Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questionsAn audit report is a document provided to Coal LSL once a year to provide certainty that employers have been correctly calculating and paying the levy and claiming reimbursement on behalf of their eligible employees during that year.
Audit reports must be submitted within six months of the employer’s end of financial year.
Submission of levy and reimbursement information to Coal LSL by employers does not include detail regarding how the eligible wages of employees are determined or how the amount to be reimbursed has been determined.
The independent audit process is intended to review this information and to identify any errors in calculation or misinterpretation of the legislation.
Non-submission of an audit report in the required timeframe is a breach of the governing legislation.
There are civil and criminal penalties for failing to provide an audit report as required by the Collection Act.
An employer who fails to provide the report within 6 months of the end of financial year commits an offence and may be subject to a criminal penalty, currently up to the value of 30 penalty units for an individual.
Alternatively, Coal LSL may choose to pursue civil penalties against an employer, currently up to the value of 40 penalty units for an individual or 200 penalty units for a body corporate, for failing to provide the report.
If the report is likely to be late, we suggest that you contact our audit team.
Further detail is available in the guidance note and governing legislation.
Penalties are defined in penalty units. The number of penalty units applied is dependent on the offence. Penalty units are defined by legislation under subsection 4AA(1A) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) and are subject to change. Visit the ASIC website for more information.
It is the responsibility of the employer to obtain an audit report and pay any fees associated with its provision.
Coal LSL does not provide advice regarding appropriate fees for provision of audit reports but is able to discuss the audit report requirements with prospective auditors to allow for appropriate scoping and costing of their services.
An audit report can be completed either by the company’s auditor (as required under the Corporations Act 2001) or by an independent accountant who holds appropriate qualifications, professional memberships and insurances.
The person completing the audit must not be an employee of the entity being audited or involved in the preparation and payment of levies to or claiming of reimbursements from Coal LSL, for the period being audited.
Ideally, this person would be entirely separate from the employer being audited. However, a person may still be considered independent if their separation from the levy and reimbursement process is quantified. Examples might include:
In all cases, the audit report should note and explain the independence of the auditor.
No. The purpose of the audit report is to check the correctness of levies paid (and consequently calculation of eligible wages) and of reimbursements claimed.
Should you wish to discuss the eligibility of your or your client’s employees, please contact our Service team.
An auditor should review their client records to determine whether their client has:
The calculation of eligible wages will vary depending on the employment arrangement of each employee and is described in Section 3B of the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Levy Collection Act 1992.
The calculation of a claim for reimbursement is completed in accordance with the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Administration Act 1992 and the Employer Reimbursement Rules 2017. Links for legislation.
More information about:
An annual audit report provides an auditor’s opinion as to whether an employer has paid the correct levy amount (including any additional levy) and claimed the right reimbursements.
The audit report must state whether, in the opinion of the auditor, the employer has paid all amounts of levy due under the Levy Act 1992 in the relevant year. Further, if any reimbursements were paid to the employer during the year, the auditor must express an opinion as to whether that amount paid was correct. The report must give reasons for the auditor’s opinion.
In giving reasons, the auditor should indicate how they formed the opinion which may include reference to relevant accounting standards for any processes used.
Any issues with levy returns and payments discovered during auditing must be detailed in your audit report as described in our support materials.
Important note regarding casual employees: legislation requires employers to report and pay a levy on ALL hours worked and paid to eligible casual employees. When carrying out your audit, please check that your organisation has reported on, and paid a levy for, all hours worked by its eligible casual employees. Errors result in incorrect levies paid, which will need to be remedied.
The method of review is defined by the auditor completing the work. The auditor will need to be satisfied that they have reviewed sufficient information to provide an opinion on the correctness of the calculations made.
No, Coal LSL will accept one audit report covering all levies paid and reimbursements claimed up to the end of the current financial year. However, this report should include a breakdown of the years covered and the amounts paid and/or claimed in each year.
Any errors identified during auditing should be explained and quantified in the audit report provided to Coal LSL.
The report should be submitted as soon as it is completed. Any errors identified will be resolved following receipt of this document.
The employer is responsible for ensuring that the required corrections are actioned as soon as possible. This may require the submission of adjustment levies, reimbursements or requests for refunds. The required forms are available on our website. However, should you have any questions, please contact us.
Coal LSL does not provide advice or endorsement regarding auditors. However, we are able to discuss the audit report requirements with prospective auditors to allow for appropriate scoping and costing of their services.
Coal LSL does not currently have a template or examples available. However, we do provide resources to support auditors and employers in completing these reports.
If the information provided does not resolve your question, please get in touch with us.