Changes affecting small businesses next year

Wage underpayment becomes a criminal offence

Under changes to workplace laws, intentional underpayment of wages will be classified as a criminal offence. From 1 January 2025, employers will be in breach if they knowingly fail to pay wages, superannuation, or other entitlements required under the Fair Work Act or industrial agreements by the due date.

Penalties can be a minimum of $7.825 million for companies, or $1.565 million and a maximum of 10 years in prison for individuals.

A Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code (Voluntary Code) will be established. Compliance with the Voluntary Code means a small business won’t be criminally prosecuted if they underpay their employees. The Voluntary Code is in the process of being developed.

For more information, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Expansion on plastics ban

From 1 January 2025 you can no longer supply certain banned plastic items. This includes items such as polystyrene cups, plastic spoons and straws that come included in packaging. 

Small businesses should look into switching to alternatives and exhausting existing stock as soon as possible. 

Visit the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s website for more information.

Right to disconnect laws come into effect

The Right to disconnect laws will be applicable for small business employers (fewer than 15 employees) from 26 August 2025. This means employees will have the right to decline monitoring, reading, or responding to attempted contact outside of their working hours, unless it is deemed unreasonable to do so.

This includes contact from an employer or third parties such as clients, suppliers, other staff and members of the public.

For more information and tips on discussing out of hours contact, visit Fair Work Ombudsman website. 

Reforms to tax and BAS agent obligations

Starting 1 January 2025, significant reforms to tax agent regulation will take effect. Agents with over 100 employees must comply immediately, while smaller practices have until 1 July 2025.

These changes introduce stricter ethical and operational requirements, including addressing false or misleading client statements, keeping clients informed of relevant matters and enhancing record-keeping standards.

The Tax Practitioners Board is finalising guidance and offering draft materials to support agents during this transition.

Tax administration, superannuation and reporting

Ensure you keep up to date with your regular reporting obligations, including:

• Payroll tax returns due 14 January 2025
• Superannuation contributions by 28 January 2025
• Business Activity Statements (BAS): If you report quarterly then 28 February 2025, if you report monthly then 21 January 2025 unless you are entitled to extra time 
   

Changes to introductory classifications in awards

Certain awards currently include pay rates lower than the National Minimum Wage, typically for introductory classifications or entry-level positions. 

Starting from 1 January or 1 April 2025, depending on your business type, introductory classifications in the relevant awards will only be applicable for a maximum of six months.

All other employment classifications beyond the introductory level must receive at least the National Minimum Wage.

Find more information on the changes at the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Changes to land tax thresholds

The Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 introduces key changes to land tax thresholds, which will be fixed from 1 January 2025. The general threshold will be set at $1,075,000, and the premium threshold at $6,571,000. These thresholds will remain unchanged for future land tax years, with a review by the Treasurer by 1 June 2027 to ensure their continued relevance to property owners and market conditions.

Revenue NSW will start issuing notices of assessment from Thursday 2 January 2025. If you are settling on a property in early 2025 you can request an early issue of your notice of assessment and apply for a 2025 clearance certificate from 16 December 2025.

Read more about the changes on Revenue NSW’s website.

Other regulatory changes

Make sure you are across any regulatory changes affecting your industry, including:

• New strata laws mean strata managers will need to disclose more information, more often to strata property owners, starting 3 February 2025
• Mandatory eID tagging for all sheep and goats born from 1 January 2025, prior to leaving the property of birth
• Fire protection changes from 13 February 2025 will mandate processes for the routine maintenance of specific essential fire safety measures. These requirements apply to buildings where annual or supplementary fire safety statements are required. 
• From 1 February 2025, e-micromobility devices, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, sold in NSW must comply with the prescribed safety standards. These requirements have been introduced to ensure that only safe and compliant products are available in the market, reducing the risk of fires.