Mandating cash acceptance The Government recently announced that it was delivering on its commitment "to mandate cash acceptance for essential purchases by finalising regulations that require fuel and grocery retailers to accept cash from 1 January 2026." The changes mean that, from 1 January 2026 , most food and grocery retailers must accept cash for in-person transactions of $500 or less between 7am and 9pm. Small businesses with aggregate annual turnover under $10 million are generally exempted from this mandate. However, this mandate still applies to small businesses that choose to share a trademark with a large retailer. The Government noted that, in addition to the cash mandate for fuel and groceries, consumers also already have the option to pay their bills, including utilities, phone bills and council rates, in cash at their local Australia Post outlet through Post Billpay. The Government will review this mandate after three years, to ensure it is functioning as intended. We prepared a Special Topic article within our Practice Update - December 2025, if you want to read more on this topic – click here .

Preparing your business for Payday Super changes starting 1 July 2026 From 1 July 2026, employers will have to pay their employees’ compulsory Superannuation Guarantee ( SG ) contributions at the same time as they pay their salary and wages (ie. ordinary time earnings, OTE ). This is a change in the frequency of the payment rather than its calculation. With less than six months remaining, we believe it is very important to start preparing your business for these changes. We will outline some actionable steps that can be taken now to help manage the process to be compliant with the new changes leading up to 1 July 2026. These changes will apply to all Employers, whether they have pay cycles weekly, fortnightly, monthly or irregularly. SG contributions must generally arrive in an employee’s chosen super fund within 7 business days of each payday . Please note that in November 2025 we released a Tax Alert after the payday super rules received Royal Assent and became law summarising the changes employers need to be aware of - to read click here .

Christmas Parties & Gifts 2025 With the well-earned 2025 holiday season on the way, many employers will be planning to reward staff with a celebratory party or event. However, there are important issues to consider, including the possible FBT and income tax implications of providing 'entertainment' (including Christmas parties) to staff and clients.

Alternative providers to the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House Employers should start preparing for the permanent closure of the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House ( SBSCH ) on 1 July 2026. By acting now to find an alternative service, employers will: have an established process in place to pay super guarantee ( SG ) for the March and June quarters (if they currently pay quarterly); reduce the risk of late payment of SG for the June 2026 quarter due date (28 July), as the SBSCH will be already closed; have more time to set up their business cash flow to enable frequent payments of SG; and have finalised payments and downloaded any reports from the SBSCH before it closes permanently. Employers that are still using the SBSCH should be aware of the following key dates. 10 December 2025 — Super payments, along with instructions, must be received by 5.30 pm AEDT on this date. The ATO says payments received after this time will be processed from 2 January 2026. 28 January 2026 — December 2025 SG quarterly payments due date. February to March 2026 — Employers should move to an alternative option to the SBSCH. 28 April 2026 — March 2026 SG quarterly payments due date. 30 June 2026 — Final day for employers to use the service, make any final payments and download reports.  1 July 2026 — SBSCH is no longer available. Employers may already have other options readily available so they can exit from using the SBSCH ahead of time. They should check their existing software and payroll packages, as they may already include super functions they can use to pay SG. Otherwise, employers can look for options from super funds or digital service providers offering payroll services, software or commercial clearing houses.

New financial crime regulations start from 1 July 2026 – is your business going to be regulated? The Federal Government is introducing new financial crime regulation from 1 July 2026 . The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing ( AML/CTF ) regime will expand its scope to include a new cohort of higher‑risk services and providers, commonly described as “Tranche 2 entities” . For the last 30 years, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre ( AUSTRAC ) has regulated businesses in the financial services and gambling sectors, like banks and casinos. As money laundering methods becomes increasingly sophisticated and fast-moving, AUSTRAC is expanding their regulation to include services provided by high-risk sectors that work on the front line of high value transactions.