There are several reasons a business may have underpaid the Super Guarantee (SG) to one or more employees, such as accounting mistakes, cash-flow issues or simply a knock-on effect from the myriad of disasters throughout this summer.

If you believe your organisation may have incorrectly paid SG to your staff, you can now rectify it during an SG amnesty until 7 September 2020.

“If you disclose your SG shortfalls during the amnesty, you can rectify past unpaid SG without incurring charges or penalties,” an ATO spokesperson said.

“If employers do not take advantage of the amnesty, they will now face significantly higher penalties when they are caught — in general, a minimum 100 per cent penalty on top of the SG shortfall they owe, and up to 200 per cent for the most serious cases.”

The amnesty applies to any SG shortfalls between 1 July 1992 and 31 March 2018.

If you disclose your SG shortfalls and are found eligible for the amnesty you must pay the SG shortfall plus any interest owed.

The ATO have stated that they understand the strain businesses are being put under due to COVID-19 and although they cannot change the date of lodgement for an amnesty application, they will work with businesses to establish flexible and achievable payment plans.

You can find out more and apply for the amnesty at https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Super-for-employers/Superannuation-guarantee-amnesty/