Superstream update – is your business prepared?
The superstream changes start from 1 July 2014 for employers with 20 or more employees, and from 1 July 2015 for employers with fewer than 20 employees. Large employers have until 30 June 2015 to start using the new measures. Failure to do so will not incur penalties before 30 June 2015.
A summary of the changes include:
- Every employer will need to use a superannuation clearing house to pay their employee superannuation. This involves registering the business with the clearing house and uploading all employee information and superannuation details (generally into the clearing house website portal).
- When an employer pays their quarterly or monthly employee superannuation, their payroll system will send the data to the clearing house. At the same time a payment is made to the clearing house by the employer for the total superannuation figure for all employees. The clearing house will then both pay the individual employee’s superannuation to their fund, and also send an electronic message to the superfund giving the details of the superannuation contribution.
Therefore employers:
- Will have to choose a superannuation clearing house to use and register their business with that clearing house
- Will have to upload all employee details into the clearing house portal
- Will have to ensure their payroll system can handle the changes to meet the above requirements
- Start using the clearing house portal and making payments to the clearing house, by 1 July 2015.
Therefore superannuation funds, including SMSFs:
- Will need to ensure that they can receive the contribution message and superannuation payment through the clearing house.
- The superannuation fund will need to provide the employer, via the employee, with the fund ABN, banking details and electronic service address (ESA). The ESA can be obtained from many different providers. If an SMSF uses an online administration system, such as Class Super, then those administers may already have an ESA that the SMSF can use.
Exceptions:
- Related-party employers and their personal SMSFs are exempt from the Superstream changes. SMSFs with members who also work for non-related party employers will still need to register. If the employer has both related-party employees and normal employees, they will need to comply.
Talk to Geoff Morris at Billings and Ellis if any further clarification of Superstream changes is needed.
