Key Documents
Every time an e‑Invoice replaces a paper invoice it can deliver up to $20 in cost savings to the businesses involved according to Deloitte Access Economics estimates. With approximately 90 per cent of invoice processing still fully or partly manual, and over 1.2 billion invoices being exchanged in Australia annually, there are significant productivity and cost‑efficiency benefits for Australian businesses if e‑Invoicing is adopted more widely.
In December 2019, the Government took action to advance the adoption of e‑Invoicing by implementing the Peppol framework, an internationally recognised framework for e‑Invoicing, and establishing the Australian Taxation Office as the Australian Peppol Authority to develop and administer the framework in Australia. As part of the 2020-21 Budget, the Government announced it would take further action to accelerate the adoption of Peppol e‑Invoicing for the public and private sectors by mandating that all Commonwealth Government agencies must be able to receive Peppol e‑Invoices by 1 July 2022, with large agencies having to do so by 1 July 2021.
The Government also announced that it would consult on options to accelerate adoption of e‑Invoicing by businesses, including options for mandatory adoption by businesses. Feedback from stakeholders is sought on the proposed options to accelerate e‑Invoicing adoption by businesses.
Outcomes of consultation
Following this consultation, the Government has invested a further $15.3 million to enhance the value of e-Invoicing for businesses and increase business awareness and adoption. This funding was announced as part of the 2021-22 Budget and forms part of the Government’s Digital Economy Strategy, which aims to position Australia as a leading digital economy and society by 2030.
The funding will support the Treasury and the Australian Peppol Authority to:
- work with payment providers to integrate e-Invoicing into the main payment methods used by business
- deliver educational activities to raise business awareness of e-Invoicing
- progress supply chain pilots with large businesses to gain insights and drive adoption across supply chains
- continue work with states and territories to increase public sector e-Invoicing adoption.
The Government will also undertake further consultation on potential regulatory and non-regulatory ways to accelerate business e‑Invoicing adoption.
More information on this funding and the Digital Economy Strategy is available at the Digital Economy website.