Product registration is the process undertaken by digital service providers (DSPs) to use ATO digital services in production. A DSP is anyone who develops or delivers digital services that assist the Australian community (and business) to meet their tax and super obligations.
Product registration includes:
- whitelisting your product for use against a specific service
- assessing your product against the requirements as established in the Digital Service Provider (DSP) Operational Security Framework (OSF), and
- Single Touch Payroll: Extended Conformance Testing guide
The payroll industry is complex and intertwined. Many entities, which are recognised by the ATO as DSPs, play multiple roles as described below.
- Commercial payroll software developer – an entity which builds, tests and develops payroll software products to sell.
- In- house payroll software developer – an entity which builds, tests and develops payroll software products for internal consumption. This includes employers, registered agents (tax/BAS) or payroll service providers that develop their own Single Touch Payroll (STP) enabled payroll software or modify commercial software.
- Sending Service Provider (SSP) – an entity which carries out the following on behalf of another DSP:
- Facilitate the transformation of Single Touch Payroll (STP) compliant data received from an STP compliant solution.
- Transmit STP conforming data to the ATO.
- ebMS3 software developer – an entity which builds, tests and develops ebMS3 compliant software products to sell.
These definitions are not intended to constrain the industry but support the decision making process and what each entity needs to undertake as part of the product registration process.
STP compliant software
The product you are registering needs to be STP compliant. This means it has been developed in compliance with the Single Touch Payroll: Business implementation guide (STP BIG). The output data of a STP product is categorised into two groups:
- STP compliant data - Complies with the STP BIG. All necessary data required to meet the schema needs of the Payroll Event (PAYEVNT). STP compliant data can be in any proprietary format such as CSV, TXT or XML.
- STP conforming data - STP compliant data is used to undertake validation using the ATO issued schema and validation rules.
Who is responsible for product registration?
The table below provides guidance on the role and responsibilities of DSPs regarding product registration for STP.
| DSP role | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Employer, registered agent or payroll service provider – developing an in-house STP enabled product |
Complete product registration and meet the applicable requirements as established through the to Digital Service Provider (DSP) Operational Security Framework (OSF). Note: If you are developing an in-house product for your own use only (it will not be used on behalf of others), the product is not subject to the requirements of the to Digital Service Provider (DSP) Operational Security Framework (OSF). However, third parties delivering commercial solutions to enable STP compliance for in-house products will need to meet the requirements as established through the to Digital Service Provider (DSP) Operational Security Framework (OSF) and payroll service provider registration requirements of the Tax Practitioner Board (TPB).
|
| Payroll software developer (In-house and commercial) |
Complete product registration and meet the applicable requirements as established through the to Digital Service Provider (DSP) Operational Security Framework (OSF).
|
| Employer, registered agent or payroll service provider – customising or modifying an existing software product | If the actions to customise or modify an existing software product has impacted the STP compliance of the product, product registration will need to be completed as well as meeting the applicable requirements as established through the to Digital Service Provider (DSP) Operational Security Framework (OSF). |
| Sending service provider (SSP) |
Required to:
An SSP will need to partner with a DSP in PVT to complete their registration. |
Product registration support
Contact DPO via DPO@ato.gov.au or on 1300 139 052. Support will be provided in line with the Service model for DSPs.
For any other questions or feedback email DPO@ato.gov.au.