SELF EMPLOYED WORKERS INFORMATION
ON THIS PAGE:
HOW DOES THE SELF-EMPLOYED SCHEME WORK?
You can voluntarily register as a self-employed worker so that on reaching 10 years of combined service you can claim your employed service entitlement as well as your self-employed entitlement. The following is a summary of how it works:
- Meet eligibility criteria and register;
- Make voluntary quarterly contributions at one of three rates;
- Reach a combined worker/self-employed 10 years of relevant employment;
- Take an entitlement payment;
- Account is closed and cannot be reopened unless you return to being an employed worker; and
- If you decide to stop contributing, all self-employed contributions will be refunded but without any interest.
RETURNS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
There are 4 quarterly returns issued each year for the following periods:
- January-March
- April-June
- July-September
- October-December
You will receive an invoice for the amount selected at the end of each quarter. Upon receipt of payment, your service record will be credited with the maximum number of working days in that quarter, usually 65 days.
TasBuild allows self-employed workers to select a quarterly rate in which they can contribute into the scheme. These contribution rates are reviewed annually and the current rates are:
- $160.00 per quarter; this rate is based on a weekly wage of $740.00.
- $190.00 per quarter, this rate is based on a weekly wage of $875.00.
- $250.00 per quarter, this rate is based on a weekly wage of $1,100.00
HOW DO I REGISTER?
You must have a TasBuild worker account that has relevant employment recorded.
Apply by logging into the Worker Portal or using the application form to complete a request to register as a Self-Employed worker and upload evidence in support of this such as:
- Invoices for work completed
- Income tax returns
- ABN registration
- Business name registration
- Supplier tax invoices
Service can be backdated for one year if evidence can be provided of operating as a self-employed worker during this period.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When will I reach entitlement?
When you have reached a combined worker and self-employed 10-year service or 2,600 days of relevant employment, your account will be paid out with a single lump sum payment and closed. The payment will consist of the self-employed contributions you have made plus interest as well as any service accrued as a worker.
What are my GST and tax implications?
Self-employed contributions are not subject to Goods & Services Tax (GST). Contributions made are not tax deductible by the self-employed worker as it is voluntary for the worker to contribute into the scheme and is not compulsory under legislation.
No tax is deducted from the self-employed entitlement payment, but the interest component of the self-employed entitlement is classed as assessable income and will show on your PAYG summary.
What is the interest rate used on my contributions?
The interest applied to your self-employed account balance is:
- 75% of the monthly investment performance on the TasBuild investment portfolio net of investment fees during periods of positive performance; or
- 100% of the monthly investment performance on the TasBuild investment portfolio during periods of negative performance. This is calculated daily and added to your account at the end of each month.
You should be aware that your account balance is invested in a market linked investment and this investment may generate a positive or negative investment performance depending on the movement in the market value of the TasBuild investment portfolio. In times of a negative investment performance the interest charged to your account will be 100% of the negative performance, which means your account balance will decrease rather than increase.
To view a list of the interest rates applied to self employed worker accounts for the last 12 months click here.
What happens if I stop being self-employed or want to stop contributing?
If you cannot continue for whatever reason, and have not yet qualified for an entitlement payment, you can request your contributions you have paid in on your own behalf to be refunded. If you have opted for the refund of your contributions no interest will be paid on the contributions received and you will not be able to contribute again for those periods for which the refund was obtained.
Limitation on Self-Employed Accounts
The Tasbuild Long service Fund was established to provide portable long service to employed workers. The Self-Employed category was created to help workers that become self-employed and remain in the construction industry but had not reached a 10 year entitlement to still realise their employed service benefits. Therefore, when the combined employed/self-employed 10 year entitlement is reached, the full entitlement will be paid out, the self-employed account closed and no further contributions will be accepted.
What happens if I stop being self-employed and become an employee again in the construction industry.
Contact TasBuild and we will update your file to not contributing so you no longer receive self-employed tax invoices. Also ensure your new employer registers you so your service days can continue to accrue. When you have reached an entitlement you will be required to take the self-employed component of your leave at a minimum.
What happens if I employ someone?
You will have two actions to consider.
Have you started your own construction business that will need to be registered?
If you have employed a worker that is undertaking relevant employment in the construction industry you will need to register the worker.
What happens if I am registered as a self-employed worker but then form a company?
You will be required to register your new company if it is undertaking construction work. If you had existing workers that are continuing on as an employee of the new company they will need to be transferred from your existing entity to the new entity. Any other employees employed to undertake construction work will need to also be registered.
You will need to also review the impact on your self-employed account, this can be confusing and a TasBuild staff member will be only too happy to help you navigate the changes to help ensure you remain compliant.
What happens if I don’t pay my self-employed invoices?
After two quarters of non-payment you will be contacted and if the payment is received within 7 days of contact, no further action will be taken.
If not paid, your self-employed account will be closed and your self-employed contributions will be refunded without any interest. If you wish to recommence contributing as a self-employed worker after this you will not be able to claim service for the periods that were not paid and removed.
How will my payment be calculated?
Payment for the leave accrued whilst contributing as a self-employed worker is based on the total contributions paid plus interest. Interest only applies if you reach 10 years of recorded service (2600 days).
Payment for the weeks of leave accrued as a worker are paid at a weekly rate of pay. This weekly rate is based on the pay rate reported by your Employer for the last period of reported service, unless there are any significant wage variations.
TAKE THE 2 MINUTE WORKER TEST
The 2 minute test is designed to help you work out if you are an employee or subcontractor. Different rules apply for eligibility in the Portable Long Service Scheme.