STP Phase 2 has introduced the ability to report on child support garnishees and deductions through STP, however, reporting on child support through STP is voluntary. Reporting though STP will remove the need for employers to provide separate remittance advice to the Child Support Registrar.
There are two new deduction classifications for child support:
- Child support deduction: This is a deduction made under a notice as per section 45 of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. Select this only if you are reporting via STP and want an employee's child support deduction amount to be reported via STP every pay run, in lieu of providing a separate declaration to the Child Support Registrar. To be clear, if you are reporting via STP but prefer to manually send monthly reports to the Child Support Registrar then do not assign this classification - rather you would assign the "Default" classification. Additionally, take note that these deduction amounts will only begin being reported through STP upon the commencement of STP Phase 2 reporting, being 1 January 2022.
- Child support garnishee: This is a deduction made under a notice as per section 72A of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. Select this only if you are reporting via STP and want an employee's child support garnishee amount to be reported via STP every pay run, in lieu of providing a separate declaration to the Child Support Registrar. To be clear, if you are reporting via STP but prefer to manually send monthly reports to the Child Support Registrar then do not assign this classification - rather you would assign the "Default" classification. Additionally, take note that these deduction amounts will only begin being reported through STP upon the commencement of STP Phase 2 reporting, being 1 January 2022.
Important
Although STP Phase 2 makes it easier to report on child support garnishees/deductions, you must still pay the required amounts directly to the Child Support Registrar by the date specified in your notice.
New businesses created after 18/02/2021
You will have the new system categories included in the deductions list. The deduction name, type and classification will not be editable in order to keep the deduction categories correct for STP Phase 2 reporting purposes. We set the classification up as Child Deduction or Child Support Garnishee, and this is what the system uses to identify the deduction in the STP report.
Important
If you do not want to report child support payments via STP, then in Payroll classic you will need to create a new deduction for the child support deduction or garnishee (differentiating the name from the system deduction name) and set the classification to Default. Setting the classification to Default will ensure we do not include the deduction in the STP reporting.
Helpful Hint
Once you set up the deduction, you can either set up a recurring deduction or manually add the deduction to each pay run in Payroll classic.
Existing businesses created prior 18/02/2021
You can use the existing child support deduction categories (or set one up if you do not have one) and update the relevant classification to either Child Deduction or Child Support Garnishee for STP Phase 2 reporting.
Important
If you do not want to report child support payments via STP, then in Payroll classic you will need to create a new deduction for the child support deduction or garnishee (differentiating the name from the system deduction name) and set the classification to Default. Setting the classification to Default will ensure we do not include the deduction in the STP reporting.
Helpful Hint
Once you set up the deduction, you can either set up a recurring deduction or manually add the deduction to each pay run in Payroll classic.