Guidance materials for the overhauled Payment Times Reporting Scheme are now available.
New guidance
We have published new Guidance Materials for the Payment Times Reporting Scheme to reflect the recent reforms. This guidance incorporates the feedback from our recent public consultation process and will help reporting entities meet the new obligations for submitting consolidated payment times reports. It applies to all reporting periods starting on or after 1 July 2024.
You can find a summary of the feedback and the changes since the exposure draft on the Regulator’s website.
We saw strong interest in the content of the new reports during the consultation sessions and in the submissions we received. Accordingly, we prepared Understanding Reporting Fields - interim guidance [DOCX 250 KB] to give reporting entities detailed information about each reporting field in the various types of payment times reports.
In early 2025, we will host information sessions and publish additional resources, including detailed worked examples, to help reporting entities adapt to the new reporting requirements.
Information sheet updates
We’ve updated the Regulator’s information sheets to include new application types, decisions, and powers under the reformed Scheme.
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Updated Information Sheets |
Archived Information Sheets |
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Information Sheet 2: Regulator decisions – Your rights |
Information Sheet 3: Who must report |
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Information Sheet 6: Small business identification (SBI) Tool |
Information Sheet 4: Corporate groups |
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Information Sheet 7: Our regulatory powers |
Information Sheet 5: Acquisitions, divestments and winding up |
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Information Sheet 8: Reporting credit card transactions |
The information sheets for preparing reports under the former Scheme have been replaced by the new Guidance Materials, but remain available in the guidance archive on the Regulator’s website.
In 2025, we will refresh the entire suite of Information sheets with a new look and feel.
Small Business Identification Tool update
We’ve made significant updates to Information Sheet 6: Small business identification (SBI) Tool.
Starting in 2025, the SBI Tool will undergo a major annual data update each January. During this update, Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) will be classified as small businesses for the entire calendar year unless a correction is needed.
To support this change, the Payment Times Reporting Portal will include a new feature allowing users to select a specific year when running an SBI Tool query.
These updates will provide greater certainty for reporting entities and help with proactive targeting and management of payment times to small businesses.
We encourage all reporting entities to review Information Sheet 6 and learn how to use the SBI Tool for their reporting.