Procedure: Individual Contractors/Sole Traders

Purpose

To inform staff of the University’s approach to and procedure for engaging individuals as contractors to provide services to the University. This is intended to mitigate the University’s risks in respect of Superannuation Guarantee (SG) and other employer obligations in situations where these are not the intended outcome of the arrangements.

Scope

This procedure applies across the University, including to:

External individual contractors or sole traders as defined in the associated policy; and
Staff, Student or VAHA who are engaged as contractors to perform work outside their prescribed ANU duties

Definitions

Definitions for terms laid out under this procedure can be found under the Individual Contractors/Sole Traders policy.

This procedure applies if:

The Individual Contractor has neither an ABN nor an ACN.
The ABN or ACN provided by the Individual Contractor indicates that the entity listed is an Individual/Sole Trader in the ABR look up tool.

For Individual Contractors that have an entity type other than Individual/Sole Trader, their services may be subject to payroll tax where no contractor exemption is applicable. This is assessed outside of this procedure by contacting procurement.office@anu.edu.au.

Procedure

Any individual providing teaching/lecturing services must not be engaged as an Individual Contractor/Sole Trader and must be employed under the ANU Enterprise Agreement in accordance with the Procedure: Knowledge, pedagogical Skills, and Qualifications requirements for Educators.
An Employee/Contractor Checklist is completed where the University is considering engaging an Individual Contractor to provide a service. The checklist is a tool to help identify whether the individual should be treated as an employee or can be treated as an Individual Contractor/Sole Trader.
If the Employee/Contractor Checklist indicates the individual should be treated as an employee, People and Culture will advise the best method of engagement.
The Employee/Contractor Checklist and any other relevant details is provided to the local area’s People and Culture representative.
Options for engaging employees include:

Option	Details
Employing the individual	The University is responsible for tax, insurance and superannuation guarantee obligations. Note that limitations apply to non-continuing employment.
Referring the individual to a labour hire firm to be engaged through the firm	The University can enter into a contract with the labour hire firm, not the Individual Contractor. The labour hire firm is responsible for superannuation, taxation and workers compensation obligations. Ensure that the labour hire firm provides appropriate insurance cover.

If the Employee/ Contractor Checklist indicates the individual can be treated as a Contractor, UPCO will suggest alternatives to engaging an individual as an Individual Contractor/Sole Trader.
Options for engaging employees include:

Option	Details
Contracting with an individual’s home institution or employer.	The University can enter into a contract with the institution, not the Individual Contractor. The external employer is responsible for tax, insurance and superannuation obligations.
Contracting with a body corporate or other non-individual.	The University can enter into a contract with that entity, not the Individual Contractor. This may include referring the individual to a labour hire service. The body corporate, partnership or other entity is responsible for tax, insurance and superannuation guarantee obligations.

If no alternative service providers or methods of engagement are available, an authorised delegate contacts the ANU Legal Office to ensure a suitable document governs the engagement.
If the services the Individual Contractor/Sole Trader is performing cannot be subcontracted, delegated or assigned by the individual, superannuation may be payable in addition to the contract fee.

Information	Printable version (PDF)
Title	Individual Contractors
Document Type	Procedure
Document Number	ANUP_000649
Version
Purpose	To inform staff of the University’s stance on engaging individual contractors to provide services to the University.
Audience	Staff
Category	Administrative
Topic/ SubTopic	Finance - Purchasing

Effective Date	15 May 2025
Next Review Date	15 May 2025

Responsible Officer:	Chief Financial Officer
Approved By:	Chief Operating Officer
Contact Area	Finance and Business Services
Authority:	Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014
Delegations	132, 133, 134, 220
Information generated and received by ANU staff in the course of conducting business on behalf of ANU is a record and should be captured by an authorised recordkeeping system. To learn more about University records and recordkeeping practice at ANU, see ANU recordkeeping and Policy: Records and archives management.

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