Brindabella Christian College staff have been assured nine months of superannuation payments have been paid to the tax office but the money has not made its way into their accounts.
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The Canberra Times understands the school told the Independent Education Union that the unpaid superannuation contributions were paid to the Australian Taxation Office on Friday, February 2.
However, two weeks later the approximately 130 staff members have not seen the money in their super accounts.
The school board did not respond to questions about whether the money had been sent and whether the delay was due to the tax office processes.
The union was unable to get answers from the tax office about whether it had received the money.
The Australian Taxation Office does not comment on the tax affairs of any individual or entity because of legal obligations around confidentiality.
A spokesperson for the tax office said it took non-compliance with super guarantee obligations seriously and had a focused review and audit program to ensure workers and their retirement savings were protected.
Employers who fail to pay super in full, on time and to the correct fund must pay the guarantee amount plus nominal interest of 10 per cent per annum and an administration fee of $20 per quarter.
"If an employer pays the super guarantee charge late, the shortfall and nominal interest component are then sent to the employee's super fund," the spokesperson said.
"The nominal interest component acknowledges the earnings that could have been earned on that super entitlement for that period."
If employers fail to pay that charge, they could risk further action from the tax office including audits and penalties which can be up to 200 per cent of the super guarantee charge liability.
The tax office can also take firmer actions including director penalty notices, garnishees, directions to pay, disclosure of business tax debt and prosecution actions to ensure payment on superannuation debts.
"Where businesses continue to trade without addressing their super guarantee charge debts, we will escalate our actions towards wind up and bankruptcy where it's appropriate," the spokesperson said.
"The ATO aims to collect unpaid debt owed by an employer as soon as possible but some employers may not be able to pay in full. There are situations where it can be harder for the ATO recover unpaid superannuation including if an employer is bankrupt, in liquidation, under administration or deregistered."
Brindabella Christian College already has a payment plan with the tax office to pay off a debt which reached $5 million at the end of 2022.
The school entered into the payment plan to pay $130,000 per month for the unpaid pay as you go withholding tax until the full amount was paid off.
Its most recent financial statements from 2022 show the charity which runs the school, Brindabella Christian Education Limited, had current liabilities exceeding current assets by about $20 million.
By not paying superannuation on time, the school also appears to have broken one of the terms of an agreement it made with the federal Education Minister.
The agreement was struck after the school took the Minister to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to appeal a finding that the charity was not fit and proper to run a non-government school.