There was a stretch of years where a late BAS or an overdue return was quietly tolerated. Payment plans were easy, interest was often remitted, and enforcement was the last step rather than the next one. That period is over.
The ATO now describes its own approach as firmer recovery. Penalties are being applied where they once might not have been, and the runway between a missed deadline and a real commercial consequence is much shorter.
The failure to lodge penalty is one penalty unit for every 28 days a document is overdue, capped at five units. A penalty unit is $364 from 1 July 2026.
Under $1M turnover, that is up to $1,820. Between $1M and $20M it doubles to $3,640. Over $20M it is five times the base.
That cap applies per document, not per year. A run of late activity statements adds up fast, before you touch the tax itself.
Interest is worse than it used to be. General interest charge incurred on or after 1 July 2025 is no longer deductible, and it compounds daily. Carrying an ATO debt is now one of the most expensive forms of finance available to you.
Director penalty notices are being issued at volume. Where a BAS is not lodged within three months of its due date, or a super guarantee statement is not lodged at all, a director’s liability can become locked down and personal. Lodging on time, even when you cannot pay, is what keeps your options open.
Business tax debts can also be reported to credit bureaus. That reaches your supplier terms, your bonding capacity and your next finance application, usually at the worst possible moment.
And the extended due dates you get through us depend on your prior year lodgements being up to date. Fall behind, and every deadline pulls forward.
Safe harbour provisions can protect you when an agent fails to lodge on time. But they only apply if you can prove you gave us everything we needed in time to lodge by the due date. The onus sits with you.
So when a lodgement is late because a query went unanswered or a completed return sat unsigned, safe harbour does not apply. The penalty and the enforcement risk stay with you, and where directors are exposed, with you personally.
We can prepare, review, chase and lodge. We cannot answer a query for you, and we cannot lodge anything you have not signed off.
The ATO sets out the detail on due dates, lodgement methods and payment options here: Preparing, lodging and paying.
If you are unsure what is outstanding across the entities you direct, speak with our team now rather than after a notice arrives.
