Your FY27 compliance checklist: what changed on 1 July, and why it matters if you’re selling
Whether you’re selling a business in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, elsewhere in Queensland, or anywhere else in Australia, here’s what changed on 1 July and why it matters before you go to market.
None of these changes are deal breakers on their own. But they’re exactly the kind of thing that surfaces during due diligence, and getting ahead of them protects your price and keeps a sale moving instead of stalling at the worst possible moment. Here’s what changed nationally, and why each one matters when you’re preparing to sell.
AML/CTF compliance for business brokers
New anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations are now in effect for business brokers across Australia, including additional identification and customer due diligence requirements before a sale can proceed.
This one sits mostly on us to manage, not something you need to action directly. But it’s worth understanding, because it means a little more paperwork and verification up front before we can take your business to market. For sellers, that generally means photo ID and, if you’re selling through a company or trust, confirmation of who actually owns or controls it. For buyers, it also means being able to show where their funds are coming from.
The upside sellers often miss: this filters out the time-wasters. Buyers who make it through are verified, which means cleaner offers and fewer deals that fall over on a funding question late in the piece.
Payday super
Employers now need to pay superannuation guarantee at the same time as payroll is processed, rather than quarterly. It’s a significant operational shift, and there can be teething issues as businesses bed the new system in, particularly around clearing house arrangements and cash flow timing.
If you’re planning to sell, having payday super running smoothly before a buyer starts digging through your books shows your compliance house is in order. Superannuation shortfalls or timing errors discovered during due diligence raise exactly the kind of question a buyer’s accountant loves to chase, and it’s one that can be avoided entirely with a bit of preparation now.
Minimum wage increase
The national minimum wage rose to $26.44 an hour from 1 July. If you employ staff, anywhere from Adelaide to Brisbane, now is the time to check every employee is on the correct rate, including anyone on an award or enterprise agreement that may have shifted alongside the increase.
Underpayments discovered during due diligence are one of the fastest ways to lose a buyer’s confidence, and in some cases can expose the seller to remediation costs that eat directly into the sale price. A quick payroll audit before you list is cheap insurance against a much more expensive conversation later.
SMS Sender ID rules
New anti-scam rules for branded text messages are now in force nationally. On the surface, this looks unrelated to a business sale. In practice, it’s part of a much broader tightening around privacy, data handling, and communications compliance, all areas that buyers and their lawyers are scrutinising more closely with every due diligence process we run.
If your business sends marketing texts, appointment reminders, or any branded SMS communication, it’s worth confirming your provider and sender ID setup are compliant before a buyer’s advisers ask.
Clean compliance, confident sale
Unresolved compliance issues can slow a deal down, knock value off your asking price, or in the worst case, sink a transaction altogether. Getting everything compliant and clean before you go to market is the single most effective thing you can do to walk into a sale with confidence, and to keep negotiating leverage in your hands rather than a buyer’s.
Business brokers across Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Australia
Every change above applies nationally, so it doesn’t matter whether your business is a café in Adelaide, a trades business in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, or a franchise in Brisbane or regional Queensland: the compliance groundwork is the same, and the businesses that do it properly sell faster and for more. We work with owners preparing to sell across South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and nationally, and every appraisal starts with exactly this kind of readiness check.
If a sale is on your radar for FY27, the best time to start preparing is now, not once you’ve already found a buyer. Get in touch for a confidential, no-pressure conversation about where your business stands.
Book a confidential appraisal →Shweta Sharma is the founder of Accelerate Business & Franchise Sales, specialising in the sale of Australian SMEs across hospitality, franchises, distribution, professional services, and more, for business owners in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and across Australia.
