REMINDER Victoria: The New Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy is Coming Your Way

A new levy that’s about to be introduced means Victorian businesses with a wage bill of more than $10 million per year will now be required to contribute to rebuilding their state’s mental health system.

Known as The Mental Health and Wellbeing Levy, it’s been introduced in response to a key recommendation from the state’s mental health royal commission. According to the commission, Victoria’s mental health system “operates in crisis mode, fails patients and requires a complete rebuild”.

All revenue collected from the levy, which comes into play from 1 January 2022, will be directed to the provision of mental health services in Victoria.

 

What You Need to Know

In a nutshell, from 1 January 2022, if your business pays more than $10 million in wages nationally, it will be obliged to pay a levy of 0.5% on top of its payroll tax.

If your business pays more than $100 million nationally, the surcharge will rise to 1%.

For the transitional period (from 1 January to 30 June 2022), the annual thresholds are adjusted to $5 million and $50 million, respectively.

 

The ins and outs

Wages exempt from payroll tax (such as wages paid or payable to an employee taking primary or secondary caregiver leave or absent from work to volunteer in emergency response) are also exempt from the surcharge.

If you only pay wages for part of the year, or if you pay them in another Australian jurisdiction, your threshold will be adjusted proportionately.

If your business is part of a group, the thresholds apply at the group level and are claimed by the designated group employer.

 

When do you pay?

You’ll need to pay the levy with your business payroll tax… but the good news is, you won’t need to lodge a separate return.

 

Need Help? We’re Here

No doubt changes like this play havoc on business administration. At The Ayers Group, we’re here to help you prepare. Our purpose-built payroll software takes the hassle out of managing payroll and meeting state and federal obligations. If you’re a business in Victoria and you already have a payroll solution in place that’s been designed and customised to meet your needs by the Ayers Group, you’ll receive a software update.

If you’re interested in finding out about how our payroll solution can streamline administration for your business, or you simply need assistance, talk to an expert from The Ayers Group today.