The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has signaled that it will not be taking its eye of the ball with respect to employers delivering on their superannuation guarantee obligations this financial year.
In an outline of its compliance focus for 2013/14, the ATO said that it expected to contact around 19,500 employers as a result of complaints from employees that they were not receiving superannuation guarantee contributions.
The ATO said that some industries presented a higher risk of employers not complying with their superannuation guarantee obligations, and that as a result it would be closely monitoring cafes and restaurants, carpentry services and real estate services.
It reminded employers that they could be held accountable for their company’s unpaid superannuation guarantee debt under the new director penalty regime.
“Last financial year, we transferred more than $275 million of employer super contributions to member accounts after compliance action,” the ATO said.
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
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