GST Point-in-Time Service Updates

Tuesday 11 February 2025 @ 9.00 a.m.

The GST Service has been updated to include the Crown References Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) (Act No 115 of 2024), the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024  (Cth) (Act No 128 of 2024), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) (Consequential) Act 2024 (Cth) (Act No 134 of 2024), the Treasury Laws Amendment (2024 Tax and Other Measures No. 1) Act 2024 (Cth) (Act No 135 of 2024), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Act 2024 (Cth) (Act No 136 of 2024), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Act 2024 (Act No 137 of 2024), and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024 (Cth) (Act No 138 of 2024).

Act 115 of 2024

Following the accession of His Majesty King Charles III, the Act makes minor amendments to various Commonwealth Acts to:

  • update references to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to “the Sovereign”; and
  • provide flexibility to the application and operation of existing and future legislation, in the event of the accession of a new Sovereign.

Act 128 of 2024

The Act enacts a first tranche of reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) to implement a number of the legislative proposals that were agreed by the Government in its September 2023 Response to the Privacy Act Review.

The rapidly evolving digital landscape presents opportunities for innovation, advances in productivity and efficiency, and a range of other benefits for all Australians. However, the Privacy Act has not kept pace with Australians’ widespread adoption and reliance on digital technologies, which increases the risks that personal data will be subject to misuse or mishandling, including through data breaches, fraud and identity theft, unauthorised surveillance and other significant online harms.

Act 134 of 2024

This Act makes consequential and miscellaneous provisions necessary for the collection and recovery of the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) top-up tax and Domestic top-up tax.

Act 135 of 2024

This Act amends the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth) (TAA 1953) to modify the Foreign residents’ capital gains withholding (FRCGW) regime to:

  • increase the withholding rate to 15 per cent (from 12.5 per cent); and
  • remove the threshold before which withholding applies so that disposals of relevant Capital gains tax (CGT) assets by a foreign resident are subject to FRCGW requirements regardless of the market value of the CGT asset.

These amendments seek to ensure better compliance by foreign residents with their Australian tax obligations and support the collection of tax liabilities from foreign residents. In addition, the Act also: 

  • seeks to reduce the administrative burden for employers reporting under Single Touch Payroll (STP);
  • amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) to allow amendments to be made to the assessments of small and medium business taxpayers who apply to the Commissioner within four years after the day the Commissioner gave notice of an assessment;
  • amends the TAA 1953 to extend the circumstances in which the Commissioner may retain an entity’s tax refund to encourage taxpayers to provide the Commissioner with valid Australian financial institution account details to facilitate the faster, safer and cheaper payment of refunds.

Act 136 of 2024

This Act makes various and substantive amendments relating to the cessation of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program, information and safety standards, Housing Australia, industry codes, taxation, corporations, financial services and foreign acquisitions and takeovers, and for other purpose.

Act 137 of 2024

This Act includes a package of reforms to modernise Australia’s merger review framework. The Act amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA) to overhaul the existing framework for merger review and replace it with a single mandatory and suspensory administrative system for acquisitions that will be faster, stronger, simpler, targeted and more transparent.

Act 138 of 2024

This Act extends the application of the National Credit Code to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) contracts and establishes Low cost credit contracts (LCCCs) as a new category of regulated credit. This Act also includes amendments to: 

  • the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) to list specified companies as deductible gift recipients; and
  • the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (Cth) to support Commonwealth payments to the States in accordance with the National Skills Agreement and any successor agreements.

These amendments have been updated in the Point-in-Time GST Service current to 11 February 2025 (NB: subscription required).

If you are not already a subscriber to this or other Point-in-Time Services then please contact us to find out more or to take a free trial.