Single Touch Payroll (STP) processing 108-24103143
Scenarios
Placed on Reporting
Table 1
Item |
Description |
1 |
STP employer name vs trading name Customer logs into their Centrelink Express Plus mobile app to report their employment income from Kitty Cat Castles. They are asked to check the pre-filled details for STP employer Betty and Bob Smith Trading Company, ABN 100 4567 891. The customer does not recognise this employer, but before they answer No to working for them, they check their payslip. Their payslip has the employer name of Kitty Cat Castles, but the same ABN of 100 4567 891 and realises that Kitty Cat Castles is the trading name. The customer confirms the details and merges the STP employer with the existing employer name on their record. They are then presented with pre-filled STP employment income to review. Customer is presented with a pre-filled amount of $427.65 salary and wages. The customer knows this amount is correct so does not make any changes and ‘accepts’ the income and continues with their reporting task. |
2 |
End of financial year update places customer on reporting A notification customer receives a message through myGov that they are required to report each fortnight. The customer contacts the agency on 10 July and advises that they are not working. The Service Officer knows that a customer’s reporting frequency may be automatically updated when STP data is reported by an employer. The Service Officer checks the Profile Summary (PQS) screen in Customer First and sees warning message ‘1790 STP data suggests 2WE reporting’. The Service Officer launches the Earnings and Reporting workflow in Process Direct as it is the customer’s reporting due date. The ‘STP data present’ indicator is Yes on the Messages page of the workflow and provisional data pre-fills on the STP Employer Update (EMCF) screen. The Service Officer advises the customer that an employer has reported employment details for them via STP. The Service Officer shares the name of the employer and asks the customer whether they work or have recently worked for this employer. The Service Officer uses the ABN Lookup website to identify alternative trading names used by the Australian Business Number (ABN) / Withholding Payer Number (WPN) that the customer may recognise. The customer then recognises the trading name is their former employer’s. The customer states they got paid out leave entitlements after ceasing with the employer in February and provided an Employment Separation Certificate (SU001) as part of their recent Austudy claim. The Service Officer confirms the STP employer and navigates to the STP Employer Wage Items (EMGI) screen to check what has been reported by the employer. They see STP cessation data has pre-filled. It shows a cessation date of 15 February but unused leave entitlements being paid 30 June. The cessation data and leave payment amounts match the information provided on the SU001, which confirmed the payments were paid 19 February. The Service Officer realises that the employer must have reported their end of financial year STP data for the customer now rather than back in February. The Service Officer navigates back to the EMCF screen and rejects the STP employer, as the customer no longer works for them and completes the report as per normal business processes. The Service Officer then updates the customer’s reporting frequency to OFF (see Reporting screens) and records the decision and details of the conversation. If STP data is available in subsequent reporting periods, the customer will be placed back on reporting. If the customer rejects an STP employer through self service reporting more than once, they will be profiled for contact by trained staff for an STP Intervention. |
3 |
Customer with STP data advises they do not work – workers’ compensation A Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer has received a reporting statement and visits their local Centrelink office to ask why they are now on reporting. Customer claims they do not work and have no income to report. The Service Officer runs the Earnings and Reporting workflow in Process Direct, which takes them to the STP Employer Update (EMCF) screen. They see that an STP employer called Plumbers are us, has pre-filled and needs to be reviewed. The customer is asked if they work for Plumbers are us, where they say no. When asked if they have ever worked for them, the customer states they used to, but not for at least 2 years. The Service Officer asks if they get paid any payments from the employer, where the customer says they get workers’ compensation. The Service Officer wants to check what employment income is being reported through STP, so ‘confirms’ the employer to be navigated to the STP Employer Wage Items (EMGI) screen. There they see Paid leave -Workers’ compensation of $785.00. When they check the Compensation Management System (CMS), it was last updated 2 years ago and shows $623.00. They cancel the started transaction. Before escalating for an STP reporting override, the Service Officer asks the customer to provide documents to confirm when the workers’ compensation payment had changed. This is because CMS will need to be updated before an override can be applied. A couple of days later, the customer returns to the office with their documents. The Service Officer updates CMS, reminds the customer of their notification requirements and escalates so an STP override can be considered. |
4 |
Customer with STP data advises they do not work - salary and wages A student has received a reporting statement and calls the student payment line on their reporting day to ask why they have to report. The Service Officer checks the Profile Summary (PQS) screen and sees 1790 STP data suggests 2WE reporting and asks the customer if they work, to which they reply with no. The Earnings and Reporting workflow is run in Process Direct. A message advises there is STP data present and when on the STP Employer Update (EMCF) screen, an employer name of Myer Pty Ltd has pre-filled. Although the customer states they do not work for Myer, the Service Officer confirms the employer to navigate to the STP Employer Wage Items (EMGI) screen to check employment income details. They can see salary and wages; overtime and allowances have been reported. When questioning the customer if they have ever worked for Myer, the customer confirms they do a bit of casual work here and there during the semester breaks. The customer then states as they have maximum credits in their student income bank and sometimes get paid less than their income threshold, they did not think they needed to report it. After explaining reporting requirements for students, the customer understands that they must report all employment income they are paid, even when they are paid less than the student income threshold. The customer confirms that the amounts that have pre-filled on EMGI matches their payslip details, so the Service Officer selects Accepts Income and completes the reporting transaction. The customer also advises that Myer has been their only job and there have been no other employers. The customer is asked to upload their payslips from when they first commenced their casual position at Myer. They are also advised of their next reporting date and told how they can do this using self service channels. |
5 |
Self-employed customer Customer has a lawn mowing business where they choose which jobs they take and what days they work. This has been assessed and is coded on Real Estate Business (REBS) under the customer’s Australian Business Number (ABN) 12345678910. STP data has been reported by AKS Lawn Mowing PTY LTD ABN 37611672247, which has placed the customer on 2-weekly reporting. The customer contacts to say they have previously provided a Business details (MOD F) and financial documents for their own lawnmowing service and asks why they need to report. The Service Officer runs the Earnings and Reporting workflow in Process Direct. As it is not the customer’s reporting date, they select Update past periods and enter the date range 01/11/23 to 23/11/23. They see STP data present for the past reporting period and select this period. They are taken to the STP Employer Update (EMCF) screen where they see AKS Lawn Mowing PTY LTD pre-filled. When asked if they have ever worked for the STP employer, the customer says yes but they do not consider themselves an employee of the business because they have their own ABN. They state they included the income from the work along with deductions in their latest profit and loss statement. The Service Officer asks the customer questions and confirms they are an employee of AKS Lawn Mowing from the following:
The customer also undertakes other work through their own ABN. After discussing with the customer, the Service Officer confirms that the other work is self-employment. See Factors to determine self-employment for assistance in determining whether a customer is employed or self-employed. The customer understands that they need to report the employment income paid by the STP employer every 2 weeks and are told how they can do this using self service channels. They are also advised to:
|
6 |
Non-employment income reported through STP A nominee receives a letter advising their son has been placed on statement reporting in respect to their DSP. The nominee is confused about the requirement, as their son is unable to work. The Service Officer selects the reporting profile on the Profile Summary (PQS) screen in Customer First and identifies that the predictor code is 1790 STP data suggests 2WE reporting. The Service Officer knows to run the Earnings and Reporting workflow in Process Direct to get more information about the income. They search for STP data reported in past reporting periods. The workflow shows pre-filled information for an employer called Diamond House Constructions (ABN 123 456 78901). The nominee advises that this is the name of her late husband’s employer. The Service Officer provisionally confirms the STP employer and continues to the STP Employer Wage Items (EMGI) screen. The workflow shows $175 reported as Salary and Wages each week. The nominee advises that her son is the beneficiary of her late husband’s insurance policy, which is paid weekly. The Service Officer refers to Assessment of income for Centrelink payments and checks the record for evidence of the income. They make any necessary updates. As the pre-filled income is not employment income, the Service Officer makes a mySupport request to take the customer off reporting. |
Examples of STP pay components
Table 2
Reviewing pre-filled data
Table 3
Other
Table 4
Item |
Description |
1 |
Gross vs net Customer phones the youth and student payment line to do their reporting, as they cannot log into their online account. The Service Officer runs the Earnings and Reporting workflow in Process Direct where STP data is presented. The Service Officer discusses the pre-filled income of $375.33 salary and wages and $12.00 laundry allowance. The customer confirms they got paid the $12 laundry allowance but only got paid $350.00 of salary and wages. Before adjusting the amount on behalf of the customer, the Service Officer reminds the customer that the gross amount needs to be reported. The customer checks their payslip and sees they were reading the nett amount and later confirms both amounts. The Service Officer ‘accepts’ the income and advises that only the salary and wages component is assessed, as the laundry allowance is a reimbursement for out of pocket expenses. |
2 |
Early reporting Customer receives JobSeeker Payment and reports every 2nd Friday. Due to a national public holiday, their reporting date of Friday 23 December has been changed to Wednesday 21 December. Their STP employer runs their payroll every 2nd Thursday on the day before the customer reports. As they are reporting on the Wednesday, there is no pre-filled STP income available. Although the customer is reporting early, they still need to declare any employment income that they expect to be paid within their reporting period. As there is no STP data available on their early reporting day, they will not enter the STP confirmation service. The customer selects +Add pay in the Report employment income (REI) service and records the pay that they expect to be paid, for Thursday 22 December 2022. |
3 |
Incorrect employer name Customer has contacted to advise that the STP income that pre-fills when reporting is correct, but it is from the wrong employer. The customer advises they have just started working at Coles but used to work at Woolworths last year. The Service Officer views the customer’s details in Process Direct and notices that on the STP Employer Update (EMCF) screen, the STP Employer Name says Coles Supermarket but the Linked Employer is Woolworths Supermarket. This would have occurred at the time when confirming the pre-filled STP employer but selecting the wrong employer’s name to link from existing Employment Income Summary (EANS) screen details. The Service Officer runs the STP Employer Update workflow from Process Direct, selects Edit for the employer that needs updating, selects Rejected from the Status drop down options and then Save. The Service Officer then selects Assess and finalises the activity. Once completed, the Service Officer runs the STP Employer Update workflow again and this time selects Confirmed from the Status drop down options. They then select the Employer field for linking and, as Coles is not an existing employer on the EANS screen, the Service Officer selects New Employer, then Save. The Service Officer notices that the STP employment income details from last fortnight’s report had mapped under Woolworths on the Employment Income Paid Details (EAPP) table, so they follow current business as usual processes to replicate the coding under the right employer’s name of Coles. They then finalise their updates. The Service Officer explains to the customer that when they next report, they will see their employment income pre-fill with the correct STP employer name. |
4 |
Examples of cessation payments being paid to an employee who is still employed Some employers may report Unused leave on termination paid to an employee with no cessation date or reason. This may occur in the following scenarios: Transition to Phase 2 PayEvent 2020 data (PE2020) Where an employment relationship terminates before the employer transitions to PayEvent 2020 data, it is possible that after they transition to PayEvent 2020 the employer may still make a payment of unused leave to the individual. This may result in the cessation date and reason being unavailable in the payroll system, as the termination occurred before the transition, during phase 1. Unused leave and termination payments will update to the Income Maintenance Period Summary (IMPS) screen. An Employment Separation Certificate (SU001)/letter from employer will be required for payments subject to mutual obligation requirements. Employment status changes from permanent to casual An employee may change from a permanent employment status (full time or part time) to casual. When paid, the employee's remaining entitlements are correctly classified in STP as unused leave on termination. However, as the person remains a casual employee of the same employer the payment is assessed as a lump sum and coded on the Employment Income Paid Details (EAPP) table. See Leave and termination payments paid by an employer. Reinstatement An employee may leave their employment, be paid their entitlements, and later be reinstated. This can occur in wrongful termination situations and the effect of the reinstatement is that the cessation is taken to have never occurred. The instruction for employers is to remove the cessation date. However, the reinstatement does not change the fact a payment for unused leave was made, and so it must remain in the STP reporting. The STP reporting will, as a result, show amounts present as Unused Leave on Termination without a cessation date or reason. If the customer advises they are still working for that employer, the payment is assessed as a lump sum and coded on the EAPP table. |
Intranet links
Single Touch Payroll (STP) entry hub
Single Touch Payroll Program
Digital Support Directory
National Business Gateway - for enquiries received from STP employers
SDF Video Gallery - Power Apps > Employment Services – for demonstrations of reporting with STP data
Digital Support Products
Online guides and videos show how customers use self service. Customers can view these on the Services Australia website or YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@ServicesAustraliaGovAU).
Top Tips for Reporting Your Employment Income - YouTube
Staff can view them at Centrelink digital support products.
- Centrelink online account simulations products - Top 8 > Report employment income (Single Touch Payroll)
- Express Plus Centrelink mobile app simulations > Report employment income (Single Touch Payroll)
Contact details
Customer Reporting Program - for enquires on employer processes, data and support.
Transfer customers calling about STP Interventions to the STP Interventions line in Services Australia Workspace, or customers can call 1800 061 838.
Staff must use the Technical Support Model in the first instance for support. If the issue is unable to be resolved, see mySupport below for the web forms to escalate enquiries.
mySupport
Service Officers can use mySupport to:
- report STP issues in Centrelink online account and Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, by submitting the Report employment income or Single Touch Payroll issues - Centrelink Online and app web form
- report data discrepancies, data mapping and STP Intervention triggers by submitting the Single Touch Payroll (STP) pre filled employment data web form
In both cases above, Service Officers should:
- go to mySupport
- search using keywords, error message or application name and select relevant web form
- complete and Submit web form