SINGLE TOUCH Payroll (STP) reporting is off to a successful start, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), with around 40,000 employers already sending tax and super information from their payroll software each time they pay their employees.

The STP transition year for employers with 20 or more employees started on July 1, delivering on the commitment to streamline reporting obligations and make sure employers pay the right amount of super for their employees.

ATO assistant commissioner John Shepherd acknowledged the significant efforts undertaken by employers to change the way they report to the ATO and commended those involved in the design of STP.

“Software providers and tax professionals have done a great job getting their clients’ systems and processes ready for STP reporting. Their collaboration with the ATO in designing and ensuring the readiness of STP has made this first step in the implementation of STP a success,” Mr Shepherd said.

"Once an employer starts reporting through STP, they will no longer have to give their employees a payment summary (what many still call a Group Certificate). Employees will be able to access an income statement for each employer in ATO online services, accessed through myGov. STP data will be pre-filled into their tax return at the end of the financial year and made available to their registered tax agents.

“Over 2.5 million employees can already see their tax and super information being updated after every pay in myGov. This gives them a better picture of their super entitlements and more control over their retirement savings.

“As with any major transition we recognise that some payroll software providers may require additional time to transition their employer clients to STP-enabled software,” Mr Shepherd said.

Penalties generally won’t apply in this transition year as the ATO continues to focus on providing tailored support to employers as they commence their STP reporting.

Employers who need additional time can also apply using the ATO’s online form or by asking their tax or BAS agent to make an application on their behalf.

Around 73,000 employers with 20 or more employees are expected to transition to STP reporting this financial year. Around 15,000 small employers with 19 or fewer employees have also voluntarily started their STP reporting.

www.ato.gov.au

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COLLABORATIVE, diverse and inclusive company culture as well as access to networking and mentorship are critical to support career progression and retention of Women in STEM, according to Women in the STEM Workforce 18 keynote speaker and CSL Data Science head, Milica Ng.

Speaking at today’s Women in the STEM Workforce event and webinar (from 1.30pm-5pm AEST today, September 4) hosted by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute’s (AMSI) APR.Intern program in Melbourne, Dr Ng said she was proof women could have career success later and career changes and breaks were not a full stop to advancement.

“It is important women are supported with the flexibility to manage their careers and progression in a way that acknowledges their future potential and present needs,” Dr Ng said.. 

Dr Ng, who said she experienced her renaissance in her 40s when she was hungry for new challenges, believed women should not feel pressured to reach their career peak early or made to feel they need to accelerate their careers during time out or slowing of professional development. It is possible for women to have it all, but not all at the same time.

“To me, career pathways are more like a game of snakes and ladders rather than a straight ladder, the journey includes pauses and changes of direction, these are not full stops and shouldn’t be barriers to progression,” she said.

Women currently account for only 16 percent of the STEM workforce, with family pressures, isolation in male-dominated industries and lack of confidence –Tabcorp’s Advancing the STEM Conversation report (published in June 2017) revealed they are 55 percent more likely to doubt their capability than men – as key contributors. 

Dr Ng is an APR.Intern success story. Having been originally placed at CSL through its PhD internship program, she now supervises interns herself to help drive her team’s research. The program provided an ideal platform to kick-start her career.

“Through the internship I found my way into CSL, which offered a supportive environment with ample opportunities for learning, growth and advancement. Access to industry, gave me a pathway to build experience and a professional support network to accelerate my career,” Dr Ng said.

APR.Intern has been running for over a decade – initially as AMSIIntern – to place emerging specialist research talent at the frontline of industry. Over that period, AMSI director, Geoff Prince, said that while the program had increased the number of female placements, 67 percent have been male. 

“We are seeing slow increases but overall women are severely underrepresented across all areas of STEM," Professor Prices said. "APR.Intern is just one of the programs AMSI delivers to tackle gender equity across the pipeline."

Today’s event marks the first in a series planned by APR.Intern to identify and address barriers such as flexibility in the workplace, unconscious bias and lack of confidence, contributing to the low representation of women in the sector.  

Dr Ng was one of two keynotes at today’s event, with Chief Executive Women president, Kathryn Fagg also addressing 120 attendees and national viewers of the livestream event. 

With a focus on identifying and existing initiatives and new opportunities to address barriers for women in STEM, the event also included two powerful Q&A sessions featuring thought leaders and industry champions. Speakers included representatives from Westpac, Telstra, Alcoa, STA Superstar of STEM, IMNIS, Australian Academy of Science, Australian Research Council, Engineers Australia and SAGE Athena Swan.

“APR.Intern is committed to giving a voice to women in STEM and providing a platform to tackle systemic issues surrounding their engagement and career success," Prof. Prince said. "This is essential to building Australia’s ongoing STEM capability to support future innovation."

Women in the STEM Workforce 2018 is being live streamed across the country. The event will still be viewable online after the event on https://aprintern.org.au/women-in-stem-webinar/

www.amsi.org.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed the Palaszczuk Government’s release of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the new coking coal mine, Olive Downs, in central Queensland.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said Pembroke’s $1 billion Olive Downs project, near Moranbah, would further strengthen the resources sector’s contribution to the Queensland economy.

“Currently the resources sector in Queensland is creating a new job and investing $1 million every hour while exporting $1 billion every week and delivering almost $100 million to the Palaszczuk Government every week,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Olive Downs is a milestone project for Queensland which will create 500 jobs in the construction phase, 1000 once operational, produce 15 million tonnes of coal every year and will be one of the largest open cut coking coal mines in the world.”

Mr Macfarlane thanked State Development Minister Cameron Dick and Isaac region Mayor Anne Barker for their support of the resources sector.

“This is a clear and practical example of all levels of government working together to provide big city economic opportunities in regional towns of Moranbah, Dysart, Nebo, Middlemount. Jobs in the resources sector are high-tech and well-paid jobs with the highest average weekly full-time adult earnings of any industry at $2659 – or over $138,000 per annum,” he said.

“This is more good news for Queensland’s coal industry and highlights the strong fundamentals of Queensland’s coking coal from the Bowen Basin. It’s high-quality coal, close to ports and is produced at a lower cost to other markets including the US.”

The Queensland resources sector now provides one in every six dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State – with almost 7000 businesses in the Greater Brisbane region – all from 0.1 per cent of Queensland’s land mass, according to the QRC.

www.qrc.org.au

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QUEENSLAND’s resources sector is lifting the State’s prosperity by creating one job every hour and investing close to $1 million every hour, says the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the latest ABS data confirms the sustained commodity price recovery and larger production volumes were underpinning the State’s economy.

“In 2017-18 capex by resource companies in Queensland was $8.6 billion (up 4%) or $23.6 million every day and the sector created more than 8400 extra jobs in 12 months – the equivalent of one new job every hour,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Our sector accounts for 35 percent of all private capital expenditure in Queensland ($24.6b) and it’s the first year we’ve seen an increase in mining capital expenditure since 2013-14.

“Resource companies are committed to spending locally with Rio Tinto spending over $1.5 billion on goods and services with Queensland suppliers at its Amrun bauxite project near Weipa.

“From Toowoomba in the South to Weipa in the North resource companies are employing Queenslanders, investing in Queensland businesses and channelling billions in royalties to the Government. 

“The challenge ahead for the sector will be to find the right people with the right skills and QRC member companies invest $1 million annually into our education arm the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) to teach students STEM subjects and trade skills.” 

The Queensland resources sector now provides one in every six dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State – with almost 7000 businesses in the Greater Brisbane region – all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.

www.qrc.org.au

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THE ACCC has expressed preliminary concerns about the proposed merger of Siemens A.G.’s (Siemens) Mobility Division with Alstom S.A. (Alstom), which are detailed in a Statement of Issues published today.

“A combined Siemens-Alstom would be by far the largest supplier of heavy rail signalling in Australia,” ACCC chair Rod Sims said.

The ACCC’s review has focussed on signalling systems for heavy rail passenger networks, particularly train interlocking systems and automatic train protection (ATP) systems. Signalling systems provide safety and traffic management controls on rail networks.

Interlockings are the core of a signalling system; they set routes for the safe movement of trains across railway lines. Train protection systems ensure that trains comply with movement authorities issued by the interlockings.

“The ACCC’s preliminary view is that the proposed merger may substantially lessen competition in the supply of heavy rail signalling systems for passenger rail networks in Australia, in particular interlocking systems and ATP systems. The loss of competition could result in increased prices for customers, or lower levels of service, quality, or innovation,” Mr Sims said.

“We have heard from many industry participants who have expressed competition concerns with the merger. We will continue to evaluate the competitive options available to passenger rail networks in Australia."

The proposed merger is also being reviewed by overseas competition regulators, including the European Commission.

“The ACCC is liaising closely with overseas competition regulators, as some of these potential competition issues may also arise in other countries,” Mr Sims said.

The ACCC invites further submissions from interested parties in response to the Statement of Issues by 20 September 2018. The ACCC’s final decision is due on 29 November 2018.

The Statement of Issues is available on the public register: Siemens A.G and Alstom S.A propose to combine Siemen's mobility business with Alstom.

THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) believes July trade figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) represent a fair trade for July, with a 2.89 percent total growth year-on-year.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA, said July’s trade figures were driven by strong growth in the Supermarket category which reached a 4 percent year-on-year growth.

“With food accounting for the bulk of overall retail trade, this July we saw Specialised food reach a 5.7 percent year-on-year growth and Liquor receive a 3 percent increase,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Although the latest Roy Morgan Net Trust Score survey revealed the most trusted industry is the retail sector, retailers still need a consumer confidence boost.”

With retailers facing increased overheads, the ARA saw Clothing, footwear and personal accessories suffer a low year-on-year growth of 2.74 percent.

“July is always a tough month for fashion retailers because their winter stock slows down and their summer stock hasn’t had enough time to gain traction,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“This July we saw Clothing retail reach a 4.10 percent growth year-on-year, compared to a 7.35 percent increase received in June. Further to this, we saw Footwear and personal accessories post a -0.02 percent decline in July compared to the 1.05 percent increase this category received in June.”

Across the country, Victoria (5.15%) and Tasmania (4.48%) showed the strongest growth in July, closely followed by New South Wales (3.36%), the Australian Capital Territory (3.34%) and South Australia (2.68%). Queensland (1.65%) and the Northern Territory (0.68%) remained steady, while Western Australia (-1.50%) was in negative territory for the third month in a row.

“With many businesses celebrating their end of financial year functions, Cafés, restaurant and takeaway food services saw a moderate to high year-on-year growth of 2.9 percent,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“We also saw the Pharmaceutical, cosmetic and toiletry category receive a 3 percent year-on-year increase with this year’s winter ending on a cold note.”

Moving forward, the ARA would like retailers to see external factors put out of mind for retailers, who are hoping for a consumer confidence boost to assist with sales.

“Retail can only survive with increased business and consumer confidence,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“And this confidence is driven by personal tax cuts and a strong and stable Government.”

Monthly Retail Growth (June 2018 - July 2018 seasonally adjusted) 

Other retailing (1.70%), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.61%), Food retailing (0.34%), Household goods retailing (-1.20%), Department stores (-1.89%) and Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-1.97%).

Queensland (0.77%), Victoria (-0.02%), New South Wales (-0.15%), Tasmania (-0.33%), South Australia (-0.33%), Western Australia (-0.58%), Australian Capital Territory (-0.62%) and Northern Territory (-1.60%).

Total sales (-0.01%).

Year-on-Year Retail Growth (July 2017 – July 2018 seasonally adjusted)

Food retailing (4.04%), Cafés, restaurants and takeaway food services (2.90%), Other retailing (2.86%), Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (2.74%), Household goods retailing (1.08%) and Department stores (0.63%).

Victoria (5.15%), Tasmania (4.48%), New South Wales (3.36%), Australian Capital Territory (3.34%), South Australia (2.68%), Queensland (1.65%), Northern Territory (0.68%) and Western Australia (-1.50%),

Total sales (2.89%).

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak industry body, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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THE POTENTIAL has grown for more Queensland jobs, exports and royalties from the State’s critical resources sector, with a 22 percent increase in exploration spending for minerals and petroleum over the last 12 months.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said total investment in exploration for minerals and petroleum was $442.1 million last financial year – an $80 million or 22 percent increase – compared with 2016-17.

“An increased investment is an increased investment in future jobs, future exports and future royalties for Queenslanders,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“The Queensland Resources Council is working with the Government to ensure we have stable and predictable policy for the sustainable, competitive and stable development of the State’s resources for the benefit of all Queenslanders.”

Mr Macfarlane said the resources sector was already performing well on jobs by creating a new role every hour, on exports by delivering $1 billion in overseas sales every week, and on royalties delivering almost $100 million to the Palaszczuk Government every week.

“The increase in exploration spending has been across commodities and reflects the role the resources sector plays in supporting new infrastructure, the expansion of renewable energy, the growth in electric vehicles and battery storage,” he said.

“The strongest growth was in base metals - copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel and cobalt with exploration increasing by 53% over the 2017-18 financial year from $57.6 million to $88 million.”

During 2017-18, the growth included:

• gold exploration up 21% from $51 million in 2016-17 to $61.7 million in 2017-18;
• copper exploration increased by 41% over the 2017-18 financial year, from $38.2 million to 53.8 million; and
• petroleum exploration increased by 5% over the 2017-18 financial year from $154.9 million to $162.6 million. Up 22% over the quarter.

Queensland Exploration Council chair Brad John said the increased exploration investment reflected not only confidence in the sector and its future, but it also highlighted the importance of the Palaszczuk Government’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative and its commitment to release more land for exploration.

The Government has been seeking expressions of interest from explorers for:

• 44,000 square kilometres for gas and coal
• 1107 square kilometres in the North West Minerals Province
• authorities to prospect for petroleum and gas over 17,245 square kilometres
• 540 square kilometres for coal exploration

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has welcomed a contribution by Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) of $35,000 worth of hay to the drought relief organisation Rural Aid.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the resources sector and the Queensland Government had rallied together to help support farming communities affected by the drought.

“I’d like to personally thank Queensland Alumina for providing around 350 large bales of much needed hay to farmers which was sourced from the refinery’s land in Gladstone,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“This week New Hope Group donated $50,000 to Aussie Helpers while Shell Australia ($100,000), Rio Tinto ($100,000) and Santos ($116,000) contributed funds to the Queensland Drought Appeal along with the Queensland Government’s $100,000 contribution.

"Arrow Energy provided lunch for 550 farmers for Beef Week, along with $10,000 towards feed for livestock at the Ekka."

Mr Macfarlane said all droughts bring extreme hardship and the impact flows through to the local butcher, barber and supermarket.

“Everyone feels the economic pain when the farms are in trouble. I strongly encourage everyone if they can to dig deep and donate what they can.”

www.qrc.org.au

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