Australia
National Context
The Australian Government is promoting eInvoicing to deliver efficiency, productivity, and digitalisation benefits for Australian business and the Australian economy.
eInvoicing is not mandatory for Australian businesses, but there are some mandates for government agencies.
About the use of Peppol
In 2018, the Australian and New Zealand governments entered into the Australia and New Zealand Government Electronic Invoicing Arrangement for a common approach to eInvoicing.
In 2019, recognising the benefits of a global framework, the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers announced the adoption of the Peppol Interoperability Framework.
Australia and New Zealand established separate Peppol Authorities; however, the two authorities work closely in partnership to streamline operations, maximise consistency and reduce costs for stakeholders.
Peppol Authority
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) became the Australian Peppol Authority (APA) on behalf of the Australian Government on 31 October 2019. New legislation was passed to enable the ATO to administer eInvoicing.
Functions of the APA include:
- defining Australian requirements for use of the Peppol standards. For example, invoice specifications to support GST tax invoices
- administering network governance including the accreditation of Peppol Service Providers (SP) in Australia
- educating, promoting, and supporting the adoption of Peppol standards across government and the business community
- working with digital service providers and the business community to ensure the Peppol framework is suitable and implemented consistently across Australia
- supporting and engaging with the wider Peppol community
- engaging countries in the region to promote Peppol and maximise interoperability and alignment.
While the ATO is the APA, tax compliance is not the driver for eInvoicing in Australia and the ATO does not have access to eInvoices being transmitted via the Peppol network.
Use of Peppol in Australia
Australia-specific requirements
The APA has defined specific requirements for SPs providing Access Point (AP) or Addressing and Capability Look-up (ACL) services in Australia. These are contained in the Peppol Authority Specific Requirements, which can be found here.
Accreditation
The APA has an accreditation framework for SPs providing AP or ACL services in Australia, to ensure both Australian and international SPs meet the requirements to operate in Australia.
- Australian SPs are to follow the accreditation process for new Peppol service providers
- SPs already accredited with another PA will follow a streamlined accreditation process
- Australia and New Zealand also have mutual recognition of accreditation.
A-NZ specifications
eInvoice: Australia and New Zealand have localised Peppol BIS Billing to ensure invoices that adhere to Australian and New Zealand tax and business requirements can be exchanged using Peppol:
- A-NZ Peppol BIS Billing (invoice) specification (mandatory until 15 November 2024)
- PINT A-NZ Billing specification (mandatory from 15 November 2024)
- A-NZ self-billing specification (optional).
A-NZ specifications and associated guidance notes are on the A-NZ Peppol GitHub
eProcurement: The Peppol eProcurement specifications can be used in Australia.
eDelivery: All participants on the Peppol network must adhere to the Peppol eDelivery Network Specifications.
Further information
Australian accreditation process for Peppol service providers
Useful links
eInvoicing | ATO Software Developers
eInvoicing | Australian Taxation Office
A-NZ GitHub – document and specifications repository
Contact and support
Australian Peppol Authority:
E-mail: eInvoicing@ato.gov.au
Page last updated: 15 February 2024