Whistleblowers, Div 7A, and Payday Super: NTAA’s tax policy wishlist

“A renewed focus by the ATO has resulted in significant tax liabilities for bona fide arrangements involving no mischief, often arising from historical administrative errors or inadvertent oversights,” the submission read.

“Such outcomes are unfair and should not be treated as akin to fraud and evasion, particularly given that considerable time has elapsed since many elections were made.”

The NTAA added that the unlimited review period for family trust distribution tax liabilities was “particularly punitive,” especially in cases where no mischief was involved.

The industry body also urged Mulino to consider expanding transitional relief for Payday Super to the 2025–26 income year, noting that some businesses would seek to get ahead of the changes and begin adjusting their payroll practices in advance.

“Where an employer paid SG contributions for the June 2025 quarter in July 2025 and brings forward payment of SG contributions for the June 2026 quarter from July 2026 to June 2026, affected employees may exceed their CC cap due to decisions beyond their control,” the submission read.

Currently, transitional rules apply only to the 2026–27 income year, the NTAA said.

The industry association also urged the government to recommit to reforming Division 7A rules, noting that practitioners currently face significant uncertainties regarding the rules' operation.

“The prolonged delay in progressing Division 7A reform, together with the implications of the Bendel appeal, has resulted in considerable uncertainty for private companies and their advisers in applying these already complex provisions,” the NTAA said.

“Mindful of the implications resulting from the Bendel decision, we encourage the Government to undertake a new round of consultation with key stakeholders to ensure the law provides greater certainty for taxpayers and practitioners.”

The industry body also called on Mulino to improve whistleblower protections under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) (TASA) breach-reporting regime, noting that registered tax practitioners were required by law to report any significant breaches they observed.

Despite these new reporting requirements, the NTAA said that practitioners were not adequately protected by whistleblower laws. Currently, only associates of a reported practitioner are entitled to whistleblower protections, while those reporting on unrelated practitioners are not, the industry body said.

“This creates inequitable outcomes, as the availability of whistleblower protection depends on the relationship between practitioners,” the submission read.

“This is particularly concerning because practitioners have a positive duty to report significant breaches, yet are denied corresponding whistleblower protection. This duty–protection mismatch must be addressed.”

The full list of issues the NTAA raised included:

• Family trust elections – legislative changes needed to restore equity.
• Payday Super concessional contributions cap transitional relief.
• Uncertainty surrounding the small business instant asset write-off.
• Division 7A reform.
• Inadequate whistleblower protections under the breach reporting regime.
• Lack of administrative review rights for general interest charge remission decisions.
• Classification of workers as employees or contractors.
• Integrity of the data on the Australian Business Register.