How the checker works
Tell the checker your role, which amounts the company has not paid, when they were due and when they were reported to the ATO. It applies the ATO's published director penalty rules to each amount. For each one, it tells you whether you are exposed personally and which options the ATO says can still remit the penalty. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
| Situation | How the penalty can be remitted |
|---|---|
| PAYG withholding or GST reported within 3 months of the due date | Within 21 days of the notice, the company pays in full, appoints an administrator or a small business restructuring practitioner, or begins to be wound up |
| PAYG withholding or GST reported more than 3 months late, never reported, or estimated by the ATO | Only by the company paying the amount in full |
| Super guarantee charge reported by the SGC statement due date | The same four options, within 21 days of the notice |
| Super guarantee charge reported late, never reported, or estimated | Only by the company paying the amount in full |
Why resident directors watch this closely
Director penalties apply to every director, wherever they live. Each director can be pursued for the full unpaid amount, and the ATO may recover it equally from all directors. For an Australian-resident director appointed to a foreign-owned company, the practical risk is not knowing that the BAS or super has not been lodged. The single most protective habit is to lodge on time even when the company cannot pay: reporting within the deadline keeps administration, restructuring or winding up available as a way to remit the penalty.
The ATO sends notices to the director's address on the ASIC register. The 21 days start on the day it is posted. A director who lives overseas, or who has moved without updating ASIC, can lose most of that time before the notice arrives.
Super guarantee from 1 July 2026
Payday Super changed how unpaid super is assessed. For paydays from 1 July 2026 there is no SGC statement to lodge: the ATO calculates the charge and sends the company an assessment. The ATO's director penalty guidance (last updated 16 April 2026) still describes remission in terms of the SGC statement due date, so the checker flags Payday Super amounts for professional advice instead of guessing.
Limits of this checker
The checker follows the ATO's published guidance as at October 2026. It does not decide whether a defence applies: the ATO lists three (illness or another acceptable reason, all reasonable steps, and for GST and super a reasonably arguable position with reasonable care), and relying on fellow directors or advisers is not one of them. Both the 21 days of a notice and a new director's 30 days are counted with the starting date as day 1 (the notice date, or the appointment date), which is the earlier and safer reading. For Payday Super, the checker works out when contributions were due from the payday you enter (7 business days, skipping weekends and national public holidays) and uses the payday to decide whether it falls in your time as a director. For a new director, amounts reported 3 months or more after the appointment date can only be remitted by payment, so the checker treats the day before the 3-month anniversary as the last safe day. A deadline that falls on a weekend or a national public holiday is shown as calculated, with the business day before as the safe date: the ATO only says BAS due dates move to the next business day. If you have received a notice, speak to a lawyer, tax agent or registered insolvency practitioner straight away.
Frequently asked questions
What is a director penalty notice?
A notice the ATO must give a director before it can recover the company's unpaid PAYG withholding, GST or super guarantee charge from them personally. It lists the amounts and the options to remit the penalty. The director has 21 days, starting on the day the ATO posts the notice.
What is a lockdown director penalty?
It is the common name for a penalty that can only be remitted by the company paying in full. That happens when PAYG withholding or GST is reported more than 3 months after the due date or not at all, when the super guarantee charge is reported after its due date, or when the ATO has estimated the amount. Appointing an administrator or winding up the company will not remit it.
Does resigning as a director stop a director penalty?
No. You remain liable for amounts that were due before you resigned, and for amounts due later that relate to a period when you were still a director. The liability continues even if the company is deregistered.
I have just become a director. Am I liable for old debts?
You can be. You are not liable for amounts due before your appointment if, within 30 days of your appointment, the company pays them, appoints an administrator or a small business restructuring practitioner, or is wound up. Resigning within the 30 days does not help.
Can an overseas director receive a director penalty notice?
Yes. The ATO generally sends it to the director's address on the ASIC register. The 21 days start when it is posted, not when it arrives, so a director who lives overseas should keep that address current and have someone watching for mail.
Official sources
- ATO: director penalties (last updated 16 April 2026) ato.gov.au
- ATO: super guarantee due dates ato.gov.au
- ATO: what happens if you don't pay super correctly (Payday Super) ato.gov.au
Checked against these sources on . Fees, thresholds and forms change: confirm with the source before you lodge.
General information about Australian law and practice, not legal or tax advice for your circumstances. Check the official sources, or ask your adviser, before you act.