Managing Electronic Documents in Australia
As a customer based in Australia, you have the option to exchange electronic documents through the Peppol eDelivery Network. Additionally, you can receive electronic documents directly into Continia Document Capture via email attachments.
Electronic invoicing in Australia is evolving fast since becoming mandatory for all Australian Government agencies in mid-2022. In Australia, the A-NZ standard, a variant of the Peppol BIS 3.0 Billing standard, is transitioning to the new PINT A-NZ Billing standard. Australia and New Zealand will collectively introduce the PINT A-NZ format, replacing ANZ Peppol BIS 3.0 in stages:
- 15 November 2024 - PINT A-NZ becomes compulsory and Peppol service providers must support its transmission.
- 15 May 2025 - the current A-NZ specification will no longer be maintained.
B2B regulations are not in place yet, but local region governments are in the process of implementing electronic invoicing.
The table below outlines the current regulatory states and future outlooks for B2G, B2B, and B2C (business-to-consumer) sectors.
| Transaction Type | Current Regulatory | Regulatory Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| B2G | Electronic invoicing has been mandatory since 2022.  Supported by Document Capture Supported by Document Output. | Format change due in November 2024 to PINT A-NZ Billing. Transport platform stays the same. Planned to be supported by Document Capture. |
| B2B | No legislation is in place. The Australian Government is investigating options for this for B2B. Supported by Document Capture Supported by Document Output. | There is no official timeline communicated changing the current state. |
| B2C | No legislation is in place. | No changes are expected. |
Additional information
Australia has fully adopted the global Peppol eDelivery Network and its specifications. The country is actively involved in developing new variants and document types for Peppol. The Australian Peppol Authority introduced an A-NZ variant of the Peppol BIS 3.0 electronic invoicing format, to ensure proper use of local taxes in Australia and New Zealand. The A-NZ Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (Invoice) format is mandatory until November 2024. After that, it will be replaced by an upgraded format called PINT A-NZ Billing. This format is intended to be the base format for Peppol countries outside the EU but will still include A-NZ adaptations.
The Department of Treasury initiated the Business e-Invoice Rights (BER) to promote electronic invoicing for B2B transactions. This means that companies are legally required to send and receive electronic documents upon request from a trading partner who supports electronic invoicing. The BER initiative aims to mandate the use of electronic invoicing gradually across Australian businesses based on their size. However, this plan is not yet officially legislated and will roll out in three phases per July every year from 2023 to 2025.