Since the introduction of Single Touch Payroll, Australian Businesses are required to report to the ATO every time they pay their employees. This electronic report is defined as a 'Pay Event' or an 'STP Event' and includes key employees' and payroll information. Employers must report to the ATO through STP on or before any payday.

Once the payroll information is submitted to the ATO this is visible in the Employees' MyGov Account in real-time.

Once a Business has successfully connected their Xero Organisation to the ATO for Single Touch Payroll the option to report through STP becomes a core part of Xero's Payroll Process. 

Once an STP event is submitted to the ATO, it can take between a few minutes to 72 hours before it is successfully filed. Xero will display the Pay Event Status next to the relevant pay run. If the Event Status is set to Sent to the ATO or Filed, no further action is required. However, if the event fails for any reason, the Busines will need to conduct further investigation and rectify any issues prior to resubmitting the STP Event. 

If an STP Event for a Pay Run has not been filed, Xero will display it as Not Filed until the end of Pay Day, after that, it will display as Overdue.

Once an STP event is successfully filed to the ATO, Xero will mark the Pay Run as Latest, this action will permanently lock any previous Pay Runs linked to the same Payroll Calendar in Xero.

File an STP Event to the ATO

1. Process and Post your Pay Run as per normal
   
   è  The Posted Pay Run screen
   
   
   
   
2. Click on [File]
   
   è  The Authorisation to file screen opens
   
   
   
   
3. Select the authorisation to file and click on [Submit to ATO]
   
   è  The STP Filing pop up screen updates to a Pending status until it is either Filed or Failed
   
   
   
   
4. Exit out of the Pay Run screen

Check STP Pay Events details

You can also review when a Pay Event was lodged and the number of employees included in it.

1. Go to Payroll > Single Touch Payroll
   
   è  The Single Touch Payroll screen opens listing all pay runs filed through Xero
   
   
   
   
2. Expand the file log you wish to check and review the STP event details, including:
   • Date and Time the file was sent to the ATO
   • Number of employees
   • The user who filed the STP event