Past Events

ABSIA teamed up with the New Payments Platform Australia (NPPA) to present the following webinar. 

The New Payments Platform (NPP) has been designed to support a 24/7 modern, digital economy. It provides fast, flexible and data-rich payments for Australian consumers, businesses and government agencies, enabling them to make real-time data rich payments between accounts at participating Australian financial institutions. The NPP brings enormous potential for future payments innovations through its speed, data, capability, open-access design and unique layered architecture. 

This webinar outlines the progress of NPP since its launch and the future capability roadap that includes the develops of ISO 20022 data message standards for superannuation, PAYG and payroll payements, QR codes and an extension of the NPP API framework.

Webinar Duration: 20 minutes

Please find a copy of the webinar presentation here.

Please find a copy of the webinar transcript here.

Following the announcement that Australia and New Zealand will be adopting Peppol standards, ABSIA hosted a Peppol Training Webinar on 30 April. 

This webinar was aimed at:

• Software developers currently operating an e-invoicing solution;
  
• Software developers looking at developing an e-invoicing solution; and,
  
• People interested in learning more about the Peppol standards.
  

ABSIA's e-invoicing lead, Simon Foster, hosted the webinar along with other guests to provide training and to discuss ABSIA's experience with Peppol so far. This was an informative webinar to give those interested an insight into Peppol now before the standard launches in Australia and New Zealand later this year.

The recording, slides and transcript from this webinar are available to members upon request.

ABSIA's President Chris Howard hosted the ATO's Single Touch Payroll Assistant Commissioner, John Shepherd, for a 45-minute webinar on 23 May 2019. 

During this webinar, Chris and John discussed:

• The past year of Single Touch Payroll;
  
• What they have learnt from the data so far;
  
• What has changed in end of financial year reporting processes;
  
• The common errors that have occurred through STP reporting;
  
• How software developers can learn from the above, and;
  
• What is next for the STP program. 
  

Webinar Materials:

• Click here to access the webinar slide deck.
  
• Click here to access the webinar transcript.
  

ABSIA hosted a CEO Panel on 20 March 2018 at Haymarket HQ in Sydney. With the increasing use of contemporary and emerging technologies, the landscape is changing for ABSIA members as well as the end consumers and, businesses we serve. During this session, panelists provided frank and insightful discussions on "what next?"

ABSIA hosted the following panelists:

• Trent Innes, Managing Director of Xero
  
• Emma Lo Russo, Founder & CEO Digivizer
  
• Stuart Korchinski, CEO and Chairman of SuperChoice
  
• Kate Carruthers, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, UNSW
  Deborah Ralston, Member of RBA Payment System Board
  
• Marjukka Mäki-Hokkonen, CEO of Ascender
  
• Ramez Katf, Second Commissioner ATO
  
• Karen Lay-Brew, Managing Director of 3Pillars.Digital
  

The digital tsunami is approaching as new security frameworks are introduced to better protect taxpayers, businesses and software developers! 

ABSIA hosted three events across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for developers to learn about the ATO Operational Framework and how other strategic policy initiatives are impacting the developer community. Presenters included the ATO and a range of digital service providers working in the payroll, superannuation, taxation and business ecosystem spaces.

ABSIA hosted their Annual Conference on 31 October 2018 in Melbourne. The energy was palpable as international governments, the Australian Government and industry discussed eInvoicing. 

Presentations from the conference covered:

• Driving Reforms Through the NSW Government Digital Strategy and Our Approach to eInvoicing  - Shae Howard, NSW Government
  
• Benefits and Challenges for Small Businesses to Adopt eInvoicing - Kate Carnell, ASBFEO
  
• Singapore's eInvoicing Journey - Jane Lime, IMDA Singapore Government
  
• The ASEAN Single Window and Opportunities for Regional Co-operation - Peter Stokes, Axway
  
• Outcomes and Learnings from the SA Government eInvoicing Pilots - Glenn Dawson, SA Government
  
• How Will NPP Align with Australia's eInvoicing Framework? - Katrina Stuart, NPP Australia
  
• Industry Coding Without the Work - Bill Allen, ABS
  

ABSIA held a conference on 23 March 2017 at Doltone House in Sydney. Topics covered included ICT procurement, the future of work, whole of government digital agenda, ATO services update, WGEA reporting, SBR evolution and eInvoicing and Single Touch Payroll. 

Presentations from the conference can be accessed below:

• Digital Marketplace - Catherine Thompson, Digital Transformation Agency
• Future of Work is Changing - Susan Heron, ADP
  
• ATO System Outages: Learnings, Challenges and Future Plans - Ramez Katf, ATO
  
• ATO Services Delivery - Chris Thorne, ATO
  
• SBR Evolution & eInvoicing: The Broader Context - John McAlister, Australian Business Register 
  
• The Policy Perspective: Move to Cloud, Simplified BAS and Single Touch Payroll, Requirements of a Registered Agent - Ian Taylor, Tax Practitioners Board
  

ABSIA’s second conference for 2017 was held at the Brisbane Conference and Exhibition Centre on 11 October and included a number of high profile speakers and detailed presentations by ABSIA SIG convenors and members. 

Topics covered included:

• Cloud Accounting as an exemplar of  the power of Digital Transformation
  
• The challenges and benefits of enabling government digital transformation together with software developers
  
• Single Touch Payroll 
  
• Practitioner Lodgment Service 
  
• eInvoicing
  
• How the Medical Software Industry addresses Data Protection and Cyber Security
  
• Securing Australia’s Digital Health Records
  
• Roles and responsibilities of the ATO CISO & Team
  
• ATO's Operational Framework Update
  

ABSIA hosted a forum in Melbourne on 2 March 2016. Over the course of the day speakers covered topics including digital disruption, fostering gender equality in the IT sector, the New Payments Platform, cloud software authentication and authorisation, eInvoicing, Standard Business Reporting and Single Touch Payroll.

Presentations from the forum can be accessed below:

• New Payments Platform (NPP) - David Field, ABSIA
  
• Cloud Software Authentication and Authorisation - Chris Thorne, ATO
  
• ABR Program & SBR: Whole of Government - John McAlister, ATO
  
• Australian Bureau of Statistics - Mike Booth, ABS
  
• ELS2SBR a Theme of Same Challenges - Mike Behling, ABSIA
  
• Single Touch Payroll - Mary Arrowsmith, ATO
  
• STP and Payroll Special Interest Group - Deanne Windsor, ABSIA
  

ABSIA hosted a forum on 25 May 2016 in Sydney. Topics included an update from the 2016 Federal Budget, ATO’s Digital Strategy and Whole of Government Vision, Standard Business Reporting, SuperStream and Single Touch Payroll. 

Presentations from the forum can be accessed below: 

• Ramez Katf, ATO
  
• 2016 Federal Budget Update - Frances Sainsbury, ATO
  
• Whole of Government - John McAlister, ATO
  
• Business Software Industry Innovation Network (BSIIN) - Karen Lay-Brew, ABSIA
  
• SuperStream Alternative File Format Defined Benefits and Accumulation - Ty Winmill, ATO
  
• Single Touch Payroll - John Shepherd, ATO
  
• ATO Delivery of SBR Services - Chris Thorne, ATO
  

ABSIA held a quarterly webinar on 4 August 2016 where ATO panellists spoke about several projects currently underway that will impact business software, including the simpler BAS project and my assurance platform. The ATO eCommerce team provided an update on migrating from ELS to SBR as well as an overview of plans for Tax Time 17.

ABSIA held a forum and ebMS3 expo on 7 September at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre sponsored by Envision IT, SuperChoice and OZEDI. 

The following exhibitors participated in the : Fujitsu, GovReports, OZEDI, SuperChoice, MessageXchange, Free Accounting Software, Digital Business Council, Australian Taxation Office and Oban Enterprise Solutions.

Presentations from the can be accessed below:

• Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell
  
• Single Touch Payroll (STP) Update - John Shepherd, ATO
  
• Single Touch Payroll (STP) IT Options and Update - Chris Thorne, ATO
  
• Data Driven Innovation and Building Start Ups - Simon Spencer, Edgelabs
  
• An External View of Australia’s Standard Business Reporting (SBR) Program Progress and Engagement Model Between Industry and Government - Karen Lay-Brew, ATO
  

ABSIA held a webinar on 9 November 2016 which covered a range of topics including:

• BAS simplification delivery dates
  
• STP services update
  
• SuperStream services update
  
• PLS services update
  

The ATO held a webinar with ABSIA members on 10 November 2016 to work through impacts on software developers as a result of the new Working Holiday Makers legislation.

ABSIA’s 2016 Conference and Expo was held on 30 November at the Sydney Masonic Centre Conference & Function Centre. 

The guest speakers for the day covered a range of topics relating to current industry issues and emerging trends to assist industry in preparing for changes including some thought provoking presentations on the future of Fintech and the rate of change we can expect in coming years. We heard from some of our government partners on Single Touch Payroll (STP), Simpler BAS, SBR evolutions and the eInvoicing Interoperability Framework. 

Presentations from the conference can be accessed below:

• Fintech the Future - Tim Reed, MYOB
  
• Global Fintech - Peter Cowan, Paypal
  
• NPP in the Fintech Space - Wendy Booth, CBA 
  
• SBR Evolution - John McAlister, Australian Business Register
  
• Single Touch Payroll (STP) Business Update - Michael Karavas, ATO
  
• Single Touch Payroll (STP) IT Options and Update - Chris Thorne, ATO
  
• Simplified BAS Update - Richard Robinson, ATO
  
• Digital Business Council (DBC) and eInvoicing - Matthew Addison, ICB

The Industry Forum held on 24 March 2015 focussed on hot topics, including Single Touch Payroll, Reinventing the ATO project, SuperStream and the Integrity of Business Systems and more.

Presentations from the forum can be accessed below:

• Reinventing the ATO & Partnership Framework - Jane King, ATO 
  
• SuperStream - Phillip Hind, ATO
  
• Single Touch Payroll: The ABSIA Submission - Nicholas Perott, ABSIA & Attache and David Field, ABSIA & OZEDI
  
• Integrity of Business Systems: Self Assurance Model - Ben Heilbronn, ATO
  
• Single Touch Payroll: The Cash Flow Issues - Matthew Addison, Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
  
• SBR: Whole of Government - John McAlister, ATO
  

The forum was held on 27 May 2015 in Melbourne. Topics including Digital Transformation Office, Standard Business Reporting, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Taxation Office - the 2015 Budget, Single Touch Payroll, ABSIA ebMS3 Project and more were discussed.

Presentations from the forum can be accessed below:

• Key Note Address: The Digital Transformation Office - Robert Ravanello, Digital Transformation Office
• Digital Transformation Office - Jo Mond & Robert Ravanello, Digital Transformation Office
• SBR: Whole of Government - John McAlister, ATO
• Single Touch Payroll: The Impact on Employers - Matthew Addison, Institute of Certified Bookkeepers

ABSIA hosted an STP workshop over 9-10 June 2015 in Melbourne and gave software developers an opportunity to interact face to face with the ATO and provide constructive feedback on business and technical aspects of STP developers. Topics discussed included onboarding retail flow, onboarding wholesale flow and Payroll Event flow.

In response to industry demand, ABSIA held a workshop on 15 June 2015 to address issues associated with defined benefits and the current SuperStream alternative file format (SAFF). The session sought to establish a “standard” for applying defined benefits data elements to the current SAFF file format. Following the workshop, funds shared their current mappings and SAFF extension to ABSIA’s for consolidation and review.

ABSIA hosted an ATO Channels Webinar on 15 July 2015, presented by Kerrie Cameron and Mick Ferris from the Australian Taxation Office. The webinar provided an update on changes to forms and reports in the Portal/ECI, SBR and ELS channels and the ATO’s current thinking on the future of the ECI channel.

The September Forum agenda was packed with informative topics including:

• Security - what's happening in the cyber world and how does it affect you?
  
• Software and Authentication - are we in or out?
  
• Child Support Agency – SBR enablement
  
• Australian Bureau of Statistics – SBR enablement
  
• e-Invoicing – setting an Australian standard

Presentations from the forum can be accessed below:

• Digital Transformation Agenda - Rowan Fraser, ATO
  
• SBR: Whole of Government - John McAlister, ATO
  
• E-Invoicing: Whole of Government - Levine Naidoo, ATO
  
• Australian Bureau of Statistics - Paul Nicholls, ABS
  
• Tax Practitioners Board: Tax Act and Software Developers - Matthew Addison
  
• BAS Update: BAS Simplification - Tim Pulsford, ATO
  
• SuperStream Update - Ty Winmill, ATO
  

ABSIA hosted a government channels update webinar on 14 October 2015 to provide an update on changes to forms and reports in the Portal/ECI, SBR and ELS channels. The webinar also covered introducing the e-commerce technical working group and PAYG instalments.

The webinar was hosted by Joe Maxymenko and featured guests Michael Ferris, Brian Shepherd and Joel Hannaway.

The 2015 ABSIA Conference was held at the Melbourne Convention Centre on 18 November with an agenda showcasing the highest priorities for the software developer community in the coming years - as stated by the leading business, IT industry and government representatives. 

A variety of hot topics were delivered via keynote presentations and dynamic panel discussions. We covered a range of interests addressing what government and business are expecting from us and what we can do to increase confidence and efficiencies of our products in the cloud. 

The business industry panel discussion provided insight into ‘What is the Australian business community expecting from you?’ and ‘how is business expecting you to leverage off new technologies to help manage their government obligations, while still being competitive in an ever growing global economy?’

ATO Assistant Commissioner, Katie Welsh, presented on the Reinventing the ATO programme. The ATO conducted 11 workshops with community groups and professions gathering vital information to shape the future tax and super systems. From these workshops, the ATO will develop an integrated 4-year plan, being the future of ATO and changing the way they work forever. Katie showcased the results of all 11 workshops including video comments from participants and significant items from the emerging plans across all segments.

Watch the short version of the planning to deliver the future experience in the Reinventing the ATO Blueprint presentation here. 

The Cloud panel deliberated on the trend to cloud, weighing up its benefits to the new risks it brings: ‘can we manage new risks giving both developers, consumers and government confidence in this new market?’ and ‘how to get involved in influencing and shaping guidelines and standards in this space!’

All about the future; the future of payments, the future of data, the future of documents and the future of our organisations…
 

ABSIA’s inaugural conference was held on 27 November 2014 in Sydney and featured an action packed agenda with speakers and panels discussing topics such as Super Stream, Reinventing the ATO, Single Touch Payroll, Future Payment Methods and more. 

This conference was sponsored by OZEDI.