On 24 May 2018 the government announced a one off 12-month superannuation “amnesty” guarantee which gives employers one off opportunities to disclose any errors in superannuation guarantees to the ATO without the risk of bring penalized. This bill was reintroduced on 18 September 2019 with an amnesty beginning on 24 May 2019.
Under current law if employers have missed a superannuation payment they are required to lodge a superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) and pay a superannuation guarantee (SG) on any shortfall amounts. SG includes a liability of $20 for any mandatory administrative components per employee per quarter for SG statements lodged.
In the latest version of “Amnesty”, a final opportunity has been given to employers to pay any shortfalls. Otherwise they will be subject to a penalty of 200%, and the commissioner will lose power to remit that penalty below 100% of historical quarters.