Latest news and announcements

Consultation for the draft Land Tax and Taxation Administration Amendment Bill 2009 has been extended. (Also see Explanatory Notes.)

Any feedback or comments can be sent to Landtaxconsult@Treasury.qld.gov.au by Friday 6 February 2009. 

In brief, the draft Bill proposes amendments to:

• apply the provisions of the Taxation Administration Act 2001 to land tax
• remove all of the provisions in the Land Tax Act 1915 relating to the administration of the tax
• remove the restriction in the Land Tax Act against passing on the cost of land tax to tenants (while retaining the same restriction in the Residential Tenancies Act 1994 and the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994)
• effect minor changes to the administration of interest and penalty tax in the Taxation Administration Act—applying to duties, pay-roll tax and land tax.

Should you have any queries, please email the above email address (including contact details) and you will be contacted by return phone call or email.

In order to conduct necessary maintenance, Services Online clients will not be able to log on between 7 am and 6 pm, Saturday 17 January and between 8 am and 12 pm, Sunday 18 January 2008. Normal services will be available before and after this outage. We apologise for any inconvenience this outage may cause.

The following 13 harmonised Payroll Tax Public Rulings have been released with a date of effect of 1 July 2008. These Public Rulings are based on the suite of harmonised Revenue Rulings which have been developed and adopted by New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania after their payroll tax legislation was harmonised.

PTA003—Fringe benefits 

PTA005—Exempt allowances: motor vehicle and accommodation 

PTA011—Allowances and reimbursements 

PTA017—Grouping of professional practices and administration businesses 

PTA023—Contractors engaging others 

PTA024—Overnight accommodation allowances paid to truck drivers 

PTA025—Motor vehicles allowance paid to real estate salespersons 

PTA029—Recruitment agencies, placement agencies and job placement agencies 

PTA030—Penalty charges under superannuation guarantee charge 

PTA031—Commissioner’s discretion to exclude from a group 

PTA032—Payroll tax exemption for schools 

PTA033—Contractors—services ancillary to the supply of goods 

PTA034—Contributions to the construction industry long service leave and redundancy funds

The Commissioner has released a Public Ruling in relation to s.30 of the Duties Act 2001.

Public Ruling DA030.1—Transfer duty—aggregation of dutiable transactions sets out examples of how the aggregation provision in s.30 of the Duties Act applies to common real estate transactions.

The Public Ruling has a date of effect of 24 February 2009.

Like any new website, this one is experiencing some minor issues with the changeover. We are working to resolve them as quickly as possible; please be patient.

Let us know of anything we need to fix (or if you experience difficulties).

Please email: web.content@osr.treasury.qld.gov.au

Our new website will go live at 4 pm on Tuesday, February 24. During the transition period, people trying to access the site may experience disruptions; please remember to conclude any online transactions before this time. The site should be viewable by all users by 5 pm, but certain functions (such as ‘search’) may not be available for up to 24 hours while the site is indexed and databases updated.

Please be aware that while our homepage address will remain the same (www.osr.qld.gov.au), addresses for all other site areas will change. Bookmarked pages will no longer work. We apologise for any inconvenience, but are confident that the new site will better meet your needs.

All content has been completely rewritten. It is presented in a fresh, easily navigable design. This is the result of extensive client consultation and testing. There are some new features—among them a new single-ruling system (Public Rulings)—which will make it easier, and quicker, for you to find the information you need.

In short, our new website will make your life easier.

Due to system maintenance, our Online Services (including e-lodgment) will not be available from 8am–12pm, Sunday 22 February 2009.

We apologise for any inconvenience this outage may cause.

On 12 February 2009, the Premier announced in Parliament a freeze on land valuations for 2009.

The Department of Natural Resources and Water will not be issuing land valuations in any local government areas for 2009.

The Premier’s announcement is relevant to land tax assessed for the 2009–10 financial year on land held as at 30 June 2009. For the purposes of calculating land tax in 2009–10, the unimproved value of land as at 30 June 2008 will also be the unimproved value as at 30 June 2009.

For specific information about how unimproved values are used to calculate land tax, please refer to our land tax web page.

Further information regarding this announcement can be found on the Department of Natural Resources and Water website.

Today the Premier announced that the Commissioner of State Revenue had approved changes to the payroll tax penalty amnesty for employers who have incorrectly excluded certain payments to contractors from their taxable wages for payroll tax purposes before 1 July 2008.

The penalty amnesty commenced on 12 October 2008 and is aimed at assisting employers to bring their payroll tax affairs up to date in relation to contractor payments, and transition to the new arrangements for relevant contractors.

The changes to the amnesty and additional benefits for employers announced today are:

• extension of the amnesty period by one month to 30 April 2009
• reduction in the number of previous financial years to be reviewed by the Office of State Revenue from three years to one (1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008). Normal assessing and audit practices will apply after the amnesty including auditing the current financial year and five previous financial years. Normal penalty and unpaid tax interest (UTI) will also apply after the amnesty.
• allowing employers the option to repay the payroll tax liabilities assessed under the amnesty over a period of up to 12 months.  Under this option, equal monthly installments must be made by direct debit authority provided by the employer to the Office of State Revenue. UTI at the normal rate will apply to the outstanding payroll tax liability during the repayment period.

The other terms and benefits of making a voluntary disclosure under the amnesty remain the same, namely:

• no penalty tax will be imposed in relation to contractor payments
• the rate of UTI will be halved in relation to contractor payments to the date of assessment.

The amended terms will apply to all voluntary disclosures made during the amnesty period—from 12 October 2008 to 30 April 2009.

If you are an employer that has incorrectly excluded certain payments to contractors from your taxable wages for payroll tax purposes before 1 July 2008, then you must complete and lodge an Amnesty Declaration Form with OSR on or before 30 April 2009 to obtain the benefits of the amnesty.

See the Amnesty page for more information.

The Office of State Revenue (OSR) recognises the impact the recent floods in Queensland may have had on our clients and is prepared to offer assistance so that clients who have been affected by the floods do not have to worry about their tax obligations during this time.

In particular OSR can assist in the following ways:

• providing extensions of time to lodge documents or returns with the office
• providing extensions of time for amounts to be paid without interest being charged
• arranging for debts to be paid in instalments.

If you believe flood-related hardship could affect your dealings with OSR, please contact us.

From 1 March 2009, insurance duty returns are required to be lodged on the 21st day of each month. Your March return must be lodged by the 21 April 2009.

The change was necessary because currently the lodgement date of Queensland’s insurance return differs from other jurisdictions. This contributed to late lodgement of returns which incurred unpaid tax interest and penalties.

The alignment of lodgement date with other jurisdictions should reduce confusion and ensure consistency.

Formal notification amending your self assessor registration to accommodate this change will be issued to you shortly.

If you have any questions, email us.

We have been asked by self assessors and members of the Queensland Law Society to review the nature and range of transactions that can be self assessed.

We will be expanding self assessment in 2 phases, with the first phase to be implemented in March 2009.

The Self Assessment of transfer duty: Instructions for registered self assessors (SA1) is being updated to reflect these changes and will be available on our website in late February.

You will receive formal notification about these changes shortly.

From 2 March 2009 the following changes to your transfer duty self assessment registration will take effect.

• Previously, certain transactions were optional. These transactions will now need to be self assessed and can no longer be submitted for Commissioner assessment.
• The consideration/valuation limit of $15 million has been removed. All transfers of land in Queensland are to be self assessed, irrespective of their value or consideration.
• The consideration/valuation limit of $5 million has been removed. All transfers of Queensland business assets are to be self assessed, irrespective of their value or consideration.
• All matrimonial matters that are exempt under sections 90 and 90L of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth) are to be self assessed.
• All recognised de facto relationship agreements made under section 266 of the Property Law Act 1974 and transactions made in accordance with a recognised agreement, which are exempt under section 424 of the Duties Act 2001, are to be self assessed. Following the amendment, de facto relationship transactions that fall within the scope of sections 422(a) and (c) of the Duties Act and are exempt under section 424 of the Duties Act are to be self assessed.

Over the next 12 months we will explore opportunities to further expand the range of transactions capable of self assessment and would like your feedback on which additional transactions could be included.

In early 2009 we will be making several self assessment changes.  

We have reviewed our communication channels and in the future will be notifying you of changes electronically. This means you will receive information and updates as soon as they become available.

To stay informed, please email us (client.support@osr.treasury.qld.gov.au) and advise us of your email address and client number (i.e. your unique 7-digit client reference number) so that we can update our records.

Recently emails have been circulating claiming to offer a tax refund in return for your credit card and other personal details.

The Queensland Office of State Revenue does not send emails requesting you to verify, update or disclose your personal details in relation to a tax refund. We never do this.

If you receive an email of this nature or you believe an email may be a hoax, you should forward a copy of the email to clientcontactcentre@osr.treasury.qld.gov.au for immediate investigation.

We are committed to protecting our client’s personal information. View our privacy statement for more information.

Due to system maintenance, our online services (including eLodgement) will not be available on Sunday 22 March 2009.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, our online services (including eLodgement) will not be available on Saturday 14 March 2009.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

With the expansion of self assessment transactions from 2 March 2009, certain types of exemptions are required to be self assessed. These include:

• matrimonial matters that are exempt under sections 90 and 90L of the
  Family Law Act 1975 (FLA)
• recognised de facto relationship agreements that are made under section 266 of the
  Property Law Act 1974 and exempt under sections 424 of the Duties Act 2001 (Duties Act).

See the links below for detail on how to assess these types of exemptions:

• s.90 of the FLA 
• s.90L of the FLA 
• s.424 of the Duties Act 

Also, a new Public Ruling for aggregation under section 30 of the Duties Act is available.

Due to an organised power outage by Energex, our online services (including eLodgement) will not be available from 6pm Friday 1 May to 8pm Saturday 2 May 2009.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, our online services (including eLodgement) will not be available on Saturday 25 April 2009.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

From 4 May 2009, the Commissioner will no longer endorse variation of trust instruments that do not constitute an acquisition or surrender of a trust interest, as they are not liable for duty.

The Registrar of Titles is aware that these documents can be lodged directly with the Titles Office without an endorsement.

Our website can help you determine whether the variation of trust is dutiable or not.

If you have further enquiries in relation to this matter, please call 1300 300 734 or email us at client.support@osr.treasury.qld.gov.au. 

Due to system maintenance, our online services (including eLodgement) will not be available on Sunday 24 May 2009 from 6am to 8am.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Revenue Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2009 and Community Ambulance Cover Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2009 were gazetted on 15 May 2009. 

These regulations state the fees which will apply from 1 July 2009 to various revenue laws and the Community Ambulance Cover (CAC) annual and daily levy amounts. The fees and levy have been increased by reference to the Brisbane All-Groups Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. The annual CPI increase was 3.1 per cent.

The revenue legislation fees and CAC levy payable from 1 July 2009 under the following regulations are:

• Duties Regulation 2002
  • a postage fee of $4.05 for the first document
  • a postage fee of $1.20 for each additional document
    
    and
    
    
  • an adjudication fee of $29.95 for an instrument lodged with the Commissioner but not subject to duty
• Fuel Subsidy Regulation 1998
  • a fee of $11.95 payable by bulk end users for whom a claim period of less than three months is allowed by the Commissioner
• Land Tax Regulation 1999
  • a land tax clearance certificate fee of $25.15 for a certificate obtained from CITEC Confirm (excluding the CITEC Confirm delivery fee)
  • a land tax clearance certificate fee of $31.10 for an application lodged with us
• Community Ambulance Cover Regulation 2003
  • a CAC annual levy amount of $105.87
  • a CAC daily levy amount of 29.005 cents.

The Treasurer, Andrew Fraser MP, announced on 29 June that new payroll nexus rules are to apply in Queensland from 1 July 2009 where wages are paid to workers who provide their services in more than one state or territory (jurisdiction) in a month.

These changes will only affect wages for workers providing their services in more than one jurisdiction in a month. Where a worker provides their services solely in one jurisdiction, as is the case for the majority of workers, tax will continue to be paid to the jurisdiction where those services are performed.

All other states and territories made similar announcements on Friday 26 June 2009, so the new rules will be uniform across all jurisdictions.

Under the proposed new rules, payroll tax is to be paid to the jurisdiction where the worker resides, rather than where they are paid, as is currently the case.

Where the worker does not reside in Australia, tax is to be paid to the jurisdiction where the registered Australian Business Number address of the employer is located.

Legislation is currently being drafted to put the new nexus arrangements in place. It is expected that the new provisions will be uniform across jurisdictions.

The new legislation, once enacted, is to have retrospective effect from 1 July 2009.

We realise that some employers may have to make changes to their payroll systems as a result of the new laws. This may affect the timeliness or accuracy of their monthly returns while necessary changes are made.

We will allow all employers facing such transitional issues to make any necessary adjustments without penalty as part of the annual reconciliation process for the 2009–10 assessment year.

Until the law is changed, employers must lodge their returns according to the current nexus rules. After the law is changed, employers will need to lodge their returns under the new arrangements.

Due to system maintenance, our online services (including eLodgement) will not be available between 6:30pm and midnight on 29 June 2009.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Information kits containing your user ID, instructions for logging on to OSRconnect and information regarding your 2008-2009 Annual return were due to be mailed out on 22 June 2009. A letter containing your new password to access OSRconnect was to follow.

Due to technical difficulties at our contractor's mail distribution centre, the password letter was sent before the information kit.

We are currently working with our contractor to make sure you receive your information kit in the next few days. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The 2009–10 Queensland State Budget has been released, and includes the following changes:

• the abolition of the Queensland Fuel Subsidy Scheme from 1 July 2009
• an increase in the transfer duty first home vacant land concession from 1 July 2009
  • the concession will increase from $150,000 to $250,000
  • the value at which the concession phases out will increase from $300,000 to $400,000
• a new rebate will be introduced for employers who employ apprentices and trainees whose wages are exempt from payroll tax—for the 2009–10 financial year, employers can claim a rebate on these wages, which will reduce payroll tax payable on the wages of other employees
• an increased payment period for land tax assessments (from 30 days to 90 days) for the 2009–10 financial year
• the introduction of instalment payment options for land tax liabilities from 2010–11 financial year.

Key priorities of the 2009-10 Budget are delivering jobs for Queensland, strengthening community services and returning the Budget to surplus.

See the State Budget 2009–10 website for more information.

The Fuel Subsidy Repeal and Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 was introduced into Parliament on 16 June 2009. The Bill was passed on 20 June 2009 and received Royal Assent on 22 June 2009.

The Bill will amend the following laws as a result of the 2009–10 State Budget measures announced today. The Bill also includes other revenue measures. All amendments will take effect on 1 July 2009.

• Fuel Subsidy Act 1997—repealed. Amendments (starting on assent of the Bill) will be made to this act before its repeal to help with the winding up of the Queensland Fuel Subsidy Scheme. 
• Duties Act 2001—increase the transfer duty first home vacant land concession and increase the value at which the concession phases out.
• First Home Owner Grant Act 2000—amended as follows
  • extend the Commonwealth First Home Owner Boost to 31 December 2009
  • reduce the amount of the First Home Owner Boost for eligible transactions entered into after 30 September 2009 to $3,500 for established homes and $7,000 for new homes
  • defer the commencement of the $1,000,000 million cap on the value of homes for which the first home owner grant may be paid to 1 January 2010, so that it does not apply during the term of the First Home Owner Boost.
• Land Tax Act 1915—impose a 0.5% surcharge on that part of the aggregate value of a taxpayer's land (for land tax purposes) exceeding $5,000,000, as announced in the Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review in December 2008. 
• Payroll Tax Act 1971—entitle employers who employ apprentices and trainees whose wages are exempt from payroll tax to claim a rebate in relation to those wages. The rebate will reduce payroll tax payable on the wages of the employer's other employees. This rebate will apply for the 2009–10 financial year.

See the Bill and the Explanatory Notes published on the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel website for more information about these amendments.

On 2 June the Queensland Government announced the abolition of the fuel subsidy scheme from 1 July 2009. The necessary legislative amendments are expected to be introduced into Parliament during the Budget session of 16 June 2009.

The abolition of the fuel subsidy scheme means that subsidies will not be paid on any fuel sold by a fuel retailer or used by a bulk end user (BEU) after 30 June 2009. As retailers will not be selling subsidised fuel after 30 June, there will be no provisional subsidy payment made in June for July sales. 

These changes will not affect subsidy entitlements before 1 July 2009. 

Once the legislation is passed, we will directly inform all fuel retailers and BEUs of the changes. This information will also be available on our website, and will include the timeframes and arrangements for making final claims.

The Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 was introduced into Parliament on the 3 June 2009.  The Bill was passed on 17 June 2009 and received Royal Assent on 22 June 2009. The Bill makes the following amendments to revenue legislation to support improved administration.

The following amendments will have effect for the 2009–10 and later financial years.

• Taxation Administration Act 2001 (TAA) and Land Tax Act 1915—applies the standard administration provisions of the TAA to land tax. 
• Land Tax Act 1915 and Land Tax Regulation 1999
  • Removes the restriction on landlords passing on land tax directly to tenants. Similar restrictions applying to residential and retail shop leases will remain in place.
  • Extends the range of persons who may apply for a land tax clearance.
  • Extends the range of service providers of electronic land tax clearances.
  • Confirms the Commissioner’s power to recover costs of registration of a charge.
• The TAA and Taxation Administration Regulation 2001
  • Changes the accrual of late payment interest from daily to weekly.
  • Extends the application of penalty tax to remove an anomaly.

The following amendments take effect on Assent.

• Pay-roll Tax Act 1971 and Pay-roll Tax Regulation 1999.
  • Removes an employer's obligation to lodge a periodic return for the last periodic return period of a financial year (i.e. the period to 30 June). The periodic liability for this period will be payable through the annual return process.
  • Removes the requirement on employers who pay wages interstate, or which are members of a group, to notify the Commissioner of their self assessed fixed periodic deduction.
  • Requires employers to provide a breakdown of their periodic payments into primary tax and interest.
  • Requires employers approved to lodge periodic returns less frequently than monthly to notify the Commissioner of a relevant wage change.
  • Amends the deduction formulae to cater for leap years.
  • Removes the hyphen from 'pay-roll'.
• Duties Act 2001—makes provision in the self assessment system for party and agent self assessors for lodgement of a separate transaction statement for each transaction instead of a return of multiple transactions.
• The TAA and the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000—enables the Commissioner to use an approved information system to make decisions under the tax laws which do not involve the exercise of a discretion.
• The TAA and Taxation Administration Regulation 2001
  • Empowers the Commissioner, by notice in writing, to require a person to lodge a document or documents or make a payment or payments electronically.

For details of all amendments, see the Bill and Explanatory Notes published on the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel website.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 6am Saturday 1 August to 6am on Sunday 2 August.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 12pm to 4pm on Saturday 25 July.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

On Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 July, our Client Contact Centre will extend its hours to provide support for payroll tax self assessors lodging their annual returns for the first time in OSRconnect.

You can call us on 1300 300 734 between 8am and 7pm on these days.

Please be aware that you may experience some delays and longer waiting times due to the high volume of calls.

You may wish to try the following before calling our Client Contact Centre:

• check your system requirements 
• read our online lodgement tips 
• view the eLearning demonstration on how to lodge an annual return
• email any enquiries to payrollsupport@osr.treasury.qld.gov.au.

The following Public Rulings have been updated to reflect recent legislative amendments.

The following Public Rulings have been released. These Public Rulings replace Revenue Rulings or Practice Directions that were in effect immediately before the Public Ruling system commenced on 24 February 2009.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 12:30pm to 2:00pm today, Tuesday 7 July. 

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance and enhancements, our online services (including eLodgement) will not be available from 7pm to 11pm each night this week. 

OSRconnect can still be accessed during normal business hours over this period.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Property Law and Another Act Amendment Bill 2008 (the Bill) was introduced into Parliament on 25 November 2008. The Bill received Royal Assent yesterday. 

The Bill transfers State powers which deal with property transfers resulting from the breakdown of de facto relationships to the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 (FLA). Before these changes took effect, powers dealing with the breakdown of de facto relationships were dealt with under the Queensland Property Law Act 1974 (PLA).

Under the Duties Act 2001, property that is transferred as a result of the breakdown of a de facto relationship is exempt from duty. As a result of the Bill, any de facto relationship instruments made under the FLA are now exempt under the FLA. However, any other instruments that the PLA may apply to will continue to be exempt under the Duties Act. 

See the Property Law and Another Act Amendment Bill 2008 for more information.

Public Ruling DA395.1—Reassessment of vehicle registration duty—cancelled transaction has been released. It outlines the circumstances under which vehicle registration duty must be reassessed, if the transaction for the vehicle is cancelled.

Public Ruling DA501.2—Treatment of barter or trade dollars has been released. It examines how transactions involving barter trade or trade dollars are treated under the Duties Act 2001.

This Public Ruling replaces Practice Direction DA 2.2 that was in effect immediately before the Public Ruling system commenced on 24 February 2009.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available during the following times:

• 6pm Thursday 20 August to 8am Friday 21 August
• 6pm Friday 21 August to 8am Monday 24 August.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 12 midday Saturday 15 August to 8am Monday 17 August.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 5pm Wednesday 12 August to 9am Thursday 13 August.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Our Brisbane office will be closed on Wednesday 12 August due to the Royal Queensland Show day. Both our Client Contact Centre and front counter will not be available during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 5pm Tuesday 11 August to 9am Wednesday 12 August.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The method of lodging your periodic returns for the 2009–2010 financial year has changed.

You must use OSRconnect if you wish to lodge your periodic returns electronically.

When lodging your return through OSRconnect, you must enter the amounts of primary tax and unpaid tax interest separately. Once you have lodged your return, you can pay directly through OSRconnect.

If you don't intend to pay directly through OSRconnect, you must note the transaction number issued when you lodge your return. You must quote this number when making a BPay or EFT payment.

Your payment for the July 2009 return period is due by 7 August 2009. However, this date does not apply to employers who lodge periodic returns at other intervals—these returns must be lodged through OSRconnect and paid by the applicable due date.

See lodging a periodic return for more information.

We are reviewing compliance with the land rich duty provisions under Chapter 3, Part 1 of the Duties Act 2001. Land rich duty applies to relevant acquisitions of interests in land rich corporations.

As part of this review, we will be writing to companies with significant Queensland land-holdings and requesting information about share transactions in, and asset holdings of, those companies. This information will allow us to review share transactions in the selected companies over the last 5 years to identify any relevant transactions that trigger land rich duty.

Our Complex Investigations Unit will send targeted clients a letter to remind them of their obligations and to ensure that they comply with the law.

We will investigate any company that has not complied with the land rich duty provisions.

The land rich campaign starts on 10 August 2009.

See land rich duty for more information.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 5.30pm to 6.00pm on Tuesday 29 September.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

OSRconnect, our online lodgement system, is running slowly at the moment. We are currently working to resolve this.

Please enter transactions only if they are urgent. For non-urgent transactions, please try again later.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 7am to 2pm on Sunday 20 September.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Surrenders of leases/easements (shown in the screenshot below) are currently unavailable in OSRconnect. If you have one of these transactions, please contact our office (1300 300 734) for help.

We hope to have this issue resolved soon.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

We have had reports that some members of the public have received automated telephone calls about eligibility for the first home owner grant.

Please note that we never contact members of the public by automated telephone messages, in accordance with the Queensland Government's policy on information privacy and protection.

Any anonymous phone calls that make reference to the first home owner grant may be fraudulent and have not originated from, nor have they been approved by, our office.

We will never make representations in advance about an applicant's eligibility for the first home owner grant. Eligibility for the grant is only determined upon receipt of a completed application, and applicants are always advised of their eligibility by letter.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 6pm to 10pm on Tuesday 15 September.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 6pm to 10pm on Thursday 10 September.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Currently, some of our payroll tax users are experiencing problems when paying their August payroll tax return electronically.

If you are having trouble using the pay button on the confirmation page, please follow the process below to make a payment by direct debit.

• Once you have lodged your return, select the Payments tab.
• Select the Payment on Account option.

• Complete the required Payment details for the return you have just lodged.

• Once details are entered, select Pay to pay the return.
• Print the Confirmation of Payment screen for your records.

The Payroll Tax Regulation 2009 (the regulation) was gazetted on 28 August 2009. 

Under Part 7 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1992, the regulation was automatically due to expire on 1 September 2009. As the regulation is still needed for the Payroll Tax Act 1971 to operate effectively, it has been remade. Other than what was necessary to remake the regulation, no changes have been made. The regulation starts on 2 September 2009.

See the Payroll Tax Regulation 2009 for more information.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 9am to 11am on Sunday 1 November.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 7am to 3pm on Sunday 25 October.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 5pm to 8pm on Wednesday 21 October.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Access to the Queensland Government Service Centre (QGSC) has changed. Still located at 33 Charlotte Street, you now access QGSC from the upper terrace at 111 George Street. To get to the upper terrace, turn left at the entrance to 111 George Street and then head towards 33 Charlotte Street.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 9am to 1pm on Sunday 18 October.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 5pm to 8pm (Queensland time) on Monday 5 October.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

From 5 October 2009, our counter services will be provided by the new Queensland Government Service Centre (QGSC) on the Upper Plaza level at 33 Charlotte St.

The QGSC will provide counter services for multiple government agencies and be open from Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm.

The Queensland Fuel Subsidy Scheme ended on 30 June 2009.

Final claims had to be made by 30 September 2009. We will not pay any claims received after this date.

You must keep all subsidy records for 5 years as we may audit you.

Due to system maintenance, OSRconnect will not be available from 7am to 12pm on Sunday 22 November.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We have designed a range of interactive forms to help you meet your obligations and correctly assess certain transactions, including variations of trusts and transactions exempt under:

• section 90 of the Family Law Act 1974 (Cwlth) (FLA)
• section 90L of the FLA
• section 90WA of the FLA
• section 424 of the Duties Act 2001.

Using the interactive form will help you to determine if a particular transaction is exempt. You can also print a copy of the form for your records.

We will be running 2 payroll tax awareness sessions in Toowoomba on Thursday, November 26.

These sessions will provide an overview of payroll tax in Queensland, including information about OSRconnect—our online lodgement system. There will also be time allocated for questions at the end.

Register your interest (and preferred time) today. Session times will be determined by demand. We will notify you of the final times once they have been set.

(If the link above does not work, paste the URL below into your web browser's address bar.)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=D_2bA0NVDMg7_2fpNyiWGuMTCQ_3d_3d