The Bill introducing the new public country-by-country (CbC) reporting regime received Royal Assent on 10 December 2024. The regime has effect for reporting periods commencing on or after 1 July 2024 with first reporting due by 30 June 2026. The new measures operate separately and are in addition to the existing CbC rules.

Under the public CbC reporting regime, large multinational groups with a presence in Australia must publicly disclose certain tax information on a CbC basis and a statement on their approach to tax.

The public CbC reporting regime will apply to groups which exceed both global consolidated turnover of AUD$1 billion and Australian-sourced aggregated turnover of AUD$10 million. The group must also have a global CbC reporting parent structured as a company, partnership with only corporate partners, or a trust with corporate trustees. The CbC reporting parent or another member of the CbC reporting group must be either an Australian resident or a foreign resident operating an Australian permanent establishment.

The public CbC reporting parent is responsible for providing the public CbC report to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) within 12 months of the end of the reporting period. For groups with a 31 December year- end, the public CbC rules will take effect from 1 January 2025, with first reporting due by 31 December 2026.

Although the public CbC rules have been finalised, the ATO has issued limited guidance on available extensions and exemptions. The ATO has advised that full or partial exemptions, as well as extensions, can be obtained under application to the Commissioner of Taxation. Further guidance is expected in mid-2025. Exemption from the existing CbC rules does not necessarily mean exemption from the public CbC measures. For instance, Australian groups with no overseas operations that satisfy the turnover tests are included at this stage.

It is important for taxpayers to assess whether the new public CbC rules apply to their operations and start preparing the relevant documentation to enable timely reporting and avoid punitive penalties of up to $825,000.

This article was first published in the Winter 2025 issue of HLB Mann Judd Perth’s Client Alert and was authored by Senior Manager Don Tyrie.