Sweeping regulatory changes have come into place ahead of the EOFY.
The National Retail Association has released a checklist to help retailers ensure they are compliant with a suite of changes taking place from July 1, 2019.
The regulatory shake-up starting next month includes an increase to the minimum wage, changes to penalty rates, new payroll reporting requirements and more.
The key changes retailers need to know about are:
• An increase to the minimum wages of 3 per cent which takes effect from the first pay period commencing on or after July 1, 2019.
• More changes to Sunday penalty rates. This will be the last scheduled change to Sunday rates for casual employees under the General Retail Industry Award 2010 (GRIA). A further reduction will be implemented for full time and part time employees under GRIA in July 2020.
Changes applicable from the first pay period commencing on or after 1 July are as follows:
| Award | Type of employee | Applicable Sunday rate |
| General Retail Industry Award | Full time and part time | 165% |
| Casual | 175% | |
| Fast Food Industry Award | Full time and part time | 125% |
| Casual | 150% |
• Single Touch Payroll (STP) is a new way of reporting tax to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). There is no longer a requirement to provide employees with a Payment Summary where STP has been introduced. Instead, another document called an Income Statement will be available to employees directly from the ATO from July 31, 2019. Employers with 19 or less employees are requested to commence reporting through STP as soon as practicable after July 1, 2019 but no later than September 30, 2019.
• Increase to high income threshold (HIT) for unfair dismissals will be increased from $145,400 to $148,700. The filing fee for dismissal, unlawful termination, general protections and anti-bullying applications will increase to $73.20, up from $71.90.
• A revised form of the Fair Work Information Statement is currently in consultation and is expected to be formalised from July 1, 2019.
• Changes to right of entry permits. Right of entry permits issued by the Fair Work Commission must include a photo and signature of the permit holder pursuant to the Fair Work Amendment Regulations 2019. Existing permit holders can continue to use their old permits. However, from October 1, 2019, they will be required to present a current or recently expired government-issued photo ID alongside their permit.
• Limitation on cash transactions of $10,000 or more will be delayed until January 1, 2020. This anti-money laundering measure is likely to have the greatest effect on luxury retailers, retailers with high numbers of tourist customers and furniture retailers. Businesses likely to be affected by this change should establish policies and procedures to allow them to advise customers of the restriction, and to create strategies for communicating these to customers.