Over 50,000 employers across Australia have now changed the way they make super contributions in line with the ATO’s SuperStream reforms. Through these employers, over 1 million super contributions are being made in the SuperStream standard every month, marking a significant milestone.
June 30 marks the date for when medium to large employers (those with 20 or more employees) must be SuperStream compliant. These employers should already be well progressed on their implementation.
Philip Hind, ATO’s National Program Manager, Data Standards & E-Commerce (SuperStream) says the ATO is seeing significant progress in employers changing the way they make super contributions. “We’re impressed with the commitment of many employers to get SuperStream ready. We’re now seeing well over 1 million SuperStream contributions made each month and this will continue to grow in the lead-up to the 30 June deadline for medium-large employers. There will also be rapid increases in SuperStream contributions as small employers get on board,” Mr Hind said.
The ATO expects that over 25 million member contributions will be processed using the SuperStream electronic standard during the first full year of operation (from July 2015). Many employers are able to continue using their current electronic channels with only minor tweaking and still be compliant with the new standard.
Mr Hind said there are already some clear indicators of success being reported with more automated and faster processing of super contributions to member accounts, as well as employers saving time and costs in their business. “For employers, SuperStream is cutting red tape by making all super payments electronic and introducing a standard way to pay contributions,” Mr Hind said. “We know that making multiple super contributions to multiple funds has been a time consuming and often complex process for employers or their staff. Some employers have cut processing times from several hours to minutes once they have put SuperStream in place,” he said.
There are many options available for employers to adopt SuperStream. This may include upgrading their current payroll software, using a clearing house service or their default super fund’s portal. “Contact your payroll provider or default fund to ensure you will have a compliant solution available in time,” says Mr Hind.
“Employers can also check the SuperStream Certified Product Register which enables them to identify the readiness of payroll software and other service providers to meet SuperStream requirements. This is updated regularly by the ATO. http://softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au/sites/default/files/resource-attachments/SuperStream_Certified_Product_Register_v3.0_2015-03-13.pdf
The ATO warns that time is running out for the remaining large and medium-sized employers to become SuperStream compliant. Any employer who has not yet started to prepare needs to act now. The ATO has provided a step-by-step checklist to help employers prepare, at ato.gov.au/SuperStreamChecklist.