Legislation currently being debated in Parliament will introduce a new criminal offence for intentional “wage theft”. If enacted, in
addition to the criminal offence, a fine will apply.
The fine is three times the underpayment and:
The reforms are not intended to capture unintentional mistakes and a compliance ‘safe harbour’ will be introduced by the Fair Work Ombudsman
for small businesses.
In addition to addressing wage theft, the Bill also seeks to:
What happens when a trust appoints income to a private company beneficiary but does not actually make the payment?
The tax treatment of this unpaid amount was at the centre of a recent case before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) that saw a taxpayer successfully challenge the ATO’s long held position (Bendel and Commissioner of Taxation [2023] AATA 3074). For many years, the ATO’s position has been that if a trust appoints income to a private company beneficiary but does not actually make the payment, this unpaid amount can be treated as a loan. Under Division 7A of the tax rules, these loans can be taxed as unfranked dividends unless they are managed using a complying loan agreement with annual principal and interest repayments.
This AAT decision challenges an important ATO position, with the tax outcomes being potentially significant for trust clients that currently owe (or may have owed in the past) unpaid trust entitlements to related private companies.
But this is not the end of this story. On 26 October 2023, the Tax Commissioner lodged a notice of appeal to the Federal Court. There is no guarantee that the Federal Court will reach the same conclusion as the AAT. We will need to wait and see.
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Lunch & Learn Workshop // 4 September, 2026 - 12:00 - 1:30pm
$35pp includes lunch
Many business owners believe growth comes from more sales. But in reality, the strongest and most profitable
businesses grow by improving how the business works, not just by selling more. This session is designed to change that. The
5-Critical Financial Metrics
is a practical workshop that shows you where small, targeted changes can create disproportionately big improvements in profit, cashflow and
sustainability.
Lunch & Learn Workshop // 26 June, 2026 - 12:00 - 1:30pm
$35pp includes lunch
This session is designed to change that. Pricing, Profit &
Your Ideal Client
is a practical workshop that helps you understand where your
profit really comes from,
how pricing decisions affect margins, and why working with clients that align with your business makes a measurable difference to both
profit and cashflow.
AI-Enhanced Automation for Accounting and Finance Professionals: Leveraging RPA, VBA, ChatGPT, and Copilot for Innovation and
Productivity.
Join SkyBots’ 2-day Workshop in MELBOURNE with automation expert Daryl Aw to revolutionise your workflow using Power
Automate, UiPath, VBA,
and cutting-edge
Agentic AI. Tailored for accounting and finance professionals, bookkeepers and small business owners,
this hands-on training will teach you to automate repetitive tasks, generate and optimise VBA scripts, and deploy robust automation
solutions independently.
AI-Enhanced Automation for Accounting and Finance Professionals: Leveraging RPA, VBA, ChatGPT, and Copilot for Innovation and
Productivity.
Join SkyBots’ 2-day Workshop in BRISBANE with automation expert Daryl Aw to revolutionise your workflow using Power
Automate, UiPath, VBA,
and cutting-edge
Agentic AI. Tailored for accounting and finance professionals, bookkeepers and small business owners,
this hands-on training will teach you to automate repetitive tasks, generate and optimise VBA scripts, and deploy robust automation
solutions independently.
Lunch & Learn Workshop // 27 March, 2026 - 12:00 - 1:30pm
$35pp includes lunch
Many business owners are surprised to learn that most businesses don’t fail because they’re unprofitable - they fail because they run
out of cash. This session is designed to change that. Cashflow Essentials is a
practical workshop that shows you how cash really moves through your business, why cash pressure happens, and how to stay in control
- even while you’re growing.
Lunch & Learn Workshop // 27 Feb, 2026 - 12:00 - 1:30pm
$35pp includes lunch
If you’re like most business owners, you receive financial reports, and you have your accounting software, but you don’t always feel
confident interpreting them. This workshop is designed to change that.
Know Your Numbers is a practical, plain-English
workshop that teaches you how to
properly read and understand your core financial reports - and,
more importantly, how they work together to show the real health of your business.
The Fringe Benefits Tax year (FBT) ends on 31 March. We explore the problem areas likely to attract the ATO’s attention.
On 31 March, the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends. With the ever increasing budget deficits, the ATO will be reviewing whether all employers who should be paying FBT are, and that they are paying the right amount. Who needs to lodge a FBT return? Find out here.
AI-Enhanced Automation for Accounting and Finance Professionals: Leveraging RPA, VBA, ChatGPT, and Copilot for Innovation and
Productivity.
Join SkyBots’ 2-day Workshop in PERTH with automation expert Daryl Aw to revolutionise your workflow using Power
Automate, UiPath, VBA,
and cutting-edge
Agentic AI. Tailored for accounting and finance professionals, bookkeepers and small business owners,
this hands-on training will teach you to automate repetitive tasks, generate and optimise VBA scripts, and deploy robust automation
solutions independently.
If you’re a director of a small business, Payday Super isn’t just an HR or payroll issue. It’s a governance issue that could directly affect your personal legal exposure.
Payday Super doesn’t just change when you pay super. It also changes how super is calculated. If you’re a small business owner, it’s important to understand these shifts — because they could affect how much you owe and for which employees.
One of the most important things to understand about Payday Super isn’t just that you need to pay super more often. It’s that the consequences of getting it wrong are more severe than under the current system.
If your business uses the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) to process super payments, this is important: the service is shutting down on 1 July 2026, and it’s not coming back.
When Payday Super kicks in on 1 July 2026, it won’t just change when you pay super. It will change how much your payroll system has to do, how often it has to do it, and how little room there is for error.
From 1 July 2026, the new Payday Super rules require you to pay super at the same time as your employees’ wages. For small businesses, this is one of the most impactful changes in years - and the biggest area it will hit is your cash flow.
On 31 March, the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends. With the ever increasing budget deficits, the ATO will be reviewing whether all employers who should be paying FBT are, and that they are paying the right amount. Who needs to lodge a FBT return? Find out here.
If you’re a director of a small business, Payday Super isn’t just an HR or payroll issue. It’s a governance issue that could directly affect your personal legal exposure.
