This Service Charter applies to everyone who engages with the Payment Times Reporting Regulator (the Regulator). It outlines our commitment to you, the standard of behaviour you can expect from us, what we ask of you, how we may respond to unacceptable behaviour towards our staff and actions you can take if we have not met your expectations, or you believe we have not adhered to this Service Charter.
What we do
We administer Australia’s Payment Times Reporting Scheme (the Scheme) established by the Payment Times Reporting Act 2020. The Scheme promotes timely payment practices and fosters a culture of prompt payment by large businesses. It improves transparency of the payment terms, times and practices of large businesses and certain government entities to support economic growth and improve outcomes for small business suppliers.
We regulate large businesses, Commonwealth corporate entities and Commonwealth companies with consolidated revenue of more than $100 million in a financial year.
To learn more about the Scheme, the role of the Regulator and the legislation that underpins the Scheme, visit About the Regulator.
What we cannot do
We cannot provide legal or financial advice and recommend you obtain independent professional advice.
Our commitment to you
All our staff must comply with the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct. This includes acting impartially, behaving with integrity and honesty, and exercising due care and diligence in the course of their employment.
We are committed to:
- the best practice principles for Commonwealth Regulators
- treating you with respect and courtesy
- providing prompt, professional, and high-quality information and assistance
- making fair, and impartial decisions, and advising you of our decisions in a timely manner, and
- being accountable for our actions.
You have a right to a fair and impartial decision
When we make decisions that affect you while we are administering the Scheme, we are committed to upholding your right to procedural fairness. Depending on the decision, this may include:
- providing you with reasons for the decision
- giving you an opportunity to make a submission, and
- the right to apply for a review of the decision.
For further information about your rights, refer to Information sheet 2: Regulator decisions – Your rights.
What we ask of you
We are committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for everyone. Just as you deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect when engaging with our staff, we expect you to treat our staff the same way. When you engage with us, we expect you to act with courtesy, respect and without harassment.
Respectful behaviour includes:
- treating our staff with courtesy and consideration
- communicating your needs and concerns in a reasonable manner, for example without yelling, threatening, or abusing our staff
- listening to our staff so they can assist you effectively, and
- not filming, recording, or photographing our staff without their prior consent.
The Regulator will not tolerate behaviour that puts staff at risk of physical or mental harm. This includes conduct that is abusive, intimidating, threatening, bullying, discriminatory, disrespectful, or otherwise unreasonable. If you behave in this way, we cannot help you.
Unacceptable behaviour includes:
- acts of aggression, verbal abuse or statements that are derogatory, discriminatory or defamatory
- harassment, intimidation, or emotional manipulation
- rude, confrontational, disrespectful, or threatening behaviour
- stalking (in person, online or via email)
- persistent questioning about a staff member’s personal life, relationship status, or religious or cultural background
- contacting staff outside work, including through social media platforms
- posting illegal, threatening, or defamatory statements about staff online, and
- recording interviews or phone calls (audio or video) without prior consent.
How we may respond
If we consider your behaviour to be unreasonable or inappropriate, we reserve the right to:
- end a phone call with you
- ask you to leave an in-person meeting or remove you from virtual meetings or events
- write to you and the organisation you represent, noting the behaviour and providing you with feedback on how to engage more appropriately with our staff in the future
- refer the matter to appropriate authorities if your actions are of a serious nature.
Compliments and complaints
The Regulator welcomes feedback about our operations. It is important to us to know that we are meeting our commitment.
If we have not met your expectations, we encourage you to let us know so we can work with you to find a solution.
If you would like to compliment our staff, have questions about how we handled a matter or wish to make a complaint, please contact us.
Management of complaints
Where possible and appropriate, we endeavour to address complaints quickly and informally.
We treat all complaints seriously and will manage all complaints confidentially and impartially.
We will acknowledge the complaint within 5 business days and provide an appropriate timeframe for a response and contact details for queries regarding the complaint.
The time it takes to review or investigate a complaint and respond to a complainant will depend on the nature and complexity of the issue(s) to resolved.
We will provide clear and informative responses to complainants, and where you would like further information or explanation about the response, the staff member responsible for management of the complaint may be able to provide further explanatory material. Alternatively, you may request the matter be referred to a more senior officer to review and respond to you.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
July 2025