CA ANZ supports clearer guidance on super obligations in intermediary arrangements.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), together with six other peak accounting, tax, bookkeeping and superannuation bodies, has lodged a submission to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on Draft Superannuation Guarantee Ruling SGR 2026/D1, which considers superannuation guarantee (SG) obligations in work arrangements involving intermediaries.

We welcome the ATO's efforts to modernise guidance that has remained largely unchanged since 2005. Given the significant developments in case law, workforce arrangements and compliance obligations over the past two decades, updated guidance is both timely and necessary. This is particularly important as employers prepare for Payday Super, where SG contributions will generally need to be paid much closer to the time salary and wages are paid. 

In our submission, we expressed support for the draft ruling while identifying several areas where additional clarification would help businesses, advisers and taxpayers navigate increasingly complex employment arrangements. We have recommended that the ATO provide clearer guidance on how SG employer tests interact with state and territory labour hire licensing schemes, expanded employee definitions under the Fair Work Act, and PAYG withholding obligations in tripartite arrangements. 

We also highlighted the need for greater certainty for the entertainment and creative industries, where intermediary arrangements are common and SG obligations can arise under specific provisions of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 that are not currently addressed in the draft ruling.

To support compliance in a Payday Super environment, we have encouraged the ATO to include practical examples showing how employers can identify the entity responsible for SG obligations and document arrangements where another entity fulfils those obligations on its behalf. We have also recommended that related ATO guidance be updated to ensure a consistent approach across worker classification and superannuation guidance materials.

We will continue to engage with the ATO on behalf of our members to support practical, clear and consistent guidance that provides greater certainty for employers and advisers