Odoo 20 and Australian Compliance: GST, BAS, Peppol, STP and Payday Super

Before an Australian business commits to Odoo, the questions from the accountant are always the same: does it do GST and the BAS properly, can it do Single Touch Payroll, and what about e-invoicing? Here is where Odoo 20 stands, based on Odoo's own Australian documentation as at October 2026. We have been careful to separate what is automated, what is still a manual step and what is not supported.

The Australian localisation

• Selecting the Australian fiscal localisation installs the base accounting module, the BAS and TPAR reports and ABA credit transfer for batch payments.
• Two-factor authentication cannot be turned off for users of the Australian localisation, because the Australian government requires it. Let your team know before go-live.

GST and the BAS

• Odoo 19 added support for all types of BAS, and new default taxes including luxury car tax, fuel tax credits, wine equalisation tax, PAYG income tax and fringe benefits tax. Odoo 20 carries these forward.
• The BAS report covers GST, PAYG tax withheld and deferred GST. BAS sections are rounded down to the nearest dollar by default.
• Deferred GST is a manual step. Odoo does not fetch the DGST balance from the ATO. You record it with a journal entry, and Odoo recommends a dedicated journal because it recurs.
• Lodgement: Odoo's documentation describes preparing the BAS report, not lodging it with the ATO from Odoo. Plan to keep lodging through the ATO portal or your tax agent, using the figures from Odoo.

TPAR for contractor payments

If you are in an industry that must lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report, Odoo handles it through tax variants and fiscal positions. The TPAR variants of the main purchase taxes are inactive by default, so they need to be switched on and applied to the right contractors. This is easy to miss at go-live and painful to fix at the end of the financial year.

Bank feeds and ABA payments

• Bank feeds: Odoo 20 adds a new open banking integration through Basiq for bank synchronisation. See our Basiq post for how the connection works.
• Paying suppliers: Odoo generates ABA files for batch payments, which you upload to your bank.

Peppol e-invoicing: compliant, but not automatic yet

Odoo states that it is compliant with Australia's Peppol requirements, and Odoo 19 added support for Peppol PINT. However, in Odoo 20 validating an invoice or credit note for a customer on the Peppol network downloads a compliant XML file that you upload to the Peppol network yourself. Odoo says it is in the process of becoming an access point for Australia and New Zealand. Until then, if you invoice government agencies or large customers who require Peppol, you will need an access point provider for sending, or a manual upload step in your invoicing routine.

Payroll: STP Phase 2 and SuperStream

• Odoo's documentation says Australian payroll is compliant with Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 and SuperStream, through the Superchoice API (the l10n_au_hr_payroll_api module).
• Registration is done inside Odoo: you enter bank details, read and accept Odoo's terms and the SuperChoice product disclosure and direct debit documents, then register. Payroll runs in a Testing mode until you switch it to Production.
• You must nominate one employee as the STP responsible employee.
• Odoo 20 also revamps the pay run workflow, adds net-to-gross simulation and lets you test print a pay run before committing it.

Odoo's documentation lists cases that are not supported: foreign employment income, the actors and performers tax treatment, death benefits reporting, WPN reporting instead of an ABN, and allowances subject to a varied rate of withholding, such as cents per kilometre and travel allowances. If any of these apply to you, talk to us before choosing Odoo payroll. For more on the payroll app itself, see Odoo payroll in Australia.

Payday Super

From 1 July 2026, Payday Super requires employers to pay super at the same time as salary and wages (see the ATO for the details). Odoo's payroll documentation mentions Payday Super and describes processing super contributions more frequently in preparation for it, from Payroll > Reporting > Super Contributions. It does not spell out a complete Payday Super workflow, so test a full pay cycle, from pay run to super payment and reconciliation, before relying on it.

Go-live checklist

• Australian fiscal localisation installed, and staff ready for compulsory two-factor authentication.
• Taxes reviewed with your accountant, including any special taxes you need (LCT, WET, fuel tax credits, FBT).
• TPAR tax variants activated and applied to contractors, if you report TPAR.
• A journal set up for deferred GST, if you import under the DGST scheme.
• Bank feeds connected and ABA payments tested with your bank.
• Peppol customers identified, and a process agreed for sending their invoices.
• Payroll registered in Testing mode, a parallel pay run checked against your current system, then switched to Production.
• Super contributions tested end to end with Payday Super in mind.
• First BAS reviewed line by line by your accountant.

Sources

• Australia fiscal localisation (Odoo 20 documentation)
• Australia payroll localisation (Odoo 20 documentation)
• Odoo 20 release notes and Odoo 19 release notes (Odoo)
• Australian Taxation Office