June 2026 Newsletter
Contents:
- What’s Changing From 1 July
- Award Wage Increased by 4.75%
- Victoria Introduces Laws to Enshrine WFH
- ATO $1,284 Tax Billing Coming
- Announcements
What’s Changing From 1 July
Australians will see changes to wages, tax, superannuation, parental leave and more from 1 July, as a suite of federal and state reforms take effect at the start of the new financial year.
The annual reset often brings regulatory and legislative updates, but this year’s changes affect workers’ pay packets, retirement savings, family budgets and business operations.
Award Wage Increased by 4.75%
Handing down its Annual Wage Review decision for 2026, the Fair Work Commission has today (2 June) announced a much-anticipated response to Australia’s dynamic economic environment and outlined factors that impacted the decision.
The change to the national minimum wage and minimum award pay rates means the lowest wage rate in the award system for ongoing employment will be $26.44 per hour, equalling $1,004.90 per week.
Victoria Introduces Laws to Enshrine WFH
The Victorian government is introducing legislation into the state’s Parliament to enshrine WFH under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, through which employees who can work from home (WFH) will have the legal right to do so two days per week.
Regular, casual, and part-time workers will be covered by these new laws, the government noted in a statement, which added that the legislative changes will provide a clear pathway for dispute resolution and enforcement.
ATO $1,284 Tax Billing Coming
Hundreds of thousands of Aussies will be hit with a tax penalty from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in days for not having private health insurance. The number of Aussies paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge has risen sharply, with the surcharge averaging $1,284.
The latest ATO data shows the number of Aussies paying the surcharge has increased 15 per cent over a 12-month period and 74 per cent over a three-year period. All up, 885,087 taxpayers paid the Medicare Levy Surcharge in the 2023-24 financial year.
Announcements:
This month we have five team members celebrating birthdays. We wish a happy birthday to Jo, Xavier, Jack, Paula & Romy!|
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Important ATO Dates
| Lodgement Program | Date |
| Minimum Wage to increase by 4.75% | 01/07/2026 |
| Employers to Lodge their Single Touch Payroll (STP) finalisation report with ATO | 14/07/2026 |
| June monthly activity statements | 21/07/2026 |
| Quarter 4 (April–June) activity statements | 28/07/2026 |
| Quarter 4 (April–June) PAYG instalments notices | 28/07/2026 |
| Quarter 4 (April–June) GST instalment notices | 28/07/2026 |
Other News
Keeping Up with Compliance: Australia’s New AML “Tranche 2” Laws
Recently Australia implemented major updates to its anti-financial crime laws. From 1 July 2026, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) framework was expanded.
Often referred to as “Tranche 2,” these new rules bring corporate service providers, lawyers, accountants, and real estate professionals into line with international standards already followed by banks and financial institutions.
What does this mean?
Under the new laws, providing specific corporate services, such as acting as a registered office or formal business address, is now classified as a “designated service.” This means firms like ours are legally required to perform enhanced Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and maintain updated documentation for all entities we support in this capacity.
Designated Services
Where Watts Price Accountants acts on your behalf in:
- Buying, selling or transferring a company, trust or other legal arrangement.
- Forming a new company, trust or entity, or restructuring an existing one.
- Firm or nominee acts in a formal role (director, trustee, secretary or power of attorney) on behalf of the client.
- Client uses the firm’s address for their entity.
Next Steps
For the majority of clients there will be no change or action required unless you engage us to provide a ‘designated service’ from 1 July 2026.
Where we are providing an ongoing ‘designated service’ (acting as a registered office or address) we will be in contact with instructions on how we will verify your identity (usually by sighting photo ID) for all beneficial owners of your entity.
Small Business Super Clearing House has closed!
As the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) prepares to permanently close on 30 June 2026, it is critical to ensure your business has a new superannuation clearing house solution in place to avoid payment disruptions.
Transitioning to an alternative platform requires careful setup to maintain compliance with SuperStream and upcoming legislation.
If you need guidance on selecting a suitable alternative for your business, please contact our team!
Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR)
The Taxable payments reporting system applies to businesses that make payments to contractors for the following services:- building and construction
- cleaning
- courier or road freight
- information technology (IT)
- security, investigation or surveillance.
Xero Price Increase
From 1 July 2026, subscription prices for Xero plans are increasing in Australia.- Ignite plan increases to $37 per month
- Grow plan increases to $78 per month
- Comprehensive plan increases to $107 per month
- Ultimate 10 plan increases to $143 per month
- Ultimate 20 plan increases to $180 per month
Get a rebate on your registration
You can apply to get a 20% rebate on your personal vehicle registration from FY 2025-2026.
You can claim this rebate for up to 2 light vehicles that are registered in your name.
https://service.vic.gov.au/find-services/transport-and-driving/registration/rego-rebate