Salary/Wages, Superannuation, Return to Work SA & Payroll Tax Matrix

Ordinary salary or wages

Payments to an employee need to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Ordinary hours per award or agreement Yes Yes Yes Yes
All hours if no ordinary hours of work stipulated (i.e. salary) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Casual employee –
Shift-loadings Yes Yes Yes Yes
Overtime payments Yes or No Yes Yes
Piece-rates – no ordinary hours of work stipulated Yes Yes Yes Yes

Overtime

Payments to an employee need to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Overtime hours - award stipulates ordinary hours to be worked and employee works additional hours for which they are paid overtime rates Yes No Yes Yes
Overtime hours – agreement prevailing over award Yes No Yes Yes
Casual employee whose hours are paid at overtime rates due to a ‘bandwidth’ clause Yes No Yes Yes
Overtime component of earnings based on ‘hourly driving rate’ formula stipulated in award Yes No Yes Yes

Fringe Benefits

Payments to an employee need to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Fringe Benefits Yes / No * Yes, if total taxable value exceeds $2,000 No Yes # Yes, At type 2 grossed up amount

Contractors

Payments to an employee need to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Independent Contractor (contract for service) Yes / No Speak to your accountant No No No
Independent Contractor (contract wholly or principally for labour) Yes / No Speak to your accountant Yes Yes / No conditions apply Yes / No conditions apply
Contract of Service (under employment contract) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Directors' Remuneration

Payments to an employee need to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Non working Yes Yes No Yes
Working Yes Yes Yes Yes

Allowances

Payments to an employee need to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Allowance by way of unconditional extra payment Yes Yes Yes Yes
Allowance for expected deductible expenses i.e. tools, laundry Yes * No Yes Yes
Allowance for expected non-deductible expenses i.e. part-day travel, motor vehicle travel for non work related time Yes Yes Yes Yes
Danger allowance Yes Yes Yes Yes
Retention allowance Yes Yes Yes Yes
Hourly on-call allowance in relation to ordinary hours of work Yes Yes Yes Yes
Hourly on-call allowance in relation to work outside of ordinary hours Yes No Yes Yes
Motor Vehicle Allowance – allowance not in excess of business kilometres travelled x ATO cents per kilometer rate (not limited to 5000km) Yes * No No No
Motor Vehicle Allowance - allowance in excess of business kilometres travelled x ATO cents per kilometre rate Yes * Yes Yes Yes
Accommodation Allowance < ATO reasonable amount expected to be fully expended No No No No

* Separately reportable. Do not include in Gross Payments.

# Do not include these payments if the fringe benefit is not a quantifiable monetary value.

Payment of expenses

Payments to an employee to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Reimbursement No No No No
Petty cash No No No No
Reimbursement of travel costs No No No No
Payments for unfair dismissal ETP Payment Summary No No Yes / No Any amounts which are exempt from income tax are exempt for payroll tax

Workers' compensation (if reimbursed by Return to Work SA)

Payments to an employee to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Returned to work Yes Yes No Yes
Not working Yes No No No

Leave payments

Payments to an employee to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Annual leave Yes Yes
Parental Leave - Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave Yes No Yes Yes
Ancillary Leave – e.g. Jury Duty, Defence Forces Reserves Leave Yes No No If under the Paid Parental Leave Act No 14 week exemption
Long Service Leave Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sick Leave Yes Yes Yes Yes
Leave Loading (documented and directly attributable to lost ability to work overtime) Yes No Yes Yes
Leave Loading (other) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Construction Industry Long Service Leave Contributions No No Yes No

Termination payments

Payments to an employee to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Termination payments – unused annual leave/long service leave Yes No No Yes
Employment Termination Payments (ETPs) - e.g. Redundancy Payments, Golden Handshakes, etc. Yes ETP payment summary No No Yes / No Any amounts which are exempt from income tax are exempt for payroll tax
Employment Termination Payments (ETPs) - Payment in Lieu of Notice Yes ETP payment summary Yes No Yes / No As above

Bonuses

Payments to an employee to be included PAYG Payment Summary Super 11.5% Return to Work SA Payroll Tax (SA)
Performance bonus Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bonus labeled as ex-gratia but in respect of ordinary hours of work Yes Yes Yes Yes
Christmas bonus Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bonus in respect of overtime only Yes No Yes Yes

Also note superannuation is not required if:

  • The employee is under 18 and working less than 30 hours per week

Note: Also for Return to Work SA and payroll tax purposes, all superannuation contributions are included in employee remuneration. 

For Return to Work SA: total remuneration reported is to include apprentices and eligible trainees, in addition to the separate disclosure of amounts paid to apprentices and eligible trainees.

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Disclaimer
The information provided in this fact sheet does not constitute advice. The information is of a general nature only and does not take into account your individual financial circumstances. We recommend that you contact Brentnalls SA to discuss your particular requirements or circumstances. This information should be used in conjunction with a review of the particular industry award. Current as of 1 July 2023.