The Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 (the Act) has been in operation for over 12 months, with 8,885 reporting entities reporting under the scheme and 16,801 payment times reports received to the Register by 30 June 2022. This first update provides a summary of reports and other resources for regulated entities.

BACKGROUND

The Regulator:

The Payment Times Reporting Regulator was established under the Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 (Act). 

The core functions of the Payment Times Reporting Regulator are to receive payment times reports from large businesses every 6 months and publish those reports. These functions are designed to encourage improved large business times by:

• providing transparency on payment terms and performance
• enabling small businesses to assess large businesses performance before agreeing to supply goods or services

The regulator has a range of powers to ensure compliance by reporting entities, including powers to:

• publish details of non-compliance
• undertake an investigation or compliance audit
• issue an infringement notice
• pursue civil penalties. 

Payment Times Reports Register:

The Regulator maintains the Payment Times Reports Register. This public register shows how each reporting entity is paying their small business suppliers.

The Payment Times Reports Register (the register) was launched in November 2021 and provides both a downloadable Excel file and an interactive dashboard to search and view payment times information. Since its launch the register has been updated in December 2021, February 2022 and April 2022. The register’s latest release (July 2022) saw a 91% increase in the number of reports on the register, from 8,353 to 15,982.