41994_Australasian_Dentist_100_EMAG

CATEGORY FINANCE

also be eliminated from SFAs, as they are a contributing factor in establishing an employee/employer relationship.

information – clarify on your practice website, advertisements, yers, etc. that the practitioner only consults at the practice and is not part of the business to avoid any confusion. 4. Get across payroll tax thresholds and applicable exemptions Each state has varying thresholds for the value of wages paid to employees before a business is liable for payroll tax, so be aware of what this threshold is in your state. If payments made to practitioners practising under SFAs exceeds this amount and your practice is not implementing the patient fee ow or the SFA appropriately, your practice may be liable for payroll tax. ere are exemptions available, the most likely applicable exemption being if the practitioner only consults at the practice up to 90 days per annum. Get the right team of professionals in your corner SFAs and navigating payroll tax law is immensely complex, so having the right professionals on your side is imperative to getting it right. is is both an accounting and legal issue – to this end, practices

should engage both an accountant and legal provider experienced in SFAs for medical and dental professions. We consulted Julian Whitehead of Whitehead legal when constructing this article, who has extensive experience in these particular SFAs and can assist in reviewing existing SFAs and documenting new ones. u For a streamlined introduction to Whitehead legal or our broad network of lawyers and accounts, reach out to our team today on 1300 27 33 22. Disclaimer is article is a guide only and does not constitute any recommendation on behalf of Credabl Pty Ltd (ACN 615 968 100) or any of its related bodies corporate (Credabl). e information in this article is general in nature and we have not taken into account your personal objectives or nancial circumstances or needs when preparing it. Before acting on this information you should consider if it is suitable for your personal circumstances. Credabl is not o ering nancial, tax or legal advice. You should obtain independent nancial, tax and legal advice as appropriate.

3. Review and remove employee entitlements

Employee entitlements cover any remun eration that an employee would receive as part of an employment arrangement – think superannuation, annual leave, long service leave, etc. As with deemed control, any of these entitlements being acknowledged as part of the SFA will provide a case that the practitioner could potentially be an employee An additional concern with these employee entitlements clauses is that they expose a practice to a “bottom-up” claim from a practitioner, meaning a practitioner could claim that they are entitled to any additional bene ts that an employee would normally be entitled to. Potential employee entitlement claims are di erent to potential payroll tax claims and should be di erentiated. One nal note on this: the optics are just as important here, so ensure care and consideration is taken anywhere that the general public will see this

AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST 123