STP Phase 2 in Advanced Payroll

Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 significantly changes how data is reported to the ATO and shared with other government agencies.

 

STP Phase 2 deferral

STP Phase 2 starts on 1 January 2022. Recognising the challenge this start date imposes on software providers and employers, the ATO recently announced that customers can defer this start date to 1 March 2022.

 

To ensure our clients have sufficient time to transition to STP Phase 2, the ATO has granted MYOB clients using MYOB Advanced Payroll a further deferral until the start of the payroll reporting year 2022. This means that customers don’t need to apply for their own employer deferral, unless they won’t be ready by July 2022 or they stop using MYOB Advanced Payroll.

 

So, what do customers need to do?

• Continue to meet their existing Single Touch Payroll reporting obligations.

• Once they are on the STP Phase 2 enabled version, complete the transition to STP Phase 2. Customers shouldn’t wait out the deferral period.

MYOB Advanced Payroll upgrade timeline

All MYOB Advanced Payroll clients will upgrade to the STP Phase 2 enabled version between February and June 2022. The upgrade won’t automatically switch to STP Phase 2 – the client will remain on the current version of STP until they complete their transition.

 

The STP Phase 2 transition requires each client to review and update reporting categories at three levels: company, employee and pay item. To guide clients through the transition, we’ll provide a white paper that refers to the relevant ATO guidance. For many clients, the transition will just involve mapping. Other clients might need to adjust pay item structures, so they align with the new reporting requirements – for example, for allowances and overtime. These clients are likely to need more support. We are also working on partner enablement to help you support your clients.

 

We strongly encourage partners and clients to transition to STP Phase 2 in the month that they upgrade, to allow enough time to plan and manage the migration across the entire MYOB Advanced Payroll community.

 

Next steps

The 2021.1.3 release of Advanced Payroll supports the new STP Phase 2 reporting structure. To ensure a smooth transition, we are doing extensive acceptance testing with the ATO, which will take weeks to complete. When testing is completed, MYOB Advanced Payroll will be whitelisted. We can then start an Early Access Program (EAP) with our first customers, which we hope to do this year.

 

If you would like to participate in EAP, please reach out and we’ll provide more information about ideal client profiles. If you have have any questions, please reach out to proserve.ed@myob.com.

 

Regards,

Madaleen Bothma

Product Manager

MYOB Advanced People