Course overview
Payroll risk reviews, contractor classification and ATO audit defence is an intermediate professional development course focused on Australian payroll compliance risk from both a technical and advisory perspective. It examines employee versus contractor classification, sham contracting exposure, director and related-party remuneration structures, interactions between fringe benefits and the ATO’s use of STP data analytics to identify anomalies. The course integrates legal principles, regulatory standards, and real-world case studies to equip practitioners to conduct internal payroll risk reviews and defend ATO audits confidently. It is designed for BAS agents, tax professionals, payroll managers, and public practitioners operating in the Australian regulatory environment.
Course objectives
- Develop structured methodologies for conducting internal payroll risk reviews and compliance health checks.
- Apply Australian employee versus contractor classification principles consistently across tax, superannuation, and Fair Work frameworks.
- Identify sham contracting risks and implement controls to mitigate exposure to civil penalties and back-payment liabilities.
- Manage director and related-party remuneration structures in a compliant manner, including PAYG, superannuation and fringe benefits interactions.
- Prepare defensible documentation and audit response strategies aligned with ATO data-matching and STP reporting environments.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Conduct a comprehensive payroll compliance risk assessment using structured audit techniques.
- Evaluate worker classification arrangements using contractual and practical tests recognised in Australian law.
- Diagnose payroll anomalies that may trigger ATO review, including STP–BAS mismatches and superannuation irregularities.
- Implement corrective strategies, including voluntary disclosure where appropriate, to minimise penalties.
- Develop and present defensible documentation to support payroll positions during ATO audits or reviews.
Intermediate learning for public practitioners, accountants and payroll reviewers managing worker classification and employer compliance risk.
| Membership body | Direct alignment and course evidence |
| CPA Australia | Taxation, governance and compliance review. Lessons 1–3 develop risk reviews, classification and sham-contracting analysis; lessons 4–6 address related parties, fringe benefits and data matching; lesson 7 develops audit response and correction strategies. |
| CA ANZ | Technical competence and professional skills in evidence evaluation and regulatory response. Topics 2.7–2.8 require documented classification reasoning; topics 7.3–7.6 cover information requests, findings and disclosure; topics 7.10–7.13 address resolution and remediation. |
| IPA | A1: taxation, business law and payroll governance. A2: investigation, communication, negotiation and review processes. A3: identifiable judgement and conduct decisions in lesson 3 on sham contracting and topics 7.6–7.7 on disclosure rather than concealment. |
Learning evidence. Seven lessons and a 20-question scenario assessment support applied review skills. Retain the classification checklist, risk register, evidence file, response plan and assessment results.
Ethics treatment. Sham-contracting and disclosure scenarios provide a direct conduct connection. Separate the relevant learning and time before making an ethics claim; do not classify the whole course as ethics.
Separate TPB relevance. Relevant payroll tax-agent work and BAS-service components can contribute. Broader Fair Work, legal objections and FBT advice are not automatically within a BAS agent’s service scope.
Course Content
Course Includes
- 7 Lessons
- 74 Topics
- 1 Quiz
- Course Certificate
