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Australian Business Compliance Calendar FY2026

The rhythm of a compliant year — what's due, how often, and who owns it.

How to use this calendar

Compliance isn't one deadline — it's a repeating rhythm of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual obligations that layer on top of each other. The businesses that never cop penalty notices aren't the ones with the best memory; they're the ones that have turned this rhythm into a routine with a named owner for each item.

One deliberate choice in this calendar: we name every obligation and its cadence, but we don't print the due dates. Dates shift with weekends, agent lodgement programs and legislative change, and a stale date is worse than no date. For every item below, the ATO, your state revenue office or your registered agent publishes the current due date — put those dates in your calendar, not ours. This page is general information; your accountant or registered agent can confirm what applies to your structure.

The quarterly rhythm

  • Business Activity Statement (BAS) — for most GST-registered small businesses, lodged quarterly, covering GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments. The ATO publishes the due date for each quarter, and lodging through a registered agent usually attracts a later date. Applies to anyone registered for GST.
  • PAYG instalments — prepayments toward the business's own income tax, usually lodged and paid with the BAS. Applies once the ATO enters you into the instalment system.
  • Superannuation guarantee — historically paid quarterly, with each quarter's contribution due in employees' funds by the ATO's published date. Note the payday super reform, which moves super to being paid with each pay run rather than quarterly — confirm the commencement date, transition rules and your obligations directly with the ATO, because getting caught between the two regimes is an easy way to trigger the superannuation guarantee charge.

The monthly layer

  • Monthly BAS or IAS — businesses over the ATO's turnover or withholding thresholds report GST or PAYG withholding monthly instead of quarterly. Check your registration; the cadence isn't optional once you're over the line.
  • Payroll tax — a state tax that applies once your Australia-wide wages exceed your state's threshold. Most liable employers lodge monthly returns with an annual reconciliation. Thresholds and rates differ by state — go to your state revenue office for the current numbers.

The annual cycle

  • STP finalisation — declaring employees' year-end pay data through Single Touch Payroll shortly after 30 June, so their income statements go "tax ready". The ATO sets the finalisation date each year. Applies to every employer.
  • Income tax return — due dates vary by entity type, lodgement history and whether you use an agent; your agent's lodgement program governs.
  • Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) — an annual report of contractor payments, required in industries such as building and construction, cleaning, courier and road freight, IT and security. Check the ATO's list and its published due date.
  • FBT return — fringe benefits tax runs on its own year, ending in autumn rather than 30 June. If you provide cars, entertainment or other benefits, ask the ATO or your agent about registration and the current lodgement date.
  • Workers compensation declaration — an annual wages declaration to your state insurer so your premium can be set. Every employer, every state.
  • ASIC annual review — companies receive an annual statement around their registration anniversary; confirm details, pay the review fee, and pass a solvency resolution.

Ongoing, every pay run

  • STP reporting — payroll data reported to the ATO on or before each payday.
  • Award compliance — Modern Award rates change, typically from the start of the financial year. Check the Fair Work Ombudsman's current rates whenever the new year ticks over.
  • Record keeping — employee records, tax records and substantiation kept for the periods the ATO and Fair Work require.

Making the rhythm stick

The failure mode isn't ignorance — it's that every item above lives in a different person's head, or worse, only in the owner's. Assign each obligation a named owner, a calendar entry with the authority's current date, and a checklist for what "done" looks like. That's the difference between compliance as a scramble and compliance as a system — and it's a big part of what we mean by the coordination tax a business pays when its back office runs on memory. If the whole rhythm still routes through one person, start with systemising your business.