25 August 2025 to 29 August 2025
Weekly Bulletin Contents
TAX
Monday 1 September 2025
GST: Taxpayer denied ITCs re return lodges 4 years late
The ART has ruled that a taxpayer who carried on a pool construction business, and who lodged GST returns more than 4 years after their due date, was not entitled to input tax credits (ITC) claimed. Instead, the ART confirmed the Commissioner’s objection decision that s 93-5 of the GST Act 1999 operated to extinguish their ITC entitlement in view of the ITC claim being more than 4 years late. The ART also dismissed the taxpayer’s claim that the Commissioner had not allowed further time for lodgement of the returns in view of “the absence of formality surrounding an alleged allowance of further time”. (The Trustee for the Barth Family Trust and FCT(Taxation) [2025] ARTA 1558, 28 August 2025)
Taxpayer not entitled a deduction for medical expenses
The ART has ruled that a taxpayer was not entitled to deduction of $98,000 for medical expenses that he said he incurred in relation to his assessable “total and permanent disablement” (TPB) pension. Instead, the AAT found that a deduction was not allowable as they were not incurred “in the course” of gaining his assessable income and that the “occasion” of the expense was to assist him with his medical condition, and not to gain (or maintain his eligibility to) his TPD pension. In event, the ART said the expenses were of a non-deductible private or domestic nature. (Wannberg and FCT (Taxation) [2025] ARTA 1561, 27 August 2025)
Tax Ombudsman releases 2026-29 corporate plan
The Tax Ombudsman has published its 2026-29 Corporate Plan, outlining strategic priorities for the next 4 years and its key objectives for 2025-26. Its strategic goals remain to maximise its impact and influence on tax administration. It also said that there are several themes to its plans for the next 4 years, and these include: improving customer service for people who raise a complaint; enhancing the quality and timeliness of complaint investigations; broadening and deepening community and stakeholder engagement activities; making better use of data and insights to inform improvements to tax administration; and offering greater thought leadership on tax administration and reform.
APRA releases 2025 super performance test results
APRA has released the results of the 2025 superannuation performance test. APRA said it assessed 563 superannuation products: 52 MySuper products, all of which passed the test (none failed in 2024); 374 non-platform trustee-directed products, all of which passed the test (none failed in 2024); 137 platform trustee-directed products1, of which seven failed the test (37 failed in 2024). APRA also said the performance test applies to MySuper and trustee-directed products and this represents 62% by value of the APRA-regulated superannuation sector. APRA also reminded trustees to act in their members’ best financial interests and ensure their products deliver genuine value.
Tuesday 2 september 2025
PAYG Withholding Schedule instrument made
The Taxation Administration (Withholding Schedules) Instrument (No. 2) 2025 has been made. It sets out withholding schedules that specify the amount, formulas and procedures to be used for working out the amount required to be withheld by an entity under the PAYG system. The instrument contains 15 withholding schedules. Each schedule provides information for calculating the withholding amount, taking into account the particular circumstances presented in the schedule. The instrument repeals and replaces the previous legislative instrument Taxation Administration (Withholding Schedules) Instrument 2025 which was registered on 4 June 2025.
ATO speech: Tax administration of the “large market”
ATO Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Saint has recently spoken about various aspects of tax administration of the “large market” from an administrator’s perspective. Her speech dealt with the following matters: Investment in large market compliance remains high; High assurance supports resourcing savings and provides tax certainty; Disputes are a feature of a good tax system, but profit shifting will remain a focus area; Achieving tax certainty; and Transparency as an as expectation, not an option.
ATO: Completed public advice and guidance
The ATO has released a list of completed public advice and guidance issues for the 2024 year. They include the following key issues: Capital allowances – composite items; Time limits on entitlements to tax credits; Div 7A – undue hardship and corporate trustees; Superannuation income stream; Water rights; Ordinary meaning of the term ’employee’; FBT and electric vehicles; Financial advice fees; Deductibility of self-education expenses; Determining the amount of statutory income that is non-arm’s length income; Liability of a LPR of a deceased person; Resident trust beneficiaries and income from foreign trusts; Deductibility of settlement payment; Application of non-arm’s length provisions; Frozen foods marketed as prepared meals; Sale of residential premises – profit-making purpose; Claiming input tax credits and creditable acquisitions when carrying on an enterprise; and, Obligations and rights of payers, recipients and the Commissioner where an amount has been withheld.
Wednesday 3 september 2025
Treasurer: 500 nuisance tariffs to be abolished
The Government has announced that it will abolish 500 nuisance tariffs to help cut red tape, ease the compliance burden on businesses and boost productivity. It said Treasury will consult on the proposed list of almost 500 additional tariffs to be abolished by the government. Examples of products that could be cheaper as a result of the abolition of tariffs proposed by the government include: tyres with annual imports worth nearly $4bn which raise less than $80,000 in revenue per year; televisions with annual imports worth over $1.4bn, which raise less than $43,000 in revenue per year; and wine glasses with annual imports worth over $42 million, which raise less than $28,000 in revenue per year.
ATO: CGT and share disposal advise
The ATO has advised that if your clients have sold or disposed of shares, there are many types of CGT events you need to consider when completing their tax returns – including buy-backs and mergers. It suggest that when lodging your clients’ tax returns, ensure you: check the report on Online Services for Agents (OSFA) for ‘Share and unit disposals’; cross-check the information with your clients to make sure it’s correct; include pre-CGT disposals at the CGT exemptions and rollovers question and select Capital gains disregarded as a result of the sale of a pre-CGT asset; and include any losses to be carried over in the year they occur.
ATO: GST and vouchers
The ATO has released information about how to account for and report GST on vouchers your business sells or buys. The information deals with the following matters: What is a voucher; How GST applies to vouchers; Reporting voucher sales; and Claiming credits for purchases using vouchers.
Thursday 4 september 2025
ART: No ITCs for BAS lodged more than 4 years late
In a recent case, the Administrative Review Tribunal upheld the ATO’s amended assessments disallowing input tax credits (ITCs) claimed late.
Under s 93-5 GST Act, entitlement to an ITC ceases if not taken into account within four years of the due lodgment date. With no valid ITC claims, the taxpayer failed to show the revised assessments were excessive.
ATO addendum: digital currency not “foreign currency” for Div 775
The ATO has updated TD 2014/25 confirming that digital currency (including bitcoin) is excluded from “foreign currency” for the purposes of Div 775 ITAA 1997.
The addendum also updates legislative references and aligns the explanations with the Currency Act 1965’s broader definition of “currency.”
ATO monthly FX rates for FY26
The ATO has published monthly foreign exchange rates for the financial year ending 30 June 2026, with July and August 2025 averages now available (foreign currency expressed as an equivalent of one Australian dollar).
FRIDAY 5 september 2025
$20k Instant Asset Write-Off: One More Year for Small Business
The Government has introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025 that would extend the $20,000 instant asset write-off to 30 June 2026. Small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10m could immediately deduct each eligible asset costing under $20,000 that’s first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. The measure commences the day after Royal Assent.
The Bill also seeks to:
- Strengthen the substantial holding and tracing notice regimes for listed entities
- Amend the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2021 for greater transparency
- Amend the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority Act 2021 to reduce Financial Regulator Assessment Authority reviews of ASIC and APRA to every 5 years.
Senator Hume’s Bill to Allow Couples to Share Super Balances
The Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025 has been introduced into the Senate by Senator Hume to let couples voluntarily even out their super balances. If enacted the legislation would allow higher-balance partners to roll over amounts to their spouse up to a new “spousal redistribution limit”, ensuring the receiving partner’s balance does not exceed the general transfer balance cap. If passed, the amendments commence the day after Royal Assent.
Key points from Bill
- Who’s eligible: Members in accumulation phase can make one application per 12 months to rollover an amount to a spouse under 65.
- How limits work: Rollovers cannot lift the receiving spouse above the general transfer balance cap.
- Tax treatment: Transfers are treated as rollover super benefits (not new contributions) and will carry across existing taxable/tax-free components.
Institute of Financial Professionals Australia (IFPA) comment
Giving members the option to share their super with their spouse would be a practical measure to help address the gender superannuation gap.
SUPER & FINANCIAL SERVICES
Senator Hume’s Bill to Allow Couples to Share Super Balances
The Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025 has been introduced into the Senate by Senator Hume to let couples voluntarily even out their super balances. If enacted the legislation would allow higher-balance partners to roll over amounts to their spouse up to a new “spousal redistribution limit”, ensuring the receiving partner’s balance does not exceed the general transfer balance cap. If passed, the amendments commence the day after receiving Royal Assent.
Key points from Bill
- Who’s eligible: Members in accumulation phase can make one application per 12 months to rollover an amount to a spouse under 65.
- How limits work: Rollovers cannot lift the receiving spouse above the general transfer balance cap.
- Tax treatment: Transfers are treated as rollover super benefits (not new contributions) and will carry across existing taxable/tax-free components.
Institute of Financial Professionals Australia comment
Giving members the option to share their super with their spouse would be a practical measure to help address the gender superannuation gap.
SMSF Quarterly Statistical Report: June 2025 Highlights
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released its latest quarterly report on SMSFs for June 2025. Key insights reveal continued growth in the sector:
Highlights include:
- There are 653,062 SMSFs.
- There are 1,203,127 members of SMSFs.
- The total estimated assets of SMSFs are $1.05 trillion.
- The top asset types held by SMSFs (by value) are:
- listed shares (28% of total estimated SMSF assets)
- cash and term deposits (16%).
- 53% of SMSF members are male and 47% are female.
- 85% of SMSF members are 45 years or older.
The report also updates annual SMSF population analysis for earlier years, based on SMSF annual return data. Highlights for 2023–24 include:
- Average assets per member: $881,000
- Average assets per SMSF: $1.6 million
- Member contributions: $19.9 billion
- Employer contributions: $6.3 billion
For more details on fund demographics, asset holdings, and annual flows, access the full data here.
APRA Releases 2025 Super Performance Test
APRA has released the results of its 4th annual super performance test, designed to shine a light on long-term outcomes and ensure better value for members.
In 2025, APRA assessed 563 products across the super sector and found:
- All 52 MySuper products passed (no failures, same as 2024)
- All 374 non-platform trustee-directed products passed (no failures, same as 2024)
- 7 of 137 platform trustee-directed products failed, a sharp drop from 37 failures in 2024
The performance test covers MySuper and trustee-directed products, which together make up 62% of the value of APRA-regulated super funds.
For the first time, APRA released the test results alongside its new Comprehensive Product Performance Package (CPPP), providing deeper insights into product performance. While the headline numbers show improvement, the CPPP highlighted ongoing concerns – with over 40% of platform-based trustee-directed products (with a 10-year history) still showing significant underperformance.
Social Security Bill Targets Small Overpayments
The Government has introduced the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 which amongst other things reforms debt-waiver rules. These changes include:
- Special-circumstances waivers expanded so department decision-makers can consider factors like coercion/financial abuse, mental capacity and disaster impacts; safeguards exclude deliberate fraud.
- Small-debt waiver lifted to $250 and indexed annually from 1 July. First indexation is 1 July 2026.
- One-off waiver of undetermined small debts (less than $250) to clear the COVID/disaster backlog.
- Measures to respond to key Robodebt Royal Commission recommendations on fairer, empathetic debt recovery.
ASIC Seeking Regulatory Simplification
ASIC is asking for feedback on a multi-year plan to make regulation easier to find, understand and comply whilst also retaining consumer protections.
There are 20 consultation questions contained in the regulatory simplification report across the four streams which are:
- Improving access to regulatory information – new website and pilot “regulatory roadmaps” for small-company directors and financial advice providers.
- Reducing complexity in regulatory documents – plain-language drafting principles, pilots to consolidate 21 financial reporting/audit instruments and simplify platform (IDPS) instruments.
- Easier interactions – more email lodgements; electronic signatures on all ASIC forms by 1 Oct 2025; portal upgrades toward a single digital front door (“RegistryConnect”).
- Simplification through law reform – options to streamline the reportable situations regime and substantial holding notices.
Submissions are due 15 Oct 2025 (ASIC will begin shaping its work plan from 12 Nov 2025).