Audit Lowe Down – Incorrect presentation of your liabilities could significantly affect your balance sheet
Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants
In a previous blog, we discussed the changes to the accounting standards relating to classification of current / non-current liabilities on the balance sheet.
We have been receiving a number of questions on this topic and have provided some practical scenarios below as well as some actions for you as we approach 30 June reporting dates.
| Scenario | Current / non-current | Actions for consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Borrowing facility is expiring within 12 months of the reporting date. | Current | Obtain written evidence from the bank prior to reporting date that the facility will be extended and the appropriate terms and conditions. |
| Breach of a bank covenant reported prior to year end but no response from financial institution at reporting date. | Current | Obtain written evidence from the bank prior to reporting date that the covenant breach is either subject to a period of grace of at least 12 months from the reporting date or is subject to a waiver. |
| Breach of a bank covenant as at reporting date reported to the financial institution after year end. | Current | No action possible if breach not reported until after reporting date since not possible to obtain waiver / period of grace prior to the reporting date. |
| Likely to breach a covenant after the year end. | n/a | Not assessed as part of current / non-current presentation but disclosure of existence of covenant and likely breach is required. Communicate with financial institution as soon as possible to include likely outcome (if waiver or period of grace) in the disclosure. |
Please do not hesitate to contact your Lowe Lippmann Relationship Partner if you wish to discuss any of these matters further.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Alternative providers to the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House Employers should start preparing for the permanent closure of the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House ( SBSCH ) on 1 July 2026. By acting now to find an alternative service, employers will: have an established process in place to pay super guarantee ( SG ) for the March and June quarters (if they currently pay quarterly); reduce the risk of late payment of SG for the June 2026 quarter due date (28 July), as the SBSCH will be already closed; have more time to set up their business cash flow to enable frequent payments of SG; and have finalised payments and downloaded any reports from the SBSCH before it closes permanently. Employers that are still using the SBSCH should be aware of the following key dates. 10 December 2025 — Super payments, along with instructions, must be received by 5.30 pm AEDT on this date. The ATO says payments received after this time will be processed from 2 January 2026. 28 January 2026 — December 2025 SG quarterly payments due date. February to March 2026 — Employers should move to an alternative option to the SBSCH. 28 April 2026 — March 2026 SG quarterly payments due date. 30 June 2026 — Final day for employers to use the service, make any final payments and download reports. 1 July 2026 — SBSCH is no longer available. Employers may already have other options readily available so they can exit from using the SBSCH ahead of time. They should check their existing software and payroll packages, as they may already include super functions they can use to pay SG. Otherwise, employers can look for options from super funds or digital service providers offering payroll services, software or commercial clearing houses.
New financial crime regulations start from 1 July 2026 – is your business going to be regulated? The Federal Government is introducing new financial crime regulation from 1 July 2026 . The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing ( AML/CTF ) regime will expand its scope to include a new cohort of higher‑risk services and providers, commonly described as “Tranche 2 entities” . For the last 30 years, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre ( AUSTRAC ) has regulated businesses in the financial services and gambling sectors, like banks and casinos. As money laundering methods becomes increasingly sophisticated and fast-moving, AUSTRAC is expanding their regulation to include services provided by high-risk sectors that work on the front line of high value transactions.
Payday Super laws will start from 1 July 2026 Payday Super reforms have now received Royal Assent and is now law. The new legislation will require the payment of eligible superannuation guarantee ( SG ) contributions to be in line with the frequency of the employer’s pay cycle, effective from 1 July 2026 . The payday super changes will require employers to remit SG contributions at the same time they pay employees’ salary and wages (known as ‘ordinary time earnings’ or OTE ). Currently SG contributions are required to be paid quarterly. These changes will apply to all employers, whether have pay cycles weekly, fortnightly, monthly or irregularly. SG contributions must generally arrive in an employee’s chosen super fund within seven business days of each payday. The motivation for these changes is to identify unpaid super much sooner, and reduce unpaid SG by aligning timing and increasing transparency.
