
The minimum wage increases by 3% today (or from your first full pay period on or after 1st July), but don’t forget the other changes that are effective from today.
Here are some of the key changes to be aware of;
Single Touch Payroll is now compulsory for all employers
ETP Life Benefit Cap increased to $210,000
ETP Death Benefit Cap increased to $210,000
Tax free portion of redundancy and early retirement scheme base amount increased to $10,638
Tax free portion of redundancy and early retirement scheme amount per completed year increased to $5,320
Maximum super contribution base increased to $55,270 per quarter
High income threshold for unfair dismissal increased to $148,900
General Retail Industry Award Sunday Penalty rate decreased to 165% for full time and part time employees, 175% for casual employees
Fast Food Industry Award Sunday Penalty rate decreased to 125% for full time and part time employees, 150% for casual employees
At the start of each new financial year it’s important to conduct a review of your systems and processes. Here are a few steps to get you on the right track.
Review Your Awards
Base rates are not the only changes to awards, you should review every rate including penalties, overtime and allowances. If you pay your award covered employees an annualised salary you need to review these to ensure the employees are still paid at a higher rate than if they were paid at the award rates. The supporting documentation for the annualised salary may need to be updated and reissued to the employee.
There have been a number of new clauses inserted into Modern Awards – visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website to download the current version of your awards.
Check Your Systems
Don’t assume your software vendor has made the changes, always check it yourself for your own-piece-of-mind and to avoid problems down the track.
Inform Your Team
Ensure your Payroll and HR teams are aware of these changes, it’s important that they stay up to date with the legislation.
Update Your Documentation
If you have documents such as training guides, reference manuals, letter templates or excel workbooks that reference any of these items you need to make sure they are amended and reissued to the relevant people. If you don’t already have one, create a register of these items to simplify this process for next time.
It’s a busy time of year and it’s easy to overlook some of these changes. By investing the time now to get it right you will save yourself a lot more pain down the track. Payroll compliance needs to be a priority in every business, if you don’t have the knowledge or resources to get it right, engage someone who does.
