WA Compliance Calendar

How WA's compliance year is structured

The federal layer is identical to everywhere else in Australia: quarterly BAS and PAYG instalments, superannuation guarantee (with the payday super reform moving super toward payment alongside each pay run — check the ATO for commencement and transition detail), STP on every pay run, and the annual cluster of STP finalisation, income tax, TPAR where your industry is reportable, FBT and the ASIC annual review. Current due dates live with the ATO and your registered agent — anchor your calendar to those, not to any printed list. The Western Australian layer sits on top, and it includes one structural quirk no other state has. None of this is personal advice; your adviser can map it to your entity.

The WA quirk: which industrial relations system are you in?

Most Australian employers sit in the national Fair Work system. In WA, unincorporated businesses — sole traders and partnerships — generally fall under the state industrial relations system instead, with WA awards and WA long service leave rules rather than Modern Awards. Incorporated employers (Pty Ltd companies) are in the national system. Which system you're in changes your awards, minimum entitlements and who regulates you, so settle this question first — the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (Wageline) can confirm your coverage.

RevenueWA: payroll tax

Payroll tax applies once Australia-wide wages pass WA's threshold, with grouping rules combining related entities. Liable employers lodge monthly returns and an annual reconciliation. WA's threshold and rate settings are its own — RevenueWA publishes the current figures and due dates, and they're the only version worth trusting year to year.

WorkCover WA: workers compensation

• Hold a policy — compulsory for WA employers, arranged through a licensed insurer under the WorkCover WA scheme.
• Annual wage declaration — actual and estimated wages set and true up your premium at each renewal.
• Renewal discipline — premiums move with industry classification and claims history; diarise renewal so cover never lapses, and report workplace injuries within the scheme's required timeframes.

MyLeave and long service leave

• MyLeave — WA's portable long service leave scheme for the construction industry. In-scope employers register, report service and pay levies on MyLeave's cycle, separate from ordinary LSL.
• Long Service Leave Act (WA) — WA's own accrual and payout rules apply to most other employees; check current entitlements through Wageline before an employee approaches a milestone, especially if you've assumed east-coast rules.

WA public holidays

WA's holiday calendar diverges from the eastern states more than most: WA Day exists nowhere else, the King's Birthday holiday is proclaimed for a different part of the year than in the east (and can vary regionally), and Labour Day sits at its own point too. Some regional towns also gazette local holidays. Pull the WA Government's published list each year before rostering — award penalty rates follow the gazetted days, and a national payroll template will quietly get WA wrong.

Make it run without you

Between the ATO, RevenueWA, WorkCover WA, MyLeave, Wageline and ASIC, a WA business answers to at least six authorities on different cycles. The durable fix is a single compliance calendar refreshed annually from each authority, each item with a named owner and a done-checklist — part of building genuine back-office capability rather than relying on the owner's memory. If that memory is still the system of record, reducing founder dependency is the real project underneath the calendar.