The joint associations (The Australian Bookkeepers Association, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, CPA Australia, the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, the Institute of Public Accountants, the SMSF Association and The Tax Institute) welcome the ATO’s publication of two draft PS LAs, Draft Practice Statement Law Administration PS LA 2026/D1 on Administration of penalties for failure to comply with superannuation member account reporting obligations and Draft Practice Statement Law Administration PS LA 2026/D2 on Administration of penalties for failure to comply with Single Touch Payroll reporting obligations intended to support consistent and transparent administration of penalties for non‑compliance with (a) superannuation member account reporting (Member Accounts Attribution Service and Member Accounts Transaction Service, or MAAS/MATS) and (b) Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting.  We acknowledge the importance of timely and accurate reporting given its downstream impacts for individuals, the tax system, and superannuation outcomes.

It is clear that MAAS/MATS and STP reporting are key tools for ATO administration of the superannuation system including employer compliance with Superannuation Guarantee. We provide further feedback about this at the end of this submission.

Summary of key concerns

It is important to remember that where monetary penalties are imposed on superannuation trustees, regardless of whether the fault lies with trustees or third-party administrators, any penalties borne will be ultimately charged to all members of the fund.

Further, we have significant concerns about the practical operation of the penalty framework in cases where:

• errors arise from third‑party intermediaries (outsourced administrators, payroll software, and system transitions); and
• penalties can scale per member or per payee, potentially creating disproportionate outcomes where a single error affects large populations.

Accordingly, our submission focuses on proportionality and aggregation, safe harbour and outsourcing protections, and clarity of reasonable care and correction pathways (including grace periods and remission expectations).

These issues are particularly relevant in the context of the transition to Payday Super, where MAAS/MATS and STP reporting will play an expanded and interdependent role in monitoring employer compliance with Superannuation Guarantee obligations on a near‑real‑time basis.

We have put forward recommendations for the ATO to review.