Whole Act
195 provisions in continuous reading order
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The purposes of this Act are—
to re-enact and modernise the law relating to payroll tax; and
to harmonise payroll tax law with New South Wales; and
to repeal the Pay-roll Tax Act 1971; and
to amend the Taxation Administration Act 1997 and other Acts.
This Act (except section 108) comes into operation on 1 July 2007.
Section 108 comes into operation on the later of—
1 July 2007;
the day on which section 6.1.2 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 comes into operation.
S. 3 amended by No. 17/2019 s. 49(2)(ILA s. 39B(1)) .
In this Act—
S. 3(1) def. of ABN inserted by No. 83/2009 s. 15.
ABN means the ABN (Australian Business Number) for an entity within the meaning of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth;
agent includes—
a person who, in this jurisdiction, for or on behalf of another person outside this jurisdiction, holds or has the management or control of the business of that other person; and
a person who, by an order of the Commissioner, is declared to be an agent or the sole agent for any other person for the purposes of this Act and on whom notice of that order has been served;
Australia means the States of the Commonwealth and the Territories;
S. 3(1) def. of Australian jurisdiction inserted by No. 83/2009 s. 15.
Australian jurisdiction means a State or a Territory;
S. 3(1) def. of bushfire relief regional employer inserted by No. 14/2020 s. 7.
bushfire relief regional employer means a regional employer whose principal place of business is located in a state of disaster area;
coastal waters of Victoria has the same meaning as coastal waters of the State has in relation to Victoria in the Coastal Waters (State Powers) Act 1980 of the Commonwealth;
company includes all bodies and associations (corporate and unincorporate) and partnerships;
S. 3(1) def. of corporate collective investment vehicle or CCIV inserted by No. 18/2023 s. 56.
corporate collective investment vehicle or CCIV has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act;
corporation has the same meaning as in section 9 of the Corporations Act;
corresponding law means a law in force in another State or a Territory relating to the imposition upon employers of a tax on wages paid or payable by them and the assessment and collection of that tax;
designated group employer means a member designated for a group in accordance with section 80;
director of a company includes a member of the governing body of the company;
S. 3(1) def. of domestic partner inserted by No. 17/2019 s. 49(1).
domestic partner of a person means—
a person who is in a registered domestic relationship with the person; or
a person to whom the person is not married but with whom the person is living as a couple on a genuine domestic basis (irrespective of gender);
employer means a person who pays or is liable to pay wages and includes—
the Crown in any of its capacities; and
a person taken to be an employer by or under this Act; and
a public, local or municipal body or authority constituted under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory unless, being an authority constituted under the law of the Commonwealth, it is immune from the operation of this Act;
employment agency contract has the meaning given in section 37;
employment agent has the meaning given in section 37;
exempt wages mean wages that are declared by or under this Act to be exempt wages;
FBTA Act means the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 of the Commonwealth;
financial year means each year commencing on 1 July;
fringe benefit has the same meaning as in the FBTA Act but does not include—
a tax-exempt body entertainment fringe benefit within the meaning of that Act; or
anything that is prescribed by the regulations under this Act not to be a fringe benefit for the purposes of this definition;
group has the meaning given in section 67;
GST has the same meaning as it has in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth except that it includes notional GST of the kind for which payments may be made under Part 3 of the National Taxation Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000 by a person that is a State entity within the meaning of that Act;
S. 3(1) def. of instrument inserted by No. 83/2009 s. 15.
instrument includes a cheque, bill of exchange, promissory note, money order or a postal order issued by a post office;
interstate wages means wages that are taxable wages within the meaning of a corresponding law;
ITAA means the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of the Commonwealth;
liquidator means the person who, whether or not appointed as liquidator, is the person required by law to carry out the winding-up of a company;
month means the month of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December;
option means an option or right, whether actual, prospective or contingent, of a person to acquire a share or to have a share transferred or allotted to the person;
paid, in relation to wages, includes provided, conferred and assigned and pay and payable have corresponding meanings;
payroll tax means tax imposed by section 6;
perform, in relation to services, includes render;
S. 3(1) def. of regional employee inserted by No. 28/2017 s. 68, substituted by No. 24/2025 s. 26.
regional employee has the meaning given in section 3B;
S. 3(1) def. of regional employer inserted by No. 28/2017 s. 68.
regional employer has the meaning given in section 3A;
S. 3(1) def. of regional Victoria inserted by No. 28/2017 s. 68, amended by No. 22/2021 s. 21.
regional Victoria has the same meaning as it has in section 18(8) of the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000;
S. 3(1) def. of registered business address inserted by No. 83/2009 s. 15.
registered business address means an address for service of notices under the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth on an entity that has an ABN, as shown in the Australian Business Register kept under that Act;
return period, in relation to an employer, means a period relating to which that employer is required to lodge a return under this Act;
S. 3(1) def. of service provider inserted by No. 23/2022 s. 27.
service provider, in relation to an employment agency contract—see section 37;
S. 3(1) def. of share amended by No. 28/2011 s. 33.
share means a share in a company and includes a stapled security;
S. 3(1) def. of spouse inserted by No. 17/2019 s. 49(1).
spouse of a person means a person to whom the person is married;
S. 3(1) def. of state of disaster area inserted by No. 14/2020 s. 7.
state of disaster area means—
the municipal districts of the following municipal councils—
Alpine Shire Council;
East Gippsland Shire Council;
Mansfield Shire Council;
Towong Shire Council;
Wangaratta Rural City Council;
Wellington Shire Council; and
the following alpine resorts within the meaning of the Alpine Resorts Act 1983—
Falls Creek Alpine Resort;
Mount Buller Alpine Resort;
Mount Hotham Alpine Resort;
Mount Stirling Alpine Resort;
superannuation contribution has the meaning given in section 17(2);
taxable wages has the meaning given in section 10;
termination payment has the meaning given in section 27;
Territories means the Australian Capital Territory (including the Jervis Bay Territory) and the Northern Territory;
this jurisdiction means Victoria and the coastal waters of Victoria;
voting share has the same meaning as in section 9 of the Corporations Act;
wages has the meaning given in Part 3.
S. 3(2) inserted by No. 17/2019 s. 49(2).
For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (1)—
registered domestic relationship has the same meaning as in the Relationships Act 2008; and
in determining whether persons who are not in a registered domestic relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account, including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2) of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case.
S. 3A inserted by No. 28/2017 s. 69.
S. 3A(1) substituted by No. 17/2019 s. 47(1).
A regional employer is an employer who meets the requirements specified in subsection (2).
For the purposes of subsection (1), the specified requirements are—
at least 85% of the total taxable wages that the employer pays, or are payable by the employer, to the employer's employees during a month, are paid or payable to the employer's regional employees; and
for a financial year, at least 85% of the total taxable wages that the employer pays, or are payable by the employer, to the employer's employees, are paid or payable to the employer's regional employees during that year (the annual rate reduction threshold).
S. 3A(3) amended by No. 24/2025 s. 27.
For the purposes of determining the annual rate reduction threshold, it is not necessary for the employer to meet the specified requirement under subsection (2)(a) in every month during the financial year.
Note to s. 3A repealed by No. 17/2019 s. 47(2).
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S. 3B inserted by No. 24/2025 s. 28.
A person is a regional employee in a month if—
wages are paid or payable to the person in that month by an employer for or in relation to services performed by the person in Victoria (whether or not wages are also paid or payable to that person in that month for services performed elsewhere); and
the services performed by the person in Victoria are performed mainly in regional Victoria.
This Act is to be read together with the Taxation Administration Act 1997 which provides for the administration and enforcement of this Act and other taxation laws.
This Act binds the Crown in right of this jurisdiction and, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
Nothing in this Act makes the Crown in any of its capacities liable to be prosecuted for an offence.
Payroll tax is imposed on all taxable wages.
The employer by whom taxable wages are paid or payable is liable to pay payroll tax on the wages.
The amount of payroll tax payable by an employer is to be ascertained in accordance with Schedules 1 and 2.
A person who is liable to pay payroll tax on taxable wages must pay the tax—
within 7 days after the end of the month in which those wages were paid or payable, other than the month of June; and
within 21 days after the end of the month of June in relation to taxable wages paid or payable in the month of June.
However, if the Commissioner has reason to believe that a person may leave Australia before any payroll tax becomes payable by the person, the tax is payable on the day fixed by the Commissioner by notice served on the person.
For the purposes of this Act, taxable wages are wages that are taxable in this jurisdiction.
However, exempt wages are not taxable wages.
S. 11 substituted by No. 83/2009 s. 16.