General Practitioner Payroll Tax

In reply to the Hon. C. BONAROS ().21 March 2024).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): The Treasurer has advised:

The government has not changed the legal application of payroll tax, including to general practitioners. To assist those medical practices that have not accurately understood the contractor provisions of the Payroll Tax Act 2009 and have required time to modify their business operations to ensure they meet their future obligations, the government agreed to provide an amnesty to general practitioner medical practices to 30 June 2024.

The amnesty means any medical practice that registered with RevenueSA during the amnesty period will not be required to pay payroll tax on payments up to 30 June 2024 and for the previous five years, this prevents liability for up to five years in back taxes.

Both the government and RevenueSA worked extensively with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Australian Medical Association before introducing the amnesty. South Australia's provision of an amnesty is more generous than many other Australian jurisdictions, including Victoria, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, which have not offered similar amnesties. The government continues to engage with these stakeholders.