Business Loans Australian Capital Territory

The ACT's payment regime is the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009 (ACT), an East Coast-model scheme: payment claims, payment schedules and adjudication of disputed claims. For subcontractors on Canberra's substantial government and commercial construction pipeline, it is the statutory mechanism that keeps progress payments moving.

ACT payroll tax applies once Australian taxable wages exceed $2 million a year, at 6.85% — the highest general payroll-tax rate of any Australian jurisdiction. The $2M threshold is among the highest in the country; 6.85% is the highest general payroll-tax rate of any jurisdiction. From 1 July 2026 the threshold falls to $1.75M under a new tiered structure. These are the 2025-26 figures from the ACT Revenue Office, verified 10 July 2026. The $2 million threshold is generous, so smaller businesses stay out of it — but once you are in, the marginal cost of an extra dollar of wages is higher here than anywhere else. Confirm the current figure before acting on it, as the structure changes from 1 July 2026.

The ACT-specific angle is the payroll-tax rate. For a Canberra business above the threshold, every extra dollar of wages is taxed at the highest general rate in the country. That sharpens a decision services and trade businesses face constantly: solve capacity with more people, or with better equipment and systems.

Where the answer is equipment — a machine, a vehicle, software or fit-out that lets the existing team do more — asset finance spreads the cost over the life of the asset without adding to a payroll bill that is taxed at 6.85 per cent at the margin. It is not a reason to avoid hiring; it is a reason to run the numbers on both paths honestly, because in the ACT the tax settings tilt the comparison more than they do elsewhere. Model it with your accountant against your actual position above or below the threshold.