What are your STP Phase 2 plans? Time’s running out

The Australian government announced during the 2019/20 budget that Single Touch Payroll (STP) would be including further information to assist with reducing the admin for employers and social security systems. This meant that all payroll software providers and their clients would need to be ready for STP Phase 2 reporting by January 1 2022 which is only months away.

STP will essentially remain the same; it still sends gross pay, tax and superannuation information with every pay run. However, STP Phase 2 includes additional reporting information required by other government departments. These changes will lower the reporting costs for employers and make life easier all round.
The majority of payroll providers have not yet made the transition to be ready for the 2022 deadline, and are actively seeking compliance date deferrals (the deadline for deferral application is 31 October 2021). However, there are some providers that have already taken the necessary steps to be ready for Phase 2 and OZEDI has been proud to be a part of this process with many of these providers.

During a recent webinar in September, the ATO announced that there are currently 15 software providers who have gone through the process and been whitelisted for STP Phase 2. Of these, OZEDI is pleased to have assisted over 50% through the process, including the very first software provider to be whitelisted for STP Phase 2. From initial planning, through end to end testing and finally sign off and approval from the ATO to go live, OZEDI has worked with our clients through the transition to make it as seamless as possible.

So how can you enable your software for STP Phase 2?

There are a number of steps that are required and we’d be lying if we said it was a straight forward flick of the switch. However, with the right help and guidance, the process can be made easier. Depending on the sophistication of your software, you may have to undertake up to 61 test scenarios for the ATO to give you the tick of approval to go live. OZEDI will work with you through your personalised whitelisting journey.

There is an expectation from the ATO that all software developers validate their XML prior to upload, and to assist with this, OZEDI offers a free end to end test environment for all of our clients to utilise. Within this environment we have added a new feature that allows our clients to validate their XML and also checks for valid ABNs and TFNs. Our onboarding team will turn this feature on for you at no charge; in fact, OZEDI clients only pay transacting fees when they move into Production and begin sending STP payloads through to the ATO.
Also, OZEDI can now generate the XML for you using our simplified transformation service; we take your flat file and do the required transformation work so you don’t have to.
At OZEDI, we charge based on message size which includes compressed XML data to ensure you pay less per transaction based on the data size transferred to the ATO. There is a full document to explain how to get started and work through the testing process that we provide to all clients.

Ready to get started?

Many of your clients will be looking to see whether your software will be ready and when. As it can be a complex process, it’s essential to have a plan to be able to let them know your expected timelines. Whether you need to defer or you’re ready to get started now, OZEDI is here to help and discuss the best plan of action for your business and the unique characteristics your software may have.

For more information, please visit our Single Touch Payroll for Software Providers page or contact our onboarding team here