The Payment Times Reporting Scheme requires reporting entities – mostly large businesses – to report on their payment terms and practices for their small business suppliers.
Who has to report
Businesses required to report on their payment practices are those that:
- are constitutionally covered
- run a business in Australia
- earn over $100 million in total annual income.
Other entities that must report are:
- those earning over $10 million total annual income that are members of a controlling corporation with over $100 million combined income
- Commonwealth companies and corporate entities that earn over $100 million total income a year.
Constitutionally covered entities that don't meet these requirements can volunteer to report.
Entities that are registered under the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission Act 2012 don't have to report, but may volunteer to.
Payment times reports
Payment times reports are due every 6 months of a business’s income year. Businesses submit their reports through the Payment Times Reporting Portal. They must submit them within 3 months from the end of the reporting period.
The first reporting period for businesses with common income years was 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021. So, first submission of reports was due 30 September 2021. A common income year may be an Australian financial year or a calendar year.
The payment times report:
- identifies the business
- provides data on the business’s payment terms and practices
- includes other relevant information about the business
- must be approved by either a responsible member of the entity or its controlling corporation.
Small Business Identification Tool
The Payment Times Reporting Small Business Identification Tool (SBI Tool) helps large businesses to identify, and report on, their small business suppliers.
Large businesses can upload their suppliers’ Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) to the SBI Tool. The tool then returns a list of small business supplier ABNs that they must report on.
Payment Times Reporting Regulator
Our role is to provide a reliable and transparent source of information about payment terms and performance of large businesses to their small business suppliers operating in Australia.
We publish this information to allow small businesses to make more informed decisions when supplying large businesses and to incentivise large businesses to improve payment terms and practices.
Payment Times Reports Register
We publish the information from payment times reports on the Payment Times Reports Register.
The register is available in a downloadable Excel file that we update regularly. You can also use an interactive dashboard to search for and view register data.