Single Touch Payroll (STP) is an ATO reporting requirement which requires employers to report employees' salaries and ages, allowances, deductions, PAYG Withholding and superannuation electronically and in real-time to the ATO. This is reported to the ATO through the use of an STP compliant software which is ordinarily your usual payroll software.

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Maximise your tax deductions for the 2019-20 financial year by planning and reviewing your records.

Here are top tips for businesses and individuals when it comes to year-end tax planning:
Don't forget to download your guide at the end of the article.

Small business CGT concessions

Individuals operating a small business may be eligible for capital gains tax (CGT) concessions on the sale of business assets. The small business CGT concessions are available to business taxpayers with an aggregated turnover of less than $2 million or on business assets less than $6 million. Review your potential concessions for this financial year to receive the benefits of tax relief or contribute to your retirement savings through the sale of a business.

Quarterly super contributions

The super guarantee (SG) requires employers to provide sufficient super support for their employees. For the quarter period of 1 April to 30 June, SG contributions must be paid by 28 July. To qualify for a tax deduction in the 2019-20 financial year, contributions must be paid by the quarterly due date. You can make voluntary employer contributions of more than the required amount to increase benefits.

Stocktake

The year-end stocktake should involve a review of all trading stock and a decision made about its value from both a tax and commercial perspective. Obsolete, slow-moving or damaged stock should be identified by 30 June and disposed of for income purposes in order to receive a deduction.

Trust resolutions

Trustees of discretionary trusts must make and document resolutions before 30 June 2019 about how trust income will be distributed among the beneficiaries. If you have not already done so, setting up an interim financial statement can assist with distributing trust funds.

Deductions for expenses

There are a number of expenses that can be claimed for deductions in your individual 2019-20 tax return. Self-education expenses, such as course fees, textbooks, and stationery can be tax deductible if they are work-related or you receive a taxable bonded scholarship. Business owners operating from home may also claim deductions for home office expenses, such as room utilities, motor vehicle costs and depreciation and occupancy expenses.

Depositing contributions

Any contributions that have been recorded for your SMSF need to be deposited into the fund’s bank account by no later than 30 June. This is especially important where members have reported concessional or non-concessional contributions.

Capital losses

Selling assets that perform poorly, such as shares, could enable you to bring forward a tax loss. This can be offset against any capital gains made throughout the financial year.

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High quality formwork is often fundamental to a construction project’s success – whether it’s delivering sturdy foundations for critical infrastructure or creating architectural triumphs like the Sydney Opera House.

But the complexity and precision of formwork leaves firms particularly susceptible to issues on the jobsite. Inaccurate and outdated information, or simply poor communication, can be barriers to delivering work that’s on schedule and right the first time.

This is an issue across the construction industry as a whole; poor data and communication cost firms in Australia and New Zealand $8.4bn in rework last year. But for formwork businesses especially, these problems can cut deep into profit margins and damage relationships with key contractors.

By using mobile digital tools on the jobsite, formwork businesses can improve their operations, deliver an improved service to clients and set themselves up to deliver even more complex and interesting projects in the future.

Mobile technologies can moreover act as a competitive differentiator for formwork businesses.

Challenges on the jobsite

Formwork businesses face significant pressures on the jobsite. Delivering high quality work can depend on intense coordination with concrete contractors, detailed fabrication or shop drawing processes and careful collaboration with many other trades on the jobsite. And of course, with tight turnaround times, operational excellence is critical to profit margins.

But sharing information on the jobsite is one of the biggest challenges facing construction firms as a whole. Looking for project information is the biggest source of wasted time on projects in Australia ad New Zealand; meanwhile, poor communication, delays receiving information and doubts about its accuracy are the most common reasons for tasks taking longer than expected on building projects.

For contractors, sharing information between multiple subcontractors can involve distributing huge volumes of paper, or uploading documents to multiple technology platforms, such as email, DropBox or back office tools. When projects are frequently subject to changes from the client, scheduling delays, materials shortages or simply unforeseen circumstances like poor weather, it can be hard to ensure everyone on the jobsite has the latest data when they need it.

Working from outdated documents can cause mistakes, which is damaging to both the formwork business and the contractor. Correcting errors with formwork may be extremely costly and time consuming, setting back the project schedule and preventing the firm from moving to the next job. However, there are digital tools that can mitigate these issues on the jobsite, to enable formwork businesses to deliver better service and more complex builds.

Mobile collaboration tools

Today mobile digital tools are available that have been designed specifically for subcontractors to use on the jobsite. With platforms like PlanGrid, formwork businesses can access digital copies of drawings and other project information using familiar wireless devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Because the data is stored in the cloud, it is updated automatically, so everyone is always working from the latest information. The technology is designed around the needs of the jobsite; it’s possible to attach photos and notes directly to places on drawings, for example, or assign defect items to subcontractors for correction. Importantly, the tools are very easy to use, so are suitable for team members who are less digitally confident.

Digital tools can help formwork firms to communicate more effectively with multiple stakeholders, by sharing information quickly and reducing the challenge of version control. Productivity on the site is improved, because everyone has access to the information they need, when they need it.

Equally, digital platforms mitigate risk by documenting the work completed on the jobsite. This enables formwork installers to document changes in scope for change orders, provide evidence of work completed on time and protect themselves against litigation in the case of conflict, with time and date stamping for all activities.

The future of formwork

Mobile technologies can moreover act as a competitive differentiator for formwork businesses. Firms can improve productivity and achieve operational excellence, even embedding standards into the platform.

Businesses can also deliver a higher quality of service to contractors and clients, by communicating regularly and in detail during the construction process, and delivering living as-built records with rich, holistic data for the ongoing maintenance of facilities. With this kind of platform, formwork businesses can stand out from the crowd.

In the future, digital technologies will help businesses to deliver formwork projects of increasing complexity. With 3D Building Information Modelling (BIM), architects can design buildings with intricate formwork designs, and using tools like PlanGrid, formwork firms can bring these complex ideas to life, by viewing – and then creating – both 2D and 3D models on site.

With digital technologies, firms can not only improve their own productivity, but create a competitive differentiator for clients.

An incredible opportunity

Formwork can be an incredibly complex and precise undertaking, rendering regular, detailed information-sharing critical for businesses’ success. With digital technologies, firms can not only improve their own productivity, but create a competitive differentiator for clients.

And with advanced on-site tools, formwork installers can prepare themselves for even more advanced designs going forward – whether it be to design the homes of tomorrow or the architectural marvels of the future.

Adele Bernard, Marketing Director – APAC, PlanGrid

Imagine if you were seriously injured at work. Think about the impact on your family, friends and your career. Let alone the added stress of paying the bills. But what if it was your workmate who had the accident, and what if it was one you could have prevented? Imagine how you would feel knowing you didn’t speak up.

SafeWork NSW can help you start a conversation about workplace safety. Use the Safety starts with you website to help you create and continue the conversation about workplace safety.

Let's Talk Safety - Safework NSW.

Consultation provides an opportunity to use the knowledge and experience of your staff to achieve a safer and healthier workplace.

Provided the arrangements are planned and developed in consultation with workers, they can be quite flexible ranging from establishing a health and safety committee, having an health and safety representative (HSR), or through other agreed arrangements.

Consultation is a legal requirement and an essential part of managing health and safety risks.

Consultation gives people the opportunity to participate and share information about work health and safety.

You can consult with workers in a variety of ways, including regular meetings or by setting up a health and safety committee.

Through talking about safety, you can become more aware of hazards in the workplace and workers can provide suggestions about how the work could be done safely.

Using the knowledge and experience of everyone helps to identify safety hazards and risks easier as well as finding and communicating practical solutions.

Consult with Workers:

There are requirements to consult with workers. Consultation must take place on all work health and safety matters including:

undertaking risk management activities

proposing changes that may affect the health and safety of workers

making decisions about any work health and safety procedures

the adequacy of facilities for the welfare of workers.

Regardless of the arrangement, your obligation to consult with all workers remains.

Consult with Others:

There are requirements to consult with other employers or businesses when you share concurrent WHS duties with another.

You must consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other and any workers of the business (or other PCBU) whose health and safety is likely to be effected.

Flexibility in Consultation:

There is some flexibility in establishing consultation arrangements to best suit the consultation needs of the workers at the workplace.

Health and safety representatives can be elected to represent various work groups and investigate health and safety issues.

Health and safety committees facilitate cooperation between you and your workers on health and safety matters and develop work health and safety standards, rules and procedures.

Once established, consultation must be in accordance with the procedures agreed to between you and the workers.

Other Arrangements:

It may be more effective and meaningful to have an alternative arrangement for consultation if workers travel frequently or the business is small.

Other agreed arrangements are flexible alternatives for establishing agreed consultation arrangements that meet your business needs and improve decision making, especially where there is no health and safety representative (HSR) or health and safety committee (HSC).

"In our case the traditional safety committee we tried didn't work".

Paul Lyndon
National Safety Manager, Diona Civil Constructions

And some workplaces may need a mix of health and safety representatives, committees and other agreed consultation arrangements tailored to suit the workers and the work environment.

How to set up other consultation arrangements:

Some workplaces may need a mix of HSRs, HSCs and / or other consultation arrangements tailored to suit the workers and the work environment.

It may be more effective and meaningful to have an alternative arrangement for consultation if workers travel frequently or the business is small.

Other arrangements for consultation on health and safety matters could be through:

• regular scheduled meetings
• team meetings (where work health and safety is always an agenda item)
• one-off meetings
• tool box talks
• face to face discussions
• briefing sessions.

If a procedure for consultation has been agreed with workers, the consultation must be in accordance with those procedures.

Checklist for setting up other arrangements:

The person conducting a business or undertaking must:

• consult with the workers on how consultation will occur and explain what consultation requires
• ensure the nature of consultation is consistent with requirements under section 48 of the WHS Act including ensuring information is shared and workers are given a reasonable opportunity to contribute
• ensure consultation occurs when required under section 49 of the WHS Act
• If a procedure for consultation has been agreed with workers, the consultation must be in accordance with those procedures
• regularly monitor and review the consultation procedures to ensure they are the most effective form of consultation.

Our Consultation @ Work Strategy outlines how we are committed to helping NSW workplaces manage health and safety successfully through effective communication and consultation.

SafeWork NSW Inspectors targeting unsafe scaffolds and unlicensed workers.

A useful read and provision of guidelines for anyone involved with scaffolding on site.
Written and provided by SafeWork NSW.

"On 1 April 2019 a young construction worker died, and another worker was seriously injured as a result of a major scaffold collapse on a construction site at Macquarie Park, Sydney.

This tragic incident reminds construction site managers of the potential dangers of scaffolding, and the need to continuously monitor scaffolding on site to ensure it is safe, built as designed and compliant.

OPERATION SCAFF SAFE

SafeWork NSW has a zero tolerance for construction companies who put workers lives at risk by permitting unsafe scaffolds on their sites. Inspectors can issue on-the-spot fines of up to $3,600 for each instance where workers are exposed to the risk of falls. On-the-spot fines can also be issued to workers undertaking licenced scaffolding work without the appropriate high risk work (HRW) scaffolding licence, and employers who let their workers do so.

Throughout 2019, SafeWork NSW Inspectors will continue to target scaffold compliance on NSW construction sites focussing on ensuring;

• scaffolds are built to Australian Standards and are not missing components
• those erecting, dismantling or altering scaffolds (where the risk of an object or person falling is 4 metres or more) hold the correct HRW scaffolding licence,
• scaffolds remain safe and compliant throughout the build process.

Site supervisors should regularly check the compliance and safety of the scaffold, ensuring:

• the scaffold is built to the drawings or design
• the scaffold is built on solid foundations
• the scaffold has safe access and egress to the working decks
• scaffold decks are fully planked and have adequate edge protection (guardrails, midrails and toeboards)
• the gaps between the working deck or hop-ups and the building face are less than 225mm (horizontal)
• there are adequate ties to the building
• loads are within the scaffolds duty rating/loading
• there is vehicle access protection installed at vehicle entry points
• the scaffold can withstand the additional wind loads when containment sheeting is used
• containment sheeting is fire resistant to a flammability index of 25 or less (or equivalent).

The scaffold needs to be regularly inspected and maintained by a licenced scaffolder to ensure it remains compliant throughout the duration of the project and an inspection/handover certificate re-issued by the scaffolder to the principal contractor.

The risk of workers altering the scaffold without the appropriate HRW licence needs to be managed on site through regular safety inspections, site inductions, ongoing consultation, providing clear site rules, and ensuring adequate site supervision".

See the below linked and attached scaffold safety resources:

• SafeWork NSW scaffolding safety page – Codes of Practice and Guides
• principal contractor scaffold safety checklist
• scaffold inspection/handover certificate template 
• incident information on the Macquarie Park scaffold collapse 

For more information about how to work safely with scaffolds, see the SafeWork website or call 13 10 50.

And the Top Attributes of the World’s Safest Construction Companies, as advised by FIA Partner PlanGrid.

Ask yourself the following question: At the end of a long construction workday, what’s the most important thing?

While it’s easy to think about productivity or work progress as a top of mind answers, you’d be wrong. The real answer? "Getting everyone on the job home safely".

The construction workplace, no less–can be a common site for accidents, sometimes fatal ones. OSHA reports more than 14 workplace deaths per day as of 2017, over 20% of which were in the field of construction. While deaths and injuries are dropping, they are still alarmingly prevalent.

That’s why, in construction, valuing safety is one of the highest attributes of a company. Sure, there are rules, regulations and best practices to follow, and most companies do their best to toe the line. But that’s not the same as genuinely prioritizing safety, which is when a company puts the health and lives of its workers above anything else.

Unless your primary goal is to get employees home safely at the end of the day, your values probably aren’t quite where they need to be.

Honestly, this is just good business sense. Not prioritizing safety can mean mistakes and issues that can cost significant resources in litigation and fines. Even if no serious issues occur, an unsafe culture can create a trickle-down effect, reducing project efficiency over time. Considering the serious productivity problem in construction today, we can’t afford even the most minor inconveniences that come with safety failures, even if no one gets hurt.

This Construction Safety Week, instead of highlighting the issues when companies aren’t safe, PlanGrid wanted to recognize those companies that are making an effect to go above and beyond with their safety programs. Accordingly, flip through our SlideShare to learn about 10 of the top safest construction programs in business today:

10 Top US Construction Companies for Safety from PlanGrid

What Makes a Safe Construction Company?

It goes without saying that some companies are safer than others–but what separates the safe-conscious and the slackers? Here are six traits to look for in the safest construction companies.

1. Safety Is Ingrained in the Culture

First, the safest construction companies have an organization-wide understanding of and buy-in to the safety programs. That means all employees know about which safety steps the company has taken and how they work. This is fully ingrained in the culture, and employees know it’s part of their job to take action on it. No excuses.

The No. 1 spot on our list, Bancroft Construction, truly builds safety into the company culture. According to Brand Manager, Laura McLaine, “Running safe jobsites and maintaining a safe workplace is the right thing to do, but it is also one of the major values on which our company is built.”

Note that means prioritizing safety over efficiency, which is hard to do. Despite the temptation to put deadlines and budgets first, companies should never encourage employees to skimp on safety to make up time. Safety above all is the only way to go.

Also, the safest construction companies prompt participation, beyond the direct company employees. At a safe construction company, all employees on a jobsite, whether they are internal or subs, should be educated on the right process and feel like it’s their duty to be as safe as possible.

2. Continual Training … Forever

For a high standard of safety, a one-and-done training session is not enough. The safest construction companies don’t just strive for the bare minimum requirements, but rather prioritize safety continually. That means frequent training and refreshers, full instruction on each new process or piece of equipment, and an open-door policy regarding safety questions.

Continued training should be a part of the professional development plan of every employee. If your company doesn’t yet have personalized safety training plans put in place for each employee, it’s time to invest in implementing those today.

3. Collaboration and Communication

Communication and collaboration are essential to building trust and relationships on a jobsite–this is a core element to a safe company culture. The safest construction companies know this, but unfortunately, this knowledge is not yet as widespread as it should be.

Even more unfortunately, some traditional methods of construction detract from communication and collaboration. Simply put, old processes like the heavy reliance on email and using Excel to track progress don’t encourage communication–and many outright discourage it. Luckily, there are new tools that help.

For instance, construction productivity software is essential in today’s building sector. It connects the whole jobsite with the most up-to-date information on one easy-to-use platform, significantly reducing the chance of an accident based on out-of-date or incorrect info.

4. Transparency and Documentation

Transparency and accuracy in documentation correlate strongly to good communication, and therefore they’re both critical to jobsite safety. The world’s safest construction companies always aim to create solid practices around documentation and control, preferably using cloud-based collaboration programs that enable the whole team to access up-to-date information whenever they need it.

This reduces the risk of missing information and data that could create hazards to jobsite staff. Plus, more information paints a clearer picture of what’s going on, so teams are always prepped for the day and throughout the project lifecycle.

5. High-Quality Equipment and Gear

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is obviously an OSHA requirement and readily available on every jobsite. However, while a safe company culture and ample training will help to ensure employees know why and how to use it, they need to do more. They should aim to provide the right PPE for all their employees’ needs, not just some of them.

For instance, certain gear is standardized and not necessarily meant for varying body types; women disproportionally suffer from ill-fitting PPE. Safe companies will ensure they have the right gear for everybody (literally every body) and that it’s always up to date with for the latest standards.

6. The Ability to Think Outside the Box

Being proactive about safety isn’t always a black and white situation. It sometimes requires contractors to think outside of the box to solve problems. A company with an excellent safety program ensures that employees are incentivized to innovate on safety. That way, if they see a lack, they have the proper motivation to do something about it, rather than simply move on with business as usual.

Great Lakes Construction, No. 4 on our list, encourages precisely this type of creative thinking from employees. As a result of this attitude, one employee came up with a novel device that holds jackhammers in place.

“Because this device allowed our employees to work safer, with less stress on the body, we rewarded the employee with a $1,000 cash prize,” says Safety Director William Hocevar. Now that’s the kind of carrot we’re talking about: one that will lead to a truly team-oriented, safety-first site.

Safety First: Build Your Business by Diminishing Danger

What lesson should we take away from our 10 shining stars, as well as the advice in this post? Pretty simple, really: The safest construction companies invest in safety, period. If you’re not emphasizing reducing hazards, instituting safety protocols, training all workers and becoming proactive in every nook and cranny of the jobsite, then you could be doing more.

Because while a construction business is made of materials, designs, orders, life cycles, spreadsheets and so much more, it’s the people who make things go. Your business will suffer unless they’re happy, healthy and secure. So let’s honor those people this week and throughout the year by bumping safety to the top of the priority list–and leaving it there for good.

Find out how you can apply for a $500 rebate in four easy steps from Safework NSW.

Watch this video.

A message from Safework NSW 

When installed correctly, scaffolds protect against falls from heights and falling objects, so when safety fails the results can be devastating. 
 
Recently, a 15 metre scaffold collapsed at a Macquarie Park construction site. 
 
Rick Bultitude, SafeWork NSW Director of Investigations and Emergency Response said investigations are under way to determine the cause. 
“We received a call to attend an incident and when our inspectors arrived, they were told that an 18-year-old who was trapped had passed away,” Mr Bultitude said.  
“Another, 39-year-old formworker was seriously injured and hospitalised. 

“There was a great deal of shock and grief on the site - something which will ripple throughout workplaces and industry". 

“While our team is looking into what went wrong, we remind businesses, large and small, that they have a duty to identify hazards and manage risks to health and safety in accordance with the provisions of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.” 

 

Only licenced scaffolders are legally allowed to erect, alter and dismantle scaffolds where the risk of workers or an object falling is 4 metres or more. 
 
Although licenced scaffolders are responsible for alterations to a scaffold, everyone on a job site can be alert to scaffold safety and raise concerns with their supervisor or licenced scaffolder. 
 
Good scaffolds will: 

• have solid and even foundations 
• safe access and egress to working decks  
• horizontal gaps between the working deck and building face that are less than 225mm 
• adequate ties to the building 
• loads weighted within the rated capacity 
• vehicle access protection installed at vehicle entry points 
• be complete with no missing components – handrails, mid rails, toe-boards/brick guards, ledgers, planks, hop-ups. 

Scaffolders must hold the appropriate high risk work licence and have provided a handover certificate after installation. 

You can check a worker’s high risk work licence validity on the public register.  
 
The register also lists if a person’s licence is suspended or cancelled, or they have been issued with a penalty. 
 
More detailed guidance is contained in the following resources: 
 
• Safe Work Australia - Scaffolds and scaffolding work general guide 
• Safe Work Australia – Guide for scaffold inspection and maintenance 
• SafeWork NSW Erecting, altering and dismantling scaffolding – part 1 – prefabricated steel modular scaffolding 
• Scaffolding collapse safety alert – 14 Sept 2018 
• Dogging, rigging and scaffolding licencing information 
• AS/NZS1576 Part 1: Scaffolding – general requirements 
• AS/NZS4576: Guidelines for scaffolding 
• Construction work Code of Practice 
• Managing the risk of falls at workplaces Code of Practice 
 
Scaffold safety failures account for numerous injuries in the construction industry, with collapses and falls from heights being the main risks. 
 
“It is the responsibility of the scaffold suppliers and installers to ensure the scaffold is fully compliant when handing over to the site,” Mr Bultitude said. 
 
“It is the responsibility of the principal contractor to ensure their scaffold is compliant on handover and remains compliant for the duration of the build - and to ensure unlicensed workers do not place others at risk by removing scaffold components. 

“It is all of us who are responsible for making safety the number one conversation, issue and consideration at work because the costs are too high not to.” 

Workers impacted by incidents that have injured or killed colleagues are potentially at risk of psychological harm. 
 
Apart from seeking support from their business, workers can visit Mates in Construction or Mental Health at Work on the SafeWork NSW website which lists services for immediate mental health needs such as in the aftermath of an incident as well as resources for ongoing mental wellbeing in the workplace. 

With membership renewals just around the corner, the FIA is continuing to improve its offering to members and negotiating a number of additional benefits to help you recoup the cost of your membership.

Look out for announcements in June regarding the multiple additions to your member benefits designed for you, our members, to save thousands of dollars and recoup the cost of your membership.

We are pleased to confirm we will be keeping membership fees at the same level in our second year of operation and assisting you with your safety training. 

Please let us know if you would like us to connect with a supplier and negotiate an industry wide benefit for FIA members.

We are also planning on growing our events program next year with specific workshops that not only qualify for CPD points but also offer certification of attendance. There are additional plans too for certification and verification of competency to assist both individual contractors and organisations.

If you would like to get involved and contribute your feedback on this project or any other FIA project, please get in touch with our General Manager, Michael Sugg.