Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Michael Sukkar MP)General outline and financial impact
Superannuation guarantee amnesty
The Superannuation guarantee amnesty provides for a one-off amnesty to encourage employers to self-correct historical SG non-compliance.
The amendments also limit the Commissioner's ability to remit penalties for historical SG non-compliance, where an employer fails to disclose information relevant to their historical SG shortfall. This is intended to strengthen the operation of the amnesty through legislated minimum penalties on employers who fail to come forward.
This complements the Government's package of reforms to improve SG compliance, which were recently enacted through the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 4) Act 2019 . The recent reforms improve the visibility of SG payments to the ATO, introduce stronger penalties for non-compliance and ensure more reliable collection of liabilities for unpaid SG in the future.
Date of effect: The amendments generally apply from 24 May 2018.
Proposal announced: The majority of the amendments in this Schedule were previously introduced on 24 May 2018 in the House of Representatives as part of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Superannuation Measures No. 1) Bill 2018 . The amendments ensuring a minimum penalty applies for employers that do not voluntarily disclose historical SG non-compliance during the amnesty period were announced on 14 November 2018 during an address by the then Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Stuart Robert MP to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia. The amendments extending the original 12-month amnesty period have not previously been announced.
Financial impact: The measure is estimated to result in a gain to the budget of $99 million in fiscal balance terms over the period 2018-19 to 2022-23, with the following profile:
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
| $43m | -$10m | $32m | $22m | $12m |
Human rights implications: This Bill does not raise any human rights issue. See Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights - Chapter 2, paragraphs 2.1 to 2.6.
Compliance cost impact: Nil.