STP errors are easiest to fix when they are treated as process problems rather than isolated software messages. A wrong employee setting, payment classification or year-to-date figure can keep repeating unless the underlying cause is corrected.
This TNS Accounting guide shows Melbourne employers how to investigate an STP issue before the next pay run, reconcile the correction and reduce the chance of recurrence.
What are the most common STP payroll errors employers see?
Common issues include incorrect employee details, wrong employment basis, misclassified allowances, incorrect income types, duplicated pay events, year-to-date differences and rejected submissions. Some errors are technical; others arise from payroll setup.
What should an employer check before correcting an STP error?
Identify the affected employee, pay period, payroll code and year-to-date impact. Compare the payroll register with the employee’s payslip, bank payment and accounting entry. The goal is to understand whether the error sits in payroll data, reporting data or the accounting ledger.
How should incorrect employee setup be fixed in payroll?
Correct the source record first. If the employment basis, tax details or other employee information is wrong, update it in the payroll system before lodging a reporting correction. Keep evidence of the change and check whether previous pay events also need adjustment.
How should a wrong earnings classification be corrected?
Review the earnings code, its STP mapping and its accounting mapping. If the code has been wrong for multiple employees, identify the full population affected. A one-person correction is not enough when the same code drives every pay run.
How can payroll be reconciled after an STP correction?
Compare corrected year-to-date payroll totals with the general ledger, PAYG withholding liability and relevant payroll reports. A clean STP correction can still leave the ledger wrong if a manual journal or duplicated payroll posting remains.
The STP Phase 2 guide explains the wider reporting framework.
How can employers stop the same STP error happening again?
Add a control that addresses the root cause. Examples include a new-starter checklist, restricted payroll codes, second-person review of rate changes, monthly year-to-date reconciliation or a documented mapping table for allowances and deductions.
How can an employer tell whether the problem is payroll data or STP transmission?
Start by checking whether the payroll calculation itself is correct. If gross pay, tax, super and employee classifications are wrong before lodgement, the problem is payroll data or configuration. If the payroll is correct but the submission is rejected or not accepted, investigate the STP transmission, authentication or software message.
This distinction prevents a technical error from being “fixed” by changing correct payroll data, or a data error from being blamed on the transmission system.
How should one STP error be tested across all affected employees?
If the error comes from a payroll code, mapping or global setting, search for every employee and pay run that used the same configuration. Build a list of affected records, quantify the year-to-date impact and decide whether one correction process can address the full population. This is more reliable than fixing only the employee who first reported a problem.
After correcting, compare payroll totals, STP year-to-date data and the general ledger to confirm the repair is complete.
What pre-pay-run checklist helps stop STP errors from repeating?
Review new starters, terminations, rate changes, new earnings codes, unusual allowances, manual adjustments and employees with negative or unexpected balances. Confirm the previous STP event was accepted and unresolved exceptions are closed. A short exception-focused checklist adds more control than rechecking every unchanged employee each cycle.
How should employers verify an STP correction before closing the issue?
After the correction is lodged, confirm that the employee’s year-to-date payroll data is now accurate and that the payroll register, payslip, PAYG liability and relevant accounting entries agree. If the original issue affected super or another payment process, verify that the downstream correction also occurred.
Then record the final resolution date and the preventive control introduced. Closing an STP error should mean both the reported data and the underlying payroll process are correct, not simply that an error message disappeared.
When should an STP error be escalated for professional review?
Escalate when the error affects multiple periods, large employee groups, termination payments, PAYG withholding, super or prior-year data. Complex corrections can create tax and accounting consequences, so document the issue and obtain advice before applying a broad manual adjustment.
What questions do Melbourne employers ask when fixing STP errors?
Should I correct the payroll system or only STP?
Correct the source payroll data where necessary so the same issue does not repeat.
Can I ignore an error if the employee was paid correctly?
No. Reporting data may still need correction even if the bank payment was right.
Can I fix an STP error in the next pay run?
The appropriate method depends on the error and software; follow current ATO and provider guidance.
Should year-to-date figures be checked?
Yes. Year-to-date reconciliation is critical after corrections.
What if a pay event was lodged twice?
Review the software and ATO correction process and confirm the resulting year-to-date figures.
Can an allowance mapping cause an STP error?
Yes. Incorrect payroll-code mapping is a common source of reporting issues.
Can a payroll journal be right while STP is wrong?
Yes. Payroll accounting and STP reporting are connected but separate data flows.
Should employee payslips be reissued?
If the payslip itself is incorrect, review Fair Work requirements and correct the employee record appropriately.
How should corrections be documented?
Record the error, cause, affected periods, correction and control change.
Can TNS Accounting help find reconciliation differences?
Yes. TNS Accounting can compare payroll reports, ledger balances and payroll liabilities.
Does STP correction fix super automatically?
Not necessarily. Review the actual super calculation and payment separately.
Should errors be reviewed before BAS lodgement?
Yes, especially where PAYG withholding or wage totals may affect workpapers.
What if the payroll system is the cause?
Review configuration, software support and whether a migration or workflow change is needed.
What official source should I use?
Use current ATO STP guidance.
What should I read next?
Read the payroll reconciliation guide.
For help reviewing payroll errors before they repeat, visit TNS Accounting Payroll Services or contact TNS Accounting.
