From 1 July 2025, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will be automatically applying Failure to Lodge (FTL) penalties to late Business Activity Statement (BAS) lodgments. 

For many years, the ATO has applied a relatively measured approach when dealing with overdue BAS. While late lodgements have never been ignored, there was often some leniency when it came to penalty remissions and payment arrangements. However, this buffer is no longer available. 

While the ATO may still remit penalties for late BAS in certain circumstances, the expectation now is that fewer late BAS lodgements will be excused. 

This change represents a significant tightening of compliance expectations and could have serious implications for strata companies and the managers who support them. 

At Ascend, we want to ensure our strata manager partners stay ahead of this shift. By working together, we can ensure that your strata companies are not impacted unnecessarily. 

What Strata Managers Need to Do 

• Monitor levy budgets closely. If a scheme’s budgeted levies are nearing or exceeding $150,000, flag it early. Once the threshold is exceeded, GST registration is mandatory.
• Notify Ascend immediately when levies over $150,000 are approved, or about to be approved.
• Inform us as soon as you have a new GST-registered management. There can be delays in the client-to-agent linking process at the ATO.
• Respond quickly to requests from our team for documentation or clarification.

Working together, we can minimise the risk of late lodgements and ensure a smooth transition under the ATO’s updated penalty framework. 

Need Help? We’re Here for our Strata Manager Clients 

If you are one of our strata manager clients, and are unsure about whether GST applies, or would like us to review a draft budget for GST triggers, please reach out. We're happy to assist, and preventing late BAS lodgements now saves a lot of admin headaches later. 

We’d also be happy to talk with you about things you should do to prepare for upcoming GST registration, such as adjusting the budget to include GST-related expenses. For more information, please see our associated blog posts (links are above).