Senate debates

Thursday, 13 February 2020

Bills

Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Bill 2019; Second Reading

12:33 pm

Photo of Dean SmithDean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying, the Chief Executive of the Institute of Public Accountants, Andrew Conway, made his position and the position of his association very clear. He said:

The IPA supports this initiative as it incentivises employers to come forward and do the right thing by their employees by paying any unpaid superannuation in full.

He goes on to say:

It should be noted that employers will not be entirely off the hook – to use the amnesty they must pay all that is owing to their employees, including the high rate of nominal interest. However, the amnesty will make it easier to secure outstanding employee entitlements, by setting aside the penalties for late payment.

Employers that do not take advantage of the one-off amnesty will face significantly higher penalties if they are subsequently caught (a minimum 50 per cent on top of the SG Charge they owe). In addition, throughout the amnesty period the ATO will still continue its usual enforcement activity against employers.

This one-off amnesty should be supported to allow employers to wipe the slate clean and pay their workers what they're owed, as all Australians workers should be paid their entitlements in full.

The Government is further strengthening the ATO tools available in future to enforce compliance so the timing of this amnesty is appropriate.

That is a very powerful endorsement from the Institute of Public Accountants, Mr Andrew Conway, in regards to the initiative we are debating here this afternoon.

Let's be clear: 14,000 businesses coming forward with historical errors is a good thing for employees. That is thousands and thousands of superannuation accounts that will be topped up, not just with the original amount owed but also a generous interest component that exceeds the average superannuation earnings.

I'd like to briefly discuss the language that those on the other side and in the union movement are now using in this particular public policy area. The terms 'wage theft' and 'super theft' are highly emotive. They get good headlines, they build outrage but they don't reflect the reality of the experiences of employers across Australia. The reality is that in the vast majority of cases genuine mistakes happen—often due to misinterpretation of rules by employees themselves, not just errors by employers.

In other cases, as the CEO of the Institute of Public Accountants, Mr Andrew Conway, pointed out:

We acknowledge that small businesses can sometimes experience cash flow issues, making them vulnerable when it comes to meeting their SG obligations by the required due date.

Just as not everyone in the union movement is there to steal union funds to spend on themselves, most employers are in business to create jobs and improve the lives of their employees as well as their own. The vast majority are genuine, hardworking people and they often have a vested interest—not only a moral vested interest and not only an ethical and cultural vested interest but a financial vested interest—in making sure their business and the business that employs their employees is as profitable and as successful as it can be. That's why so many small- and family-business owners across the country have invested their own homes, their own assets, in the success of their own businesses.

When business is tough, small-business owners often go without wages and spend sleepless nights worrying about how they will make payroll and keep their doors open. While managing their cash flow using their superannuation guarantee isn't right and will be almost impossible with Single Touch Payroll, small and family businesses aren't doing it to pocket the money themselves; they are just trying to stay afloat. Calling these hardworking job-creating Australians wage thieves is unfair and fails to recognise their sacrifices to support job creation and to grow our Australian economy. The self-righteousness of those on the other side of this Senate chamber and on the other side of the House of Representatives chamber, who wish to close the door on small businesses for honest mistakes, is astounding. It is job destroying.

I'd encourage those who do not support the amnesty to speak with the employees of businesses that have made genuine mistakes and ask them these simple questions: do you want your employer to be shut down for making a mistake? Would you prefer your employer to pay what they owe with interest but without penalty, or would you prefer your employer to be hit with larger penalties that will risk the ongoing viability of their business, and therefore your job, and destroy the ability of their business to grow and prosper? I'm sure the answer from most reasonable quiet Australians will be that they want businesses to flourish and provide job opportunities, and that an initiative like this should be supported. I commend the bill to the Senate.

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