The Tax Ombudsman has reported a dramatic 127% increase in complaints about the ATO this financial year (to 30 April 2026), with nearly 3,000 complaints received in the first ten months. Debt collection, penalties, and tax debt interest charges have dominated the issues raised. Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen has linked the sharp rise directly
The ATO is sharpening its focus on how taxpayers generating income from personal services deal with that income for tax purposes. In a recent Spotlight bulletin, Small Business Assistant Commissioner Tony Poulakis highlighted the release of Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2025/5. This guideline clarifies the ATO’s compliance approach to the “alienation” of personal services
One of the most significant changes to the Australian superannuation system in decades has now commenced. From 1 July 2026, Payday Super requires employers to ensure super contributions reach employee super funds within seven business days of each payday. For many businesses, this represents a major shift from a quarterly payment cycle to a
Since the Federal Treasurer handed down the 2026-27 Federal Budget on 12 May 2026 there has been a significant amount of commentary on some of the more controversial proposals, including the decision to replace the CGT discount with an indexation system and impose a 30% minimum tax rate on discretionary trusts. Since our latest
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has confirmed that all surcharges on credit and debit card payments — across eftpos, Mastercard and Visa — will be banned from 1 October 2026. This represents one of the most significant updates to Australia’s payments landscape in years and will have a direct impact on businesses and
From 1 July 2026, many professional service providers, including accountants, lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agents and trust and company service providers, will be required to complete additional customer checks before providing certain services. These changes are designed to help protect customers, businesses and the wider community from financial crime. For BDHL Advisory clients, this means
The end of the financial year is fast approaching. For SMSF members and trustees, a few timely checks now can avoid headaches later and help preserve valuable tax and contribution opportunities. Below is a checklist of the things members and trustees should consider before 30 June. Contributions - timing matters Get contributions into the
The 2026–27 Federal Budget, released on 12 May 2026, has received more attention than most budgets in recent years. With proposed changes to negative gearing, the CGT discount and the taxation of trusts, this is a budget that has the potential to materially impact on property investors, business owners and families using discretionary trusts. However,
Following the recent release of the December 2025 quarter average weekly ordinary times earnings (AWOTE) the annual concessional contribution (CC) cap will increase from $30,000 to $32,500 from 1 July 2026. The annual non-concessional contribution (NCC) cap will also increase to $130,000. When considering contribution opportunities some individuals may have higher caps due to
As tax time approaches, so does the annual spike in scam calls pretending to be from the ATO. These calls are becoming increasingly convincing — and increasingly costly for those who get caught by them. The ATO has now launched a simple, powerful solution: the ‘verify call’ feature in the free ATO app. Rolled
