From 1 October 2026, a surcharge can no longer be added when a customer pays by eftpos, Mastercard or Visa. For many businesses, the switch itself is small. Most of the thinking sits in the questions around it: what the cost looks like now, what can still be charged, and what's worth checking on the day. The cost of taking card payment stays with the business Removing the surcharge takes the fee off the customer's receipt. The cost of accepting the card is still there, and fr

On 1 October, the ATO announced it would stop accepting credit card payments after 30 November 2026. The decision followed the Reserve Bank's ban on card surcharges, with the ATO saying it wouldn't be appropriate to pass the cost of card fees on to the community. After concerns from small businesses about the short notice, the government announced funding on 9 October to delay the change. Card payments to the ATO are now expected to continue until 30 June 2027. What this mean

Few weeks ago, ATO officers visited more than 25 hospitality businesses in Melbourne's CBD. News like this can prompt a reasonable question: if the ATO asked, would our records tell a clear story? What happened On 22 and 23 September 2026, the ATO made unannounced visits to fast-food outlets, restaurants and cafes in the CBD as part of Operation Tonberry. According to reports of the ATO's announcement, the visits followed community tip-offs, with more than 2,500 hospitality t