Daily Australia Tax Update: 18 September 2026 : Trust Tax Consultation Closes Today, ATO Top 100 Assurance Results & Shadow Economy Prosecutions Up 80%

Sep 18, 2026 | Australia Updates

Today’s Australia tax update brings four important compliance developments. The consultation on the proposed discretionary trust minimum tax closes today. The ATO has released its latest Top 100 and Top 1,000 assurance findings. Shadow economy prosecutions have increased sharply. The Tax Practitioners Board has also confirmed major sanctions changes from 1 October 2026.

If you run an Australian ecommerce business, digital company or growing SME, these changes reinforce one message: maintain accurate records, lodge on time and keep your tax compliance process under control.

Act today: discretionary trust tax consultation closes on 18 September

The consultation on the proposed 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts closes today, Friday 18 September 2026.

The measure is proposed to apply from 1 July 2028. It is not yet law. However, Australian businesses operating through discretionary trusts should understand the proposed structure now because the decisions may affect distributions, beneficiaries, tax liabilities and future restructuring.

The ATO’s tax reform summary confirms the proposed 30% minimum tax and the planned start date.

The draft legislation reportedly includes:

An election regime, sometimes described as a carve-out.
The ability for eligible trusts to lock in distributions to beneficiaries.
A proposed mechanism to avoid the 30% minimum tax where the election requirements are satisfied.
Rollover relief for small businesses restructuring out of a discretionary trust, intended to limit immediate capital gains tax consequences.

The election may create a serious compliance obligation. If a trust adds a new beneficiary after making the election, it could breach the election terms. The trust may then face 47% tax for that year before returning to the proposed 30% baseline.

That means trustees would need to maintain reliable beneficiary records and monitor every distribution decision. A new beneficiary should not be added casually.

SmartCompany and the AFR have highlighted concerns raised by CPA Australia. The proposed changes could affect around 350,000 small businesses operating through discretionary trusts. CPA Australia estimates that professional advice costs alone could reach $2.8 billion, before tax and restructuring costs.

State stamp duty also remains unresolved. Treasury is yet to settle how the states will treat restructuring decisions that may become difficult or impossible to reverse. As CPA Australia has warned, a family business should not have to guess how state duty law will treat a decision it cannot later undo.

The 2026–27 Federal Budget estimated that the reform, before the carve-out, could raise $4.5 billion in its first full year.

What to do before the consultation closes

If your Australian business operates through a discretionary trust:

Review the consultation material today. This will help you understand the proposed election and restructuring framework.
List current and potential beneficiaries. This reduces the risk of an accidental breach if the election becomes law.
Document trust distributions carefully. Accurate records will support future tax calculations and compliance reviews.
Separate Commonwealth tax issues from state duty issues. The proposed CGT rollover does not automatically resolve stamp duty treatment.
Do not restructure before the law is settled. Track the final legislation and commencement rules before taking irreversible action.

Strengthen your records: ATO assurance results show where scrutiny is concentrated

The ATO has released its public group findings reports for the year ended 30 June 2026. The findings cover the Top 100 and Top 1,000 assurance programs for income tax and GST.

For the Top 100 population:

82% achieved high or medium assurance for income tax.
98% achieved high or medium assurance for GST.
Of the $61.5 billion in income tax paid by Top 100 economic groups in 2024, $52.9 billion came from taxpayers with high or medium assurance.
Nearly all of the $11.9 billion in GST reported and paid by reviewed Top 100 GST reporters came from high or medium assurance taxpayers.
More than 95% of Top 100 taxpayers have current-year justified trust reviews underway.
Around 80% have no past-year justified trust reviews outstanding.

For the Top 1,000 population, almost nine in ten taxpayers achieved high or medium assurance for income tax. The comparable GST figure was 95%.

The ATO also reported substantial compliance activity during 2025–26:

Almost $2.1 billion in total income tax liabilities raised.
Around $3.1 billion in GST liabilities raised.
Approximately $2.2 billion paid voluntarily following earlier compliance activity and preventative engagement.
Around $1.3 billion secured through 30 disputes involving public and multinational businesses.

The key focus areas include global profit shifting, international related-party dealings and cross-border investment structures.

Accounting Times has reported on the findings, which show that assurance is not limited to large tax payments. It depends on whether the ATO can understand and verify the underlying systems, transactions and tax positions.

Apply the same discipline to your growing business

You may not be in the Top 100 or Top 1,000. The operating principle still matters.

If you sell through Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, WooCommerce or another platform, maintain:

Complete sales reports by marketplace and country.
Separate records for Australian and overseas transactions.
GST treatment for domestic sales, refunds and adjustments.
Reconciled payment processor and bank records.
Clear evidence for business expenses.
Records supporting related-party payments and international transactions.

Good records make GST reporting more accurate. They also reduce the time needed to respond to an ATO query.

Lodge accurately: shadow economy prosecutions rise by more than 80%

ATO enforcement data shows a sharp increase in successful shadow economy prosecutions between 2024–25 and 2025–26.

According to the ATO’s “Out of the shadows – shadow economy prosecutions jump 80%” release:

More than 350 individuals and entities were prosecuted over the past two years.
More than 305 convictions were secured.
Court fines totalled more than $2.7 million.
Successful prosecutions increased by more than 80%.
Convictions increased by almost 60%.

Queensland, Western Australia and NSW accounted for almost three-quarters of non-lodgment prosecutions last financial year: