Coming soon: First Super Clearing House upgrade

First Super’s Clearing House for employer contributions is being enhanced to meet changes being brought in by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The ATO’s SuperStream requirements have been in place for several years. They aim to make sure that employer super contributions are paid to members in a timely, uniform and efficient manner.

With SuperStream, money and employee data are sent electronically in a standard format across employers, funds, service providers, and the ATO. The data is linked to the payment by a unique payment reference number.

Our current solution

Since 2015, First Super’s Clearing House* has been providing employers with a SuperStream solution that:

• is fully compliant with ATO SuperStream standards
• is suitable for all types of businesses (large or small)
• can accommodate both First Super and Choice of Fund member contributions
• is secure – the privacy of your employees’ information is guaranteed
• you can use it anytime and anywhere with internet access
• enables you to submit data and contribution payments on the same day
• is quick and convenient – you can upload data directly from your payroll software or an Excel file
• ensures data includes all mandatory fields.

Not only has First Super provided this service to employers, but we have provided it free of any fees or charges.

Preparing for ATO changes

The ATO is set to introduce a new service around event-based reporting to better keep track of members’ super accounts. It will launch the “Member Account Attribute Service” (MAAS) by 15 December 2018. As a result, super funds will have to:

• report changes to a member’s account and linked insurance within 5 business days; and
• report lost members once every six months.

These ATO changes meant that some upgrades to our existing Clearing House were necessary.

Our updated solution will ensure that you remain compliant with all mandatory government regulations AND will add a number of improvements to the existing service.

A better Clearing House solution

First Super’s upgraded Clearing House will continue to take the hassle out of making your super contributions and will also give you extra functionality such as:

• an easier to use and navigate portal – a more modern look and user-friendly navigation
• the ability to add new employees without contributions at any time – you won’t need to switch between multiple screens any more, and you’ll be able to start employment, contribute and end employment all in a single file, saving you time
• no need to enter member numbers if unknown – a long-awaited feature for some employers
• capacity to report on current files and historical events – you’ll be able look back in time at transactions to help you respond to queries
• ability to send refunds directly to your nominated account – reducing the turnaround time for contributions received in error
• online enrolment maintained – it will be easy to set up and begin contributions for a new employee
• still free of any charges or fees to you!

When is this happening?

The upgraded First Super Clearing House is currently being user tested. We expect that it will launched to employers by October, after we have incorporated feedback from the test results.

Our aim is to make the transition from the old portal to the new portal as seamless as possible and minimise any re-work for current users.

We will provide more detailed communications and user guides to current users of the service nearer to launch.

Want to know more?

If you are not already using our Clearing House solution and would like to register, simply click on this link and follow the prompts on the enrolment wizard.

For more information about or help with registering for our Clearing House, please call our Employer Services Team on 1300 360 988.

If you are still unfamiliar with SuperStream and how Clearing Houses work, then click on this training link. You can find more information about your SuperStream obligations on the ATO website.

 

Disclaimer

*First Super’s Clearing House is managed by Super Benefits Administration Pty Ltd (SBA) (ACN 098 637 659). SuperChoice Services Pty Ltd (SuperChoice) (ACN 109 509 739) has been contracted by SBA to provide SBA’s Clearing House. SuperChoice is an authorised representative (number 336522) of PayClear Services Pty Ltd (ACN 124 852 320, AFSL 314357).

First Super Pty Ltd (ABN 42 053 498 472, AFSL 223988), Trustee of First Super (ABN 56 286 625 18), does not recommend, endorse or accept responsibility for this service. Terms and conditions apply and can be viewed in the Product Disclosure Statement available from SBA upon request. First Super does not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by use of the SuperChoice Clearing House service. First Super does not receive any commissions from SuperChoice as a result of employers using this service.