Follow our news and updates section and let Southgate Salary Packaging Services keep you informed about important salary packaging news and information.

2018-19 Federal Budget Announcement
10^th May 2018

On Tuesday 8^th May, the Federal Government announced its 2018-19 Federal Budget.

Firstly, we are delighted to advise that there are no major changes or implications for Salary Packaging or Novated Leasing customers.

This means you can continue salary packaging your current fringe benefits without disruption.

The Budget does include some proposed minor changes to Income Tax rates and concessions, which will be rolled out over the next 7 years via a 3-step plan. This will begin from 1^st July 2018 with the top threshold of the 32.5% personal Income Tax bracket increasing from $87,000 to $90,000.

Lastly, the Government has now confirmed that it will not be proceeding with the previously announced 0.5% increase to the Medicare Levy (proposed to change from 2.0% to 2.5% from 1^st July 2019). Therefore, any consequential changes to the FBT Rate, Gross Up Factors or FBT Capping Thresholds will also not proceed.

If you have any questions about your salary packaging arrangement, please contact Southgate on 1300 132 500 or email .

Important Changes to FBT Rate from 1^st April 2017
7^th March 2017

From 1^st April 2017, the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) Rate will revert back to 47% (currently 49%).

This follows cessation of the Federal Government's Temporary Budget Repair Levy for high income earners, which was introduced for a two-year period across the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 Financial Years. The change reflects a realignment of the FBT Rate to match the highest marginal Income Tax rate, including the Medicare Levy.

As a consequence, the following rates and limits will also change from 1^st April 2017:

• The Higher Gross Up Factor (for Type 1 benefits) will be 2.0802
• The Lower Gross Up Factor (for Type 2 benefits) will be 1.8868
• The FBT Rebate Concession for FBT Rebatable employees will be 47%
• The FBT Rebatable Cap Limit will be $30,000 Grossed Up (formerly $31,177)
• The FBT Exempt Cap Limit for PBI Charities will be $30,000 Grossed Up (formerly $31,177)
• The FBT Exempt Cap Limit for Public Health Organisations will be $17,000 Grossed Up (formerly $17,667)

Southgate will make all necessary adjustments to employee salary packaging arrangements managed by us, with changes taking effect in the first available paycycle in April 2017. Your payroll department will receive notification shortly of any required changes to salary deductions and/or FBT provisions.

If your organisation is administering and reporting any fringe benefits internally, please ensure that you have adjusted your systems/calculations to use the new applicable rates from 1st April 2017 onwards. It is important to consider these changes immediately so that necessary adjustments can be made early enough to prevent breaching FBT Capping Limits across the 2017-2018 FBT Year.

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Southgate on 1300 132 500 or email .

Upcoming Changes to Meal Entertainment and Accommodation & Venue Hire (from 1st April 2016)
11 February 2016

In recent months, the Australian Government has passed new legislation that changes the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) treatment of both the Meal Entertainment and Accommodation & Venue Hire fringe benefits when salary packaged. These changes will take effect from 1st April 2016, when the 2016-2017 FBT Year commences.

A new annual cap limit of $2,550 in real dollars (or $5,000 Grossed Up Value) will apply per FBT Year across the combined total of Meal Entertainment and/or Accommodation & Venue Hire expenses.

When salary packaged, these two fringe benefits will now incur a Reportable Fringe Benefits Amount (‘RFBA’) on your annual Payment Summary, which may have an impact on any Government Benefits you receive or Government Obligations (such as HECS/HELP, Medicare Surcharge and Child Support).

These changes DO NOT AFFECT your standard FBT Concession Caps as listed below:

• For FBT Rebatable Employees (eg. church, independent school, association, etc) these changes will NOT affect your FBT Rebate Cap of $31,177 Grossed Up Value per FBT Year. You will continue to receive your 49% FBT Rebate as per normal.
• For Public Benevolent Institution/Charity Employees these changes will NOT affect your FBT Exempt Cap of $31,177 Grossed Up Value per FBT Year. You will continue to receive your FBT Exemption as per normal.
• For Public Health Organisation Employees these changes will NOT affect your FBT Exempt Cap of $17,667 Grossed Up Value per FBT Year. You will continue to receive your FBT Exemption as per normal.

This new $2,550 cap will apply IN ADDITION to your existing FBT Concession Caps, and only applies to the combined total of any Meal Entertainment and/or Accommodation & Venue Hire expenses.

You can continue to salary package your existing Meal Entertainment and Accommodation & Venue Hire fringe benefits at the current rate until 31st March 2016. To gain the maximum tax effectiveness of these benefits, you should spend any accrued Meal Entertainment and Accommodation & Venue Hire funds in your package before the end of March 2016.

If you are currently packaging more than $2,550 per FBT Year towards either or both of these fringe benefits, Southgate will automatically reduce your fringe benefit to the new annual maximum from 1st April 2016 and advise you of these changes – unless you advise an alternative amount to package or request to cancel one or both of these fringe benefits.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Client Support Team on 1300 132 500 or via email to .

For further information, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.

2015 ASBA Conference
5 October 2015

Southgate is thrilled to have once again sponsored and attended the biannual Association of School Business Administrators (ASBA) conference. This year it was held at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre from Monday 28th September to Thursday 1st October 2015.

Our Customer Relationship Manager, Yvette Sallis, and one of our Salary Packaging Consultants, Shane Crouch, used this great opportunity to catch up with many of our existing clients, as well as meeting new people and providing important salary packaging information and industry updates.

Our Lucky Draw Raffle saw Kerrie Healy from Woodleigh School win 1st prize (a new edition iPad Mini 4) with Jane MacNeil from Yarra Valley Grammar winning 2nd prize (a $150 Myer voucher). Congratulations ladies!

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to visit our booth and have a chat. We hope you’ve all discovered more about the benefits of salary packaging in the education industry and the vast opportunities available to reward your staff members.

Southgate is proud to be a long-term sponsor of ASBA and we look forward to seeing you again in 2017!

ASBA Conference in Cairns
3 October 2013

Southgate has been a proud sponsor of Association of School Business Administrators (ASBA) for many years. We recently attended the 2013 ASBA Conference held at the Cairns Convention Centre from 23-26th September. This provided a great opportunity to catch up with our clients from all over Australia and help update the education sector on the recent changes to salary packaging and fantastic new opportunities for their staff.

We wish to congratulate the winners of our Lucky Prize Draw, which was drawn on Thursday 26th September.

Congratulations to John Bromley from NSW for winning 1st Prize, a gourmet Food & Wine Hamper valued at $400.

David Cholson from NSW won 2nd Prize, a deluxe Wine & Chocolates box.

Ken Elliot from QLD won 3rd Prize, a Hoyts Movie Card.

We also congratulate Rachael Axford from ACT for winning a $250 Red Balloon gift voucher in the Passport Competition.

ASBA conferences are always a highlight for Southgate and this year was no exception. Thank you to all of the new friends that we met, as well as our valued clients who visited our booth to say hello.

We look forward to seeing you again at ASBA 2015!

Images from ASBA Conference in Cairns

Merry Christmas from Southgate!
5 December 2012

Southgate Salary Packaging Services would like to say Merry Christmas to all of our valued customers and suppliers. We wish you a safe and enjoyable festive season, and look forward to working with you in 2013.

We have some exciting new developments to introduce to you early next year, including new features on our website and within our Employer/Employee Online Portals. These developments will allow us to provide more tailored information to our customers, new convenient online facilities (eg. calculators, quotes and applications) and greater value for you.

Best wishes,

The team at Southgate Salary Packaging Services.

Mid-Year Budget Update - Changes to In-House Benefits
23 October 2012

The Australian Government announced yesterday in the mid-year Federal Budget Update that they will remove the concessional tax treatment for In-House Fringe Benefits provided by organisations to their employees under a salary sacrifice arrangement.

In-House Fringe Benefits represent any goods or services that are provided by an employer to their employees as a core business activity, which are also provided to the general public in a similar or identical manner. For example, a school providing an education to their employees’ children.

This change took immediate effect from 22 October 2012 for all all new arrangements, , and from 1 April 2014 for pre-existing arrangements (ie. established prior to 22 October 2012). Therefore, employees who are currently salary packaging In-House Benefits should be able to continue their arrangements until the tax concession is abolished on 1 April 2014.

In the coming months, we expect the Australian Tax Office to provide further clarification on the legislative change, the implications for both existing and new In-House Fringe Benefit arrangements and any further determinations/rulings relating to this matter.

Southgate is actively seeking further information on these mid-year Federal Budget Update changes and we will update our customers as soon as possible. If you are currently packaging In-House Fringe Benefits (such as In-House School Fees) with Southgate and you wish to discuss how these changes may affect you, or you had intended to package In-House Fringe Benefits in the future, please contact our consultants on 1300 132 500 or email

Christian Schools Australia (CSA) Conference 2012
20 September 2012

This week, Southgate Salary Packaging Services is proud to be attending and providing event sponsorship for the Christian Schools Australia (CSA) National Business Conference 2012, held at The Hilton, Adelaide from the 19th-21st September.

Southgate possesses a strong history of servicing the Not For Profit sector, which provides us with an exceptional understanding of the unique requirements of these organisations, the special opportunities available to them and any applicable taxation issues. We currently provide salary packaging administration services to over 125 independent schools Australia-wide, 10 of which are members of the CSA network.

Our salary packaging services educate, assist with and allow employees of Rebatable organisations to achieve significant Income Tax savings, through an effective salary packaging arrangement – even more so, after the recent changes to the Income Tax Rates for the 2012-2013 Financial Year (see below).

During the CSA conference, we will continue to provide our clients with the most up-to-date information, industry news and ongoing support across all aspects salary packaging.

Everything Changes July 1st – for FBT Rebatable Employees
23 May 2012

The latest changes to Income Tax Rates for the 2012-2013 Financial Year come into force on July 1st 2012. This brings increased tax savings for salary packaging. FBT Rebatable employees, in particular those who are earning less than $80,000 per year (or anyone whose taxable income drops below $80,000 as a result of salary packaging) will see expanded opportunities for benefits and tax savings.

This is because salary packaging has the effect of reducing your assessable income (the amount you pay Income Tax on), and therefore reducing your total Income Tax liability, any changes to the Income Tax Rates will impact a salary packaging arrangement.

For anyone who has previously dismissed salary packaging due to little direct tax saving from their chosen fringe benefits, these changes may bring new opportunities to revisit salary packaging and achieve significant tax savings where it was not possible under the previous Income Tax Rate structure

For more information about the July 1st changes and to see the main implications for FBT Rebatable employees, please visit our minisite at www.July1st.com.au or call Southgate on 1300 132 500.

Budget Night 2012-13
8 May 2012

Announcements were made by the Australian Government on Budget Night for the 2012-2013 Financial Year to bring limitations on Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) fringe benefits. The LAFHA benefit will be reformed to limit access to the concession to:

• Employees who maintain a home for their own use in Australia which they are living away from for work purposes (as previously announced), and
• For a maximum period of 12 months in respect of an individual employee for any particular work location.

The budget changes will take effect from 1 July 2012 for arrangements entered into after 7.30pm on 8 May 2012, and from 1 July 2014 for arrangements entered into prior to this.

If you are currently salary packaging LAFHA benefits with Southgate or interested in doing so, please contact our consultants on 1300 132 500 to discuss how these changes will impact you.

For more information on the 2012-13 Budget, please visit www.budget.gov.au.

Changes to Statutory Percentages
28 March 2012

The new FBT Year starting on 1 April 2012, brings updates to the statutory percentages used to calculate the amount of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) payable on employer-provided cars. This is consistent with the 2011-12 Federal Budget changes announced on 11th May 2011 to introduce transitional rates over four years, after which time all salary packaged cars will use a statutory rate of 20%, regardless of the distance travelled (kilometres) per FBT year.

These changes will affect employees travelling 25,000 kilometres or more per year - on any NEW Novated Lease arrangement or any Novated Lease that was entered into after the initial changes occurred on 11th May 2011. Southgate will be issuing an updated Payroll Advice to all employers in coming days to allow for any necessary payroll changes.

The table below shows the updated statutory percentages:

Distance travelled during FBT year	STATUTORY PERCENTAGE
	Existing Lease*	From 1 April 2012	From 1 April 2013	From 1 April 2014
0 - 14,999 kms	26%	20%	20%	20%
15,000 - 24,999 kms	20%	20%	20%	20%
25,000 - 40,000 kms	11%	17%	20%	20%
More than 40,000 kms	7%	13%	17%	20%

*Existing Lease (Novated Lease agreement commenced PRIOR to 11th May 2011)

Now recruiting
30 Jan 2012

To start the New Year and cater to our growing customer demand, Southgate Salary Packaging Services is now on the lookout for some new members to join our team. We are welcoming experienced, driven and honest people to register their interest with us.

Please visit our careers page to find out more about us and view the current positions we have available.

Welcome to our new website!
30 Jan 2012

After many months of hard work, we would like to officially welcome you to the new online home of Southgate Salary Packaging Services. Our new-look site features many improvements to the design, content and navigation – to make information easier for you to find, view and interact with.

Some of our new features include:

• A new online calculator to estimate your personal tax savings
• More information our services and our philosophy
• Comprehensive descriptions of the benefit types available to you
• Useful links to other related services and information sources
• Expanded FAQ section
• Updated forms for easy electronic submission

Happy 25th Birthday Southgate Group!
4 Dec 2011

The Southgate Group is very excited to be celebrating our 25th year in business.

The Southgate Group was established in 1986 as a consultancy and fleet management service specialising in the Not for Profit sector. Over the past 25 years we have expanded our range of services through liaison with our existing clients, to fulfil other service areas that were poorly met.

We launched Southgate Salary Packaging Services in 2006 in responses to continued demand, with a goal to become the ‘best provider’ in terms of customer service, compliance and cost-to-benefit value for our clients.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our valued customers for their loyalty and support over the past 25 years (especially those who have been with us right from day one!). We look forward to enhancing the value of our relationship with you as we continue to grow, whilst continually developing and improving our services to you.

For more information on the other Southgate Group members that may be able to assist your organisation, please visit the Southgate Fleet Management and Southgate Financial Services websites.

Accommodation & Venue Hire Program
23 Sep 2011

Did you know that you may be eligible to salary package the accommodation on your next family vacation or venue hire expenses tax-free? As an employee of a Rebatable, Charity, or Public Health employer you are entitled to salary package the ‘Accommodation & Venue Hire’ fringe benefit.

This benefit includes the cost of hiring venues and facilities for the provision of entertainment and/or recreation completely tax-free and exempt from FBT (for Charities and Public Health) or utilise your FBT rebate concession as a Rebatable employer. Accommodation & Venue Hire is uncapped, meaning you can package as much as you like in addition to your existing FBT Concession Cap limit. This allows you to maximise the overall tax effectiveness of your total salary packaging arrangement without altering any existing fringe benefits salary packaged within your Concession Cap.

To see the benefits of salary packaging and to find out more - visit for employers or for employees.

Novated Lease – Federal Budget Changes
10 May 2011

The 2011-12 Federal Budget has been released, with substantial changes announced for Novated Lease vehicles. The changes affect the statutory percentages – which are used to calculate the amount of Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) payable on employer-provided cars. The new percentages will be phased in using transitional rates over a period of four years, after which time all salary packaged cars will use a statutory rate of 20%, regardless of the distance travelled (kilometres) per FBT year.

Distance travelled during FBT year	STATUTORY PERCENTAGE
	From 11 May 2011 to 31 March 2012	From 1 April 2012	From 1 April 2013	From 1 April 2014
0 - 14,999 kms	20%	20%	20%	20%
15,000 - 24,999 kms	20%	20%	20%	20%
25,000 - 40,000 kms	14%	17%	20%	20%
More than 40,000 kms	10%	13%	17%	20%

When to apply NEW vs OLD statutory percentages:

The OLD statutory percentage will apply in the following circumstances:

• An existing Novated Lease agreement commenced PRIOR to 11th May 2011

The NEW statutory percentages will apply in the following circumstances:

• Any new Novated lease arrangement commenced on or after 11th May 2011;
• Where an employee with an existing Novated Lease arrangement (regardless of whether the lease commenced before or after 11th May 2011) undertakes a renovation to a new employer;
• Where an employee refinances their lease payout or residual, in which case the vehicle is reported under its current statutory percentage for the remainder of that FBT year and then the NEW statutory percentages are used for all following FBT years (based on percentage applicable for each given year) until lease expiry;

Note: In accordance with anti-avoidance legislation, an employee cannot refinance earlier than lease expiry to obtain a lower statutory percentage. This has been specifically clarified by the ATO.

Southgate will be issuing a detailed letter to all employers over the next week, to further explain the implications of these changes on existing and future novated lease arrangements for their employees. It is important to realise that these changes make a welcome amendment to the current FBT legislation; they are far less radical than some of those which had been suggested and provide certainty going forward.

It is excellent news for employees who drive fewer than 25,000 kilometres annually as the statutory percentage will drop from 26% to 20%. This increases the savings for employees already packaging in this circumstance, whilst other employees who had previously found it not be not worthwhile, should certainly reconsider a novated lease. Employees should not forget that all lease payments and running costs are completely income tax free and FBT free, meaning they continue to make the same level of savings (their marginal tax rate) on these associated costs. Those employees who drive greater than 25,000 kilometres will still enjoy substantial tax savings and these savings will be larger than other employees due to the higher running costs being salary sacrificed pre-tax.

See our Novated Lease section for more information.