Single Touch Payroll (STP)

Single Touch Payroll (STP) is the ATO's digital payroll reporting system: every time you pay your team, your payroll software sends the ATO a report of salaries and wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation liability for that pay run. It's mandatory for employers of all sizes, with only narrow exemptions.

How it works day to day

• Report on or before payday, through STP-enabled payroll software — there's no paper alternative.
• Phase 2 expanded the detail: income types, separately itemised paid leave and allowances, and employment basis (full-time, part-time, casual) now travel with each report.
• Employees see their data in myGov as income statements, updated through the year.
• End of financial year you make a finalisation declaration instead of issuing payment summaries.

What it means for a shift business

STP doesn't change what people are owed — it changes how visible your payroll is. Because reports flow every pay run, errors in hours, loadings or employment basis become part of an official record immediately. The practical defence is upstream: accurate rosters and time capture, so what enters payroll (and therefore what reaches the ATO) reflects what actually happened on shift.

Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) Sch 1 Div 389 (Single Touch Payroll reporting) — administered by the Australian Taxation Office.

Related terms

• Payslip
• Payday super
• Record-keeping obligations