Selected cases

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal · [2026] NSWCATAD 165

Winya v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue

A NSW payroll tax case about grouping, business ownership and control, shared services and exclusion from a payroll tax group.

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal2 June 2026

Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.

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Quick read

  • Payroll tax grouping is fact-heavy.
  • A NSW payroll tax case about grouping, business ownership and control, shared services and exclusion from a payroll tax group.

Use this to check

  • Payroll tax grouping can turn separate payrolls into a combined assessment problem.
  • Ownership and control evidence matters as much as corporate structure charts.
  • Shared services should be documented with real agreements and pricing where used.

Decision snapshot

  1. What happened

    • Winya Indigenous Office Furniture Pty Ltd disputed payroll tax assessments made by the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue under the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW).
    • The Commissioner treated Winya as grouped with other entities and assessed payroll tax on that basis.
    • Winya argued that payroll tax should not be payable on the basis of grouping, or that it should be excluded from the relevant group.
    • Winya had been registered in 2015, was founded by Debbie Barwick and operated in office furniture sales, described in evidence as retail or wholesale commercial office furniture with some design and manufacturing.

  2. What the court had to decide

    • The Tribunal had to decide whether Winya should be grouped with other entities for NSW payroll tax purposes and, if grouping applied, whether the discretion should be exercised to exclude Winya from the group by reference to ownership, control, business nature and shared-services evidence.

  3. What the court decided

    • The Tribunal revoked the Commissioner's decision to disallow Winya's request for exclusion from the relevant group and decided that Winya was not a member of that group.
    • The outcome shows that payroll tax grouping can be contested where the evidence supports separate ownership, control or business operation, but the analysis is detailed and record-driven.

Practical impact

Practical read

  • Payroll tax grouping is fact-heavy.
  • Shared investors, directors, services or business links can attract attention, but businesses may still need to show who really owns, controls and operates each business if they want exclusion from a group.

Useful next steps

  • Payroll tax grouping can turn separate payrolls into a combined assessment problem.
  • Ownership and control evidence matters as much as corporate structure charts.
  • Shared services should be documented with real agreements and pricing where used.
  • Exclusion arguments need evidence that businesses are independently owned and operated.
  • Payroll tax reviews should happen before a Revenue audit or reassessment.

Practical read

This is exactly the kind of payroll tax case that can surprise growing businesses. Payroll tax is not always assessed one company at a time. Grouping rules can pull related businesses together, which may change whether payroll tax is payable and how much is assessed.

The Commissioner said Winya should be grouped with other entities. Winya said the grouping result was wrong or, at least, that it should be excluded. That made the factual record important: who owned the business, who controlled it, how directors and shareholders operated, whether services were shared, how the business made money and whether the business was genuinely separate from the alleged group.

For small businesses, the lesson is to review payroll tax before a corporate group gets messy. Shared back-office support, related investors, common directors or supplier/customer overlap may all be relevant. If a business wants to argue it is independent, it needs records that show real separate ownership, decision-making, operations and risk.

Checks to run

Key points

  • Map shareholders, directors, controllers and related entities across the group.
  • Document shared services, management support and intercompany arrangements.
  • Review payroll tax thresholds before adding staff across related businesses.
  • Keep evidence showing separate business operations and decision-making.
  • Get legal help before responding to a payroll tax grouping assessment.

Key takeaways

  • Payroll tax grouping can turn separate payrolls into a combined assessment problem.
  • Ownership and control evidence matters as much as corporate structure charts.
  • Shared services should be documented with real agreements and pricing where used.
  • Exclusion arguments need evidence that businesses are independently owned and operated.
  • Payroll tax reviews should happen before a Revenue audit or reassessment.

Related topics

Payroll & Employer PaymentsCompanies & StartupsFinance, Payments & Security

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