ATO - Annual Office Closure and Systems Availability Notice

During the annual December closure, ATO offices, ATO phone support services, and customer response on ATO's social media channels will temporarily cease operations. This closure will commence at noon local time on Friday, 22nd December 2023, and regular services will resume at 8:00 am local time on Tuesday, 2nd January 2024.

However, all ATO digital systems, including the ato.gov.au website and online services, will remain accessible without scheduled outages or maintenance during this December closure period. In the event of any unforeseen or unplanned system impacts, please refer to the ATO system maintenance page and dashboards to check the availability of the specific system you require.

Holiday Closure - ASIC Office impacting Manual processing of companies and print orders

Please be advised that ASIC will close their operations for Christmas holidays from Friday, 22nd December midday until 8:30 am on Tuesday, 2nd January. To ensure pre-Christmas processing and delivery within metro cities, all print orders must be received by end of business on Thursday, 21st December.

For all remote locations requiring hard copies before Christmas, the documents will be sent through Australia Post's Express Post service. To secure timely delivery, we recommend placing orders by close of business on Tuesday, 19th December.

While our automated systems for company registration, Trust, and self-managed super fund (SMSF) documentation will operate throughout the holiday period, any orders undergoing manual review with ASIC or rejection will be addressed upon ASIC's reopening on Tuesday, 2nd January 2024.

NSW Stamping Fees revised

The Revenue NSW stamping fee, as detailed in the recent NSW budget unveiled on 19th September 2023, will undergo revision impacting established duty and land tax provisions starting from 1st February 2024. Specifically, the duty for establishing trusts will be increased from $500 to $750. Moreover, charges for duplicate copies will also increase from $10 to $20 each.

It’s important to note that clients who submit a $500 payment for the Revenue NSW stamping fee through our website before 31st January 2024 but subsequently have their deeds stamped on or after 1st February 2024 will be invoiced for an additional duty of $250.

Therefore, it is recommended that all Trustees have their deeds stamped on or before 31st January 2024 to prevent increased stamping fees starting from 1st February 2024.

Extension of Electronic Signature and Delivery for Corporate Entities

The passing of the 'Treasury Laws Amendment (Modernising Business Communications and Other Measures) Bill 2023' in September 2023 marks an extension of the regulations initially introduced in the preceding 2022 version of the Bill. These legislative measures, amidst a range of other provisions, serve to clarify and formalize the process surrounding the electronic signing of legal documents, notably Trust Deeds.

While the law permits electronic signing of Deeds, it's imperative to ensure that financial institutions and other involved entities recognize and approve this method. Some financial institutions, in particular, may still require validation of Deeds subsequent to electronic execution, potentially resulting in added expenses or delays for the Trustee. In such circumstances, the Trustee may contemplate resorting to physical signature execution of the Deeds whenever logistically feasible.

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Call us on 02 9684 4199 for any assistance.