✦ Plain-English Summary

Payment Times Reporting (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020

What it does

This bill makes technical changes to tax laws so they work properly with a new law about payment times reporting. It allows the tax office to share information with a regulator who oversees payment practices, specifically so the regulator can identify which businesses have to report their payment times.

Why it matters

It's about making sure the right government agencies can talk to each other and enforce payment reporting rules without breaking privacy laws. This supports small businesses by helping ensure larger companies actually pay them on time—the underlying law tracks whether big businesses are meeting their payment obligations.

Key details

• Information sharing: The tax office can now share records with the payment times regulator to check if a company is required to report. This only applies to information about whether a business qualifies as a "reporting entity."
• Commencement: Different parts start at different times—some when the main Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 kicks in, others when the new Federal Circuit and Family Court starts operating.
• Scope: The change applies to any information obtained before, during, or after the law comes into effect, so the regulator can use existing tax data.

Official Description

Introduced with the Payment Times Reporting Bill 2020, the bill amends the: Taxation Administration Act 1953 to enable the Commissioner of Taxation to disclose certain tax information to the Payment Times Reporting Regulator for the purposes of administering the Payment Times Reporting Scheme; and Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 , when enacted, to make amendments contingent on the commencement of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2020 .

Committee Referrals

Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

No votes yet.

No votes were recorded for this bill.