Payroll tax grouping in Western Australia
Western Australia's Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act groups an employer with the businesses its employees work solely or mainly for, and it bars excluding a company from a group that includes a related company. RevenueWA administers the Act, and the designated group employer takes the group's deduction in its monthly returns.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
The rules in Western Australia
| What it is | Value | When it applies | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|---|
| Related companies form a group | Yes | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 30: grouping corporations |
| An employer and businesses its employees work solely or mainly for form a group | Yes | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 31(1): employees used in another business |
| Businesses under common control form a group | Yes | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 32(2): commonly controlled businesses |
| Voting power in a company above which a person has a controlling interest | 50% | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 33(2): voting shares in a corporation |
| The commissioner can exclude a business from a group | Yes | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 38(1): exclusion from groups |
| A company can be excluded from a group that includes a related company | No | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 38(2): related bodies corporate cannot be excluded |
| Group member that takes the group's deduction in its monthly returns | The designated group employer | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 19(2): tax payable by the designated group employer |
| Each group member is liable for the group's payroll tax | Yes | As published on 1 July 2019 | s 7(2): joint and several liability of group members |
Each rule is read from the source and provision shown; the sources are listed below. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
What it means for your books
- Records of which business each employee works for, and how much of their time goes to it, bear on whether staff work solely or mainly for another business.
- The commissioner can exclude a business from a group, but a company stays grouped with its related companies. A chart of the group's companies and how they relate, kept with the books, shows which members that limit covers.
- The designated group employer's monthly returns carry the group's deduction, so its records can show the deduction taken in each month.
- Each member is liable for the group's payroll tax. What that means for a particular member is a question for your accountant or RevenueWA.
General information
Sources
- Pay-roll Tax Assessment Act 2002 (WA), version 04-d0-03
Parliamentary Counsel's Office, Western Australia. Version 04-d0-03, as at 1 July 2019, released 1 July 2019. Checked 15 October 2026.
Sourced from the Western Australian Legislation website (www.legislation.wa.gov.au), licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- About payroll tax
RevenueWA (Department of Treasury and Finance, Western Australia). Page last updated 14 April 2026, released 14 April 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© State of Western Australia Licence: WA.gov.au terms of use: copyright, State of Western Australia (personal, educational or in-house non-commercial use with attribution).
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