Parliament has now passed legislation to extend Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting to include all small employers (those with fewer than 20 employees) from 1 July 2019. STP is pay day reporting by employers to the ATO as it happens, this reporting having started on 1 July 2018 for large employers (20 or more employees).

Small employers can start reporting any time from the 1 July start date to 30 September 2019. ATO will grant deferrals to any small employer who requests additional time to start STP reporting. There will be no penalties for mistakes, missed or late reports for the first year.