CPA Australia Tax News

This edition of Tax News was current at the time of publication on April 9. You can subscribe to the Tax News email in your comms preference centre. 

Inappropriate access to super early for treatments warning

The ATO and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) are warning taxpayers to be wary of predatory practices by health practitioners and third parties to persuade individuals to inappropriately access their super early for dental treatment.

The ATO and Ahpra are working together to monitor recent growth in applications and to identify any concerns about inappropriate conduct by health practitioners. Penalties can apply to individuals and health practitioners who make false or misleading statements on medical reports to the Commissioner to access compassionate release of superannuation.

Instant tax deduction  exposure draft

Treasury has released the draft legislation and explanatory materials to introduce the $1,000 instant tax deduction for Australian tax residents who earn income from work, starting 1 July 2026 for consultation.

Send your comments by 27 April to [email protected]

 

ATO tax app: verify call  

The ATO will be running webinars promoting its app’s new feature "verify call" function, which is designed to protect users from impersonation scams by allowing them to confirm if an ATO phone call is legitimate.

• Tuesday 12th May 1.30pm – 2.30pm AEST Register here
• Thursday 14th May 5pm – 6pm AEST Register here
• Tuesday 19th May 11:00am – 12:00pm AEST Register here

Victoria: Henry Fox Award nomination 

The Henry Fox Award, presented annually at the Public Practice Retreat in Victoria, recognises a public practitioner’s outstanding service to the profession. Send in your nomination by 7 May. 

2026 Public Practice Retreat

Spots are filing up fast at CPA Australia’s 2026 Public Practice Retreat in Torquay, Victoria, held from 27 to 29 May. 

Whether you lead a sole practice or a large firm, the retreat offers content and perspectives tailored to support every stage of your professional journey.

Reserve your place.

 

ATO website updates

• Entities with a substituted accounting period

 

SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL PLANNING

ATO updates on Payday Super

The ATO has released 8 updates regarding Payday Super implementation, providing detailed guidance to employers and super funds ahead of the 1 July 2026 start date. 

These updates address critical operational changes, system requirements, and compliance obligations that will fundamentally reshape superannuation processing across Australia.

Some useful links:

• Qualifying earnings explained for super funds 
• Super fund stapling: three things every employer needs to know 
• Payday Super myths you can ditch before 1 July 2026 
• SuperStream Contributions v3.0 
• Business days decoded: why it matters for your fund – New regulations require funds to allocate or return contributions within 3 business days. 
• No time like the present - it's time to test your systems 
• SuperStream Contributions v3.0 - is your fund ready? 
• Emma Rosenzweig shares an update about Payday Super
• Stay on top of your super guarantee (SG) obligations 

ATO super updates 

• Set up your SMSF bank account 
• Payday Super: How to manage super during the changeover  

 

LEGISLATION

Employee entitlement schemes – new ASIC instrument

ASIC has released a new legislative instrument establishing updated regulatory requirements for operators of employee entitlement schemes under the Corporations Act. 

The release replaces existing relief arrangements and introduces mandatory licensing requirements that will significantly impact how these schemes operate.

The ASIC Corporations (Employee Entitlement Schemes) Instrument 2026/199 replaces the current relief framework, which expired 1 April 2026. Under the new instrument, scheme operators must apply to ASIC for an Australian Financial Services Licence by 1 September 2026. The instrument provides conditional relief from managed investment, product disclosure and hawking provisions of the Corporations Act while transitional arrangements remain in place until ASIC grants the required AFS licence.

Employee entitlement schemes serve the primary objective of funding benefits payable to employees upon termination of employment or long-service leave entitlements. These schemes allow employers to make contributions, either voluntarily or as required by legislation, awards, or agreements.

Date of effect: 1 April 2026 

 

RULINGS AND GUIDANCE

Practice statement updates – PS LA 2011/14 - 15

The ATO has updated the following practice statements in relation to the inclusion of vulnerability:

• PS LA 2011/14: General debt collection powers and principles – where vulnerability is a factor to be considered (para 31 and 58).
• PS LA 2011/15: Lodgment obligations, due dates and deferrals – where vulnerability is included as an example of exceptional or unforeseen circumstances where it may be appropriate to grant a lodgment deferral (para 48).

 

CASES

Home office rent and expense not deductible – ATO wins appeal

The ATO has successfully appealed to the Full Federal Court against a decision allowing a taxpayer who was required to work partly from home because of Covid restrictions deductions for a portion of his rent and car expenses:

Rent - the Court concluded that the essential character of the rent was an outgoing paid to "secure and maintain residential premises as a home". 

Car expenses - the Court said the taxpayer ceased income producing activities when he stopped performing work at home and commenced different income producing activities upon starting work at the Southbank Studios. Similarly, the return journey was travelling home after income producing activities had ceased. Accordingly, the taxpayer was not performing either his digital role or his live role, or any aspect of his employment, while driving. (FCT v Hall [2026] FCAFC 43, Full Fed Ct, Thawley, McElwaine and Wheatley JJ.)

 

Redundancy fund payment not a "genuine redundancy payment" 

A payment made to a sprinkler fitter from an industry redundancy fund was not a genuine redundancy payment, as the amount did not exceed what could have been received on voluntary termination.

The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) affirmed the ATO's decision, concluding that, in practical terms, the payment to the taxpayer would have been the same whether he was made redundant or resigned voluntarily (subject to the same "no offer of re-employment" condition). 

As the taxpayer had certified at the time the payment was made that he had had no employment offers, and the fund acted on that basis, it was reasonable to expect he would have received the payment on either redundancy or resignation (assuming no employment offers in both scenarios). (Hardy and FCT [2026] ARTA 528, ART, Stratos GM, 7 April 2026.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW ZEALAND TAX NEWS

Crypto investors urged to get tax compliant 

Inland Revenue  is reminding investors of crypto-assets that they need to get tax compliant now, so they don’t end up with an expensive surprise down the line. 

IR has identified 355,000 unique crypto-asset users in New Zealand, undertaking around 57 million transactions, with a value of $36 billion. 

Crypto-assets are treated as a form of property for tax purposes. The profit made from selling, trading or exchanging crypto-assets is taxable as income.

IR’s access to increased data means it can identify people with significant crypto-assets. New Zealand has adopted and is now implementing the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, which will increase the visibility of activities in the crypto asset sector. 

IR will also receive information on transactions and transfers of crypto-assets that take place overseas by New Zealand tax residents. A first batch of letters has now been sent to people who IR knows have traded on one or more crypto-asset exchanges.  See more at Declare cryptoasset income or a loss. 

IR Long-term Insights Briefing 2026

On 14 April 2026, IR published its 2026 Long-term Insights Briefing, Stable bases and flexible rates: New Zealand's tax system. 

The briefing concludes that a tax system raising the majority of revenue from income tax and a consumption tax remains a "suitable paradigm" for New Zealand going forward. 

Key reforms identified include broadening the income tax base (notably by considering more comprehensive taxation of capital gains) and improving the integration of personal and company taxation. 

How the GST could be used to raise additional revenue (while protecting low-income households through targeted low-income offset schemes rather than exemptions) was also explored. 

IR website updates

• Incorporated societies - important information for societies that have been removed from the register 
• Expanding our decision support collection actions 
• Adding bank accounts when registering a new tax type in myIR  

Investment Boost - Early monitoring of business awareness and investment response KiwiSaver providers will increase investment in private assets

The FMA has released a report providing a snapshot of how KiwiSaver providers are investing in private assets. While overall exposure to private assets remains comparatively low, most providers told the FMA they expect to increase allocations over the next three years.

Where private assets are held in retail funds, they account for less than 5 per cent of total assets under management, on average. Most KiwiSaver providers plan to increase allocations to private assets over the next three years, aligning with global trends of investment in private markets growing significantly as fund managers seek higher returns and more diversification. 

The findings confirm the global trend of increased investment in private assets is likely to occur in New Zealand. While it is early days, there are encouraging signs of maturity in how risks around valuation are identified and managed.

RULINGS AND GUIDANCE

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited

IR has issued a product ruling. 

The Arrangement is a mortgage offset banking product that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited offers to customers (individuals) who take out a home loan. The Product involves “offsetting” (for interest calculation purposes) a home loan account balance (“offset portion”) against a credit balance in a Specified Account. This reduces the interest payable by a customer on their home loan balance.

CASES

Taxpayers’ appeal against evasion shortfall penalties dismissed

Six appellants (four brothers and two brothers-in-law) appealed a Taxation and Charities Review Authority decision upholding the Commissioner of Inland Revenue’s assessments and imposition of evasion shortfall penalties. 

The appellants abandoned their appeal against the underlying income tax and Working for Families Tax Credits (WfFTC) reassessments, leaving only an appeal on whether the Commissioner had proved evasion for the purposes of s 141E.

The High Court held that the Commissioner had the onus of proving that in taking their respective tax positions, each appellant intentionally avoided the payment of income tax in circumstances where he knew he was or may be under an obligation to pay. 

The Judge upheld the Authority’s findings that the absence of records and implausible explanations given, meant that the evasion shortfall penalties were correctly imposed, and the appeal was dismissed.(Abdullah Safi & Ors v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2026] NZHC 745, 26 March 2026, CSUM 26/03)

Community Detention for COVID fraud

An Auckland project manager was sentenced to three months community detention with the requirement to repay the $4,351 for COVID-related fraud. 

Shelvin Kavish Swamy was sentenced in the Auckland District Court on 14 April after pleading guilty to a representative charge of obtaining by deception. 

In total Swamy received $28,351.01 that he was not entitled to. District Court Judge Bell rejected the defence counsel suggestion of a sentence of community work saying the offence was too serious and deliberate for such a sentence. However, she acknowledged the fact that despite losing his job as a project manager working in the construction industry, Swamy had repaid $24,000. She also noted his previous good character.

Fitness trainer sent to prison for tax fraud

A Tauranga health and fitness trainer was sentenced to  three years and five months imprisonment for fraud, concurrently with two years for tax fraud. 

Karina Charmaine Longville (aka Knedler, aka Hollows) appeared for sentence in the Tauranga District Court on charges brought by IR, the Department of Internal Affairs and Police. 

The IR charges were for accessing a computer system to access Working for Families Tax Credits, tax evasion, dishonestly using documents and using forged documents. 

Over a three-and-a-half-year period, Longville consistently and repetitively provided false information, fraudulent GST returns and forged documents. She obtained or attempted to obtain $142,452.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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