The Minister for Finance has announced that Departments and Agencies across the Australian Public Service (APS) are to start paying e-Invoices within five days from 1 January next year.
Agencies will be fined late payment penalties if they don’t meet the deadline.
The Minister, Senator Mathias Cormann said the new system will apply to contracts valued up to $1 million where a supplier and the Commonwealth agency both use the newly introduced framework for processing invoices in electronic form.
“We are now prioritising e-Invoicing adoption across the Commonwealth,” Senator Cormann said.
“The Department of Finance and Services Australia will be the first Commonwealth agencies to accept e-Invoices from 1 January 2020, with other agencies implementing the capability over the course of the year, he said.
“e-Invoicing will improve business cash flow through faster payment times and deliver significant benefits and efficiencies to suppliers and the Government by reducing transaction costs and handling errors.”
Senator Cormann encouraged State Governments and the business community to follow the APS lead and begin using the new framework for e-Invoicing.
He said the new arrangement for the APS followed the adoption of legislation passed by Parliament last month enabling Australia to implement the internationally recognised framework for e-Invoicing.
The Minister said a maximum 20 day payment term would continue to apply where e-Invoicing was not an option.
More information on the new five-day payment terms can be accessed on the Department of Finance website at this PS News link.
