The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer has stressed the likelihood of jail terms for employers who fail to meet their superannuation guarantee (SG) obligations.
Speaking on radio, O’Dwyer said it was the Government’s intention that SG recalcitrants should face up to 12 months’ jail.
“We are going to jail people for 12 months if in fact they don't pay the superannuation that they should,” she said. “We have said to those businesses you've got to get your house in order. We are strengthening the powers of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to be able to go after that unpaid super.”
The minister said that businesses now had a 12 month amnesty to come forward with respect to SG underpayments and to “pay every single dollar that you owe to those employees who you haven't paid including interest so that they are no worse off”.
“The Government will forego the penalty that the business would have otherwise paid to the Government because we want to turbocharge people being paid the money that they are owed and that will help around 50,000 people get access to around $230 million of their own money,” she said.
Australia’s superannuation sector is being held back by overlapping and outdated regulation, ASFA says, with compliance costs almost doubling in seven years – a drain on member returns and the economy alike.
Two of Australia’s largest industry super funds have thrown their support behind an ASIC review into how stamp duty is disclosed in investment fee reporting, saying it could unlock more capital for housing projects.
The corporate watchdog is preparing to publish a progress report on private credit this September, following a comprehensive review of the rapidly expanding market.
The fund has appointed Fotine Kotsilas as its new chief risk officer, continuing a series of executive changes aimed at driving growth, but NGS Super’s CEO has assured the fund won’t pursue growth for growth’s sake.