Definition
Single Touch Payroll (STP) is the Australian Taxation Office's system for employers to report each employee's salary and wages, PAYG withholding and super information to the ATO every time they run payroll, using STP-enabled software. Each report is due on or before payday.
How Single Touch Payroll works
Your payroll software sends an STP report to the ATO each time you pay employees. The report carries salary and wages, PAYG withholding and super liability information, so you do not lodge those figures separately. Employees with a linked myGov account can see their year-to-date amounts in an income statement that updates each time you report.
STP became mandatory for employers with 20 or more employees from 1 July 2018 and for employers with 19 or fewer from 1 July 2019. Employers who have not started reporting and are not covered by a deferral or exemption may face failure to lodge penalties.
Payroll reporting begins after someone is hired. For the step before it, springhire screens every applicant with skills tests and one-way video interviews from one candidate link.
When STP reports are due
The report is due on or before payday. Payday is the payment date in the transaction you send to your bank or, if you did not set one, the date you intend to pay the employee. Small employers with 19 or fewer payees can report closely held payees, such as directors or family members, on each payday or quarterly, but other employees must still be reported each payday. A payment outside the normal pay run, such as a bonus or termination payment, is reported in its own pay event on or before the day you make it.
After the financial year ends, you finalise your STP data. The employee's income statement is then marked tax ready, which is what they need to lodge their tax return.
STP Phase 2 and Payday Super
STP Phase 2 began on 1 January 2022. It added more detail to each report, such as employment basis, tax file number declaration details and the reason an employee left, without changing how or when you lodge. From 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, STP reports also include each employee's qualifying earnings and super liability, which feeds the ATO's monitoring of super guarantee compliance. Reports are still due on or before each payday.
Choosing software and avoiding errors
When you choose single touch payroll software, confirm that it is STP Phase 2 enabled and reports the Payday Super fields. Most errors start at set-up, so check each new starter's employment basis and tax details before their first pay run, report terminations with the correct reason, and fix mistakes in the next pay event instead of waiting for year end. If a payroll provider lodges for you, check that reports go in on time each payday.
Official sources
Rules and rates change. Check the official source before you act on them.
Frequently asked questions
Single Touch Payroll is the ATO's reporting system that sends each employee's pay, PAYG withholding and super information to the ATO every time you run payroll, so you do not lodge those figures separately. Employees see the amounts as an income statement in their myGov account.
An STP report is due on or before payday. Payday is the date set in the payment instruction to your bank, or the date you intend to pay if none was set. Small employers can report closely held payees quarterly, but other employees must be reported each payday.
It must be STP-enabled, and in practice Phase 2 ready, since Phase 2 has applied from 1 January 2022. From 1 July 2026, it also needs to report qualifying earnings and super liability in each pay event under Payday Super, while still lodging on or before payday.
Related terms
Part of the springhire HR glossary.
