Monthly drumbeat — state payroll-tax returns land early in the following month (VIC by the 7th; NSW 7 days after month end; QLD 7 days after the period ends), and medium withholders remit PAYG by the 21st.
Quarterly frame — the BAS falls due on the 28th after quarter end: 28 Oct · 28 Feb · 28 Apr · 28 Jul.
Annual arc — the year closes 30 June, then July stacks: new rates on the 1st, STP finalisation on the 14th, state annual returns on the 21st and 28th, Q4 BAS on the 28th.
These are the same statutory dates seen through three lenses. This page is the period view. For the deadlines each pay run triggers — STP on or before payday, super within 7 business days — use the payday view. For each obligation end-to-end, with channels, penalties and per-claim citations, use the lodgement calendar.
The monthly drumbeat
Two dates repeat every month of the year, driven by the month that just ended — not by anything you did in payroll.
VIC: lodge and pay by the 7th of the next month — and report wages every month even when no tax is owed. NSW: due 7 days after month end. QLD: periodic returns due 7 days after the period ends. June is the exception — NSW folds June into the annual return, and VIC lodges no June monthly return.
If you withheld $25,001 to $1 million in a year, PAYG withholding is paid and reported monthly by the 21st of the following month — on the BAS if you're GST-registered, or the IAS if you're a withholding-only payer. The monthly BAS itself is due on the 21st.
Pay events (on or before payday) and super (received by the fund within 7 business days of payday, for earnings paid from 1 July 2026) run on the payday clock — see the payday view.
The state dates above are verified against Revenue NSW, SRO Victoria and the Queensland Revenue Office only — 3 of 8 jurisdictions. WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT run their own cycles with materially similar monthly-plus-annual shapes but different dates and thresholds; confirm with your revenue office.
The quarterly frame
Quarterly activity statements fall due on the 28th of the month after quarter end. Small withholders (up to $25,000/yr) remit their PAYG withholding on this cycle.
First activity statement of the financial year.
The later date is the concession: the Q2 due date already embeds a one-month extension, so no further later-date extension applies to this quarter.
Falls a month after the FBT year closes on 31 March (an employer-level tax on its own cycle — see the annual arc below).
Lands inside the July pile-up, alongside finalisation and the state annual returns.
A due date on a weekend or public holiday rolls to the next business day. Lodging online may earn an extra 2 weeks on a quarterly BAS (not Q2), and lodging through a registered tax or BAS agent may add more time.
Super rode a quarterly 28th cycle only for earnings paid up to 30 June 2026 — the final quarterly deadline was 28 July 2026 (April–June 2026 earnings), and a missed final quarter runs through the SGC cycle with the statement due 28 August 2026. Earnings paid from 1 July 2026 are on the per-payday clock instead — super is no longer a quarterly item.
The annual arc — the FY strip
The Australian financial year runs July to June. Almost everything annual concentrates in one month — and the strip shows why July is the pinch point.
The quiet months aren't idle — the monthly drumbeat above (the ~7th and the 21st) keeps running through every one of them.
1 July is the master reset. The ATO publishes updated withholding schedules in mid-June (the current set was published 17 June 2026) to apply to payments made from 1 July; the super guarantee and qualifying-earnings year rolls over the same day; and state payroll-tax rates and thresholds move on state budget cycles effective 1 July. One-off transitions land here too — the ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed permanently on 1 July 2026.
But watch mid-year. Within 2025–26 the STSL tables were replaced mid-year, with distinct versions for 1 July – 23 September 2025 and 24 September 2025 – 30 June 2026 — so watching only around 1 July is not sufficient. The ATO tax-tables overview is the page that moves first.
FBT is on its own year. The FBT year runs 1 April to 31 March — it's an employer-level tax, self-assessed on its own return, outside payroll withholding entirely; it touches payroll only as a reporting field and via state payroll-tax wage bases.
One change is already pre-armed. The 16% marginal rate fell to 15% on 1 July 2026, and from 1 July 2027 it falls further to 14% — already law, so next year's table rollover is a known quantity.
If a period deadline is missed
Failure-to-lodge penalties accrue at one penalty unit — $364 from 1 July 2026 — per 28 days (or part) overdue. Caps, size multipliers, deferrals and the grace practice live in the lodgement calendar.
Quick answers
What payroll reporting is due monthly?
Two things, on two dates. State payroll-tax monthly returns land early in the following month — NSW 7 days after month end, VIC by the 7th, QLD 7 days after the period ends (verified for those three states as at 10 July 2026; the other five jurisdictions run their own cycles). Then medium withholders — $25,001 to $1 million withheld a year — pay and report PAYG withholding by the 21st of the following month on the monthly activity statement (BAS if GST-registered, IAS if withholding-only).
When are the BAS quarters?
Quarterly activity statements are due on the 28th of the month after quarter end: Q1 (July–September) 28 October, Q2 (October–December) 28 February, Q3 (January–March) 28 April and Q4 (April–June) 28 July. The Q2 date already embeds a one-month extension, so no further later-date concession applies to it. For the other quarters, lodging online may earn an extra 2 weeks; a due date on a weekend or public holiday moves to the next business day.
What happens at end of financial year for payroll?
The year closes on 30 June and July stacks up: new tax tables and rates apply to payments made from 1 July, STP finalisation is due 14 July (income statements become 'tax ready'), VIC and QLD annual payroll-tax returns are due 21 July, and 28 July carries the NSW annual return plus the Q4 BAS. Closely-held payees have a later finalisation date of 30 September.
Do payroll rates only change on 1 July?
No. The master cadence is the 1 July financial-year cycle — the ATO publishes updated withholding schedules in mid-June to apply to payments made from 1 July — but mid-year changes happen: within 2025–26 the study and training support loans (STSL) tables were replaced mid-year, with a new version applying from 24 September 2025. FBT runs on its own 1 April to 31 March year. Watch the ATO tax-tables pages through the year, not just at the rollover.
Every period, closed on time
Ledra Pay tracks the monthly, quarterly and annual windows alongside the payday clock — remitting on your withholder schedule, arming the BAS 28ths, and closing the year with finalisation done by 14 July.
See Australian payroll →Government sources
- ATO — BAS due dates (quarterly 28 Oct / 28 Feb / 28 Apr / 28 Jul; monthly 21st; Q2's embedded extension).
- ATO — PAYG withholding for small and medium withholders (monthly by the 21st for medium; quarterly for small).
- ATO — Instalment Activity Statement (IAS) (the form for withholding-only payers).
- ATO — End-of-year finalisation through STP (14 July; 30 September closely-held variants).
- ATO — Tax tables overview · 2025–26 archive (mid-June publication for 1 July; the 24 September 2025 STSL split).
- ATO — Personal income tax cuts (15% → 14% from 1 July 2027 — now law).
- ATO — Super payment due dates (quarterly regime, earnings paid to 30 June 2026).
- ATO — About Payday Super (per-payday super from 1 July 2026; SBSCH closure).
- ATO — The super guarantee charge (SGC statement dates incl. 28 August).
- ATO — FBT rates and thresholds (FBT year 1 April – 31 March).
- ATO — Penalty units ($364 from 1 July 2026).
- Revenue NSW — Monthly return · Annual return (7 days after month end; 28 July).
- SRO Victoria — Monthly return · Annual reconciliation (by the 7th; 21 July).
- Queensland Revenue Office — Payroll tax due dates (periodic 7 days after period end; annual 21 July).
Per-claim citations, penalty mechanics and the full obligation-by-obligation calendar live in the lodgement calendar.