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Australian Revenue Offices
A B C D E F G I L M N O P Q R S T U V W
Term/Acronym Definition
Australian jurisdiction

A State or a Territory of Australia.

business

includes any of the following, whether carried on by one person or two or more persons together:

(a) a profession or trade;

(b) any other activity carried on for fee, gain or reward;

(c) the activity of employing one or more persons who perform duties in connection with another business;

(d) the carrying on of a trust (including a dormant trust);

(e) the activity of holding any money or property used for or in connection with another business, whether carried on by 1 person or 2 or more persons together.

chain of on-hire

...occurs when an employment agent on-hires a service provider to another employment agent who in turn on-hires the service provider to its client.

coastal waters of the state

... has the same meaning as ‘coastal waters’ in the Coastal and Other Waters (Application of State Laws) Act 1982.

corresponding law

A law in force in another State or 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 (DGE)

The business in a group that is able to claim the deduction for the group. The CGE is either nominated by members of the group or the Commissioner of State Revenue.

direct interest

An entity has a direct interest in a corporation if: 

 (a) in the case of an entity that is a person - the person can, directly or indirectly, exercise, control the exercise of, or substantially influence the exercise of, the voting power attached to any voting shares issued by the corporation, or 

 (b) in the case of an entity that is 2 or more persons who are associated persons - each of the associated persons can, directly or indirectly, exercise, control the exercise of, or substantially influence the exercise of, the voting power attached to any voting shares issued by the corporation.

director of a company

- member of the governing body of the company;

Definition in the Queensland Act includes -

(a) a person who, under a contract or other arrangement, is to be appointed as a director of the company; and

(b) a former director of the company.

domestic / de facto partner

...of a partner means 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

Any person who pays or is liable to pay any wages, including the Crown in right of a State or Territory.

For the Payroll Tax Act 2000 (Tas):

employer means a person who pays or is liable to pay wages and includes:

(a) the Crown in any of its capacities; and

(b) a person taken to be an employer by or under this Act; and

(c) 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.

For the Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld) (Schedule section 2 - Dictionary):

  • A relevant contract employer is taken to be deemed employer (section 13C),
  • the employment agent under an employment agency contract is taken to be deemed employer (section 13H).

For the Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA) (section 4 - Glossary):

employer means any person who pays or is liable to pay any wages, and includes the Crown in right of the State of Western Australia and an employment agent.

employee

An employee performs work and receives a wage in return for that work.

For the Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld) Persons are also taken to be employees under section 13D (relevant contract employee) and section 13I (workers under employment agency contracts).

In WA relevant contract provisions do not apply.

employment agency contract

For the purpose of Payroll Tax legislation, an employment agency contract is a contract, whether formal or informal and whether express or implied, under which a person (an ‘employment agent’) procures the services of another person (a ‘service provider’) for a client of the employment agent. 

However, a contract is not an employment agency contract for the purposes of this legislation if it is, or results in the creation of, a contract of employment between the service provider and the client. 

In this definition contract includes agreement, arrangement and undertaking.

employment termination payment

Employment termination payment means,

  • an employment termination payment, within the meaning of section 82-130 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (‘ITAA’), that would be included in the assessable income of an employee under Part 2-40 of the ITAA; 
  • a payment that would be an employment termination payment within the meaning of section 82-130 of the ITAA but for the fact that it was received later than 12 months after the termination of a person’s employment, or
  • a transitional termination payment within the of section 82-10 of the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 of the Commonwealth. 
entity

A person or 2 or more associated persons.

Exempt Rate - Motor Vehicle

The motor vehicle exempt rate is aligned with the rate determined by the Federal Commissioner of taxation for the previous financial year.