Meaning of employee for super guarantee purposes

22 Jul, 2024

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has recently released a draft update to Taxation Ruling TR 2023/4, which includes retrospective changes to its guidelines on determining when an individual qualifies as an “employee” for Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding purposes. This draft update introduces a new appendix that outlines the ATO’s interpretation of what constitutes an employee under the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) legislation. This new appendix is set to replace the existing ruling, SGR 2005/1.

The updated appendix will focus on defining an employee according to the expanded meaning provided in sections 12(2) to 12(10) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (SGAA). This expanded definition aims to clarify and extend the criteria used to determine employee status, ensuring consistency and clarity in how superannuation guarantee obligations are applied. The retrospective nature of these changes means that they will affect past assessments and could impact how superannuation contributions and PAYG withholding are handled for prior periods.

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Meaning of employee for super guarantee purposes

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