Who we help
Sole-trader support work, with the tax side in order.
Many NDIS support workers are, in effect, small businesses — platform statements, invoices, an ABN and a car that works between clients. We keep that side reconciled, documented and planned.
Much of the support sector now works through platforms and ABNs rather than payroll. That means no employer withholding tax, no one reconciling the income, and a first assessment that can arrive as a surprise. We treat a support worker's tax as what it is — a small business — and run it with small-business discipline.
The records usually exist — platform statements, invoices, bank deposits — they are just never put together. We reconcile them, so the income declared is the income received across every platform and every private client. Car costs sit next: the kilometres between clients are part of the work, and we document which trips count in your circumstances, with the basis kept on file.
GST is the question support workers are most often given secondhand answers to. The treatment of support services depends on your circumstances — what you provide, how you are engaged and to whom — so we confirm the position for you rather than repeat a rule of thumb. Appointments run by phone and video from our Brisbane base, with documents in a client portal.
What we see with support workers
- Income declared from one platform's summary while a second platform and private clients go unreported.
- Car claims built on guessed kilometres, with no record of the client visits behind them.
- GST positions borrowed from a group chat rather than confirmed for the worker's own circumstances.
- A first full year on an ABN ending in a tax bill nobody had planned for, with nothing set aside.
What we do
Sole trader returns for support work
Income reconciled across platform statements, invoices and bank deposits, so the return matches the money — and matches what the platforms report.
Car costs between clients
Which trips count depends on how your working day is structured. We establish it for your pattern of work, document the basis and set up records that hold.
GST, confirmed not assumed
Whether GST applies to your services, and whether you should be registered, depends on your circumstances. We confirm both in writing before anything is lodged.
Expenses, substantiated
Training, clearances, insurance, equipment and phone use — claimed where the records support them, apportioned where use is mixed, filed in the portal.
First-year tax planning
No employer withholds tax from ABN income, so we estimate as the year runs and plan for the assessment — the bill should never be a surprise.
Catching up late years
Behind since the ABN started? We confirm what is outstanding, rebuild each year from platform data and bank records, and lodge in order.
A support worker's file here reconciles to every platform statement and bank deposit behind it — the same eight proofs we build for any business, at the scale of one. See our method →
Common questions
I work through a platform. Am I an employee or a sole trader?
It depends on the platform and the arrangement — some engage workers as employees, many as independent contractors, and some workers are both at once across two platforms. The distinction changes what you declare, what you can claim and what you must keep, so we confirm it first, from your agreements and statements rather than from assumption.
Do I need to register for GST?
It depends on your circumstances. The nature of the services you provide, how you are engaged and the scale of the work all bear on it, and the treatment of support services is not one-size-fits-all. We confirm the position for you in writing before anything is lodged, rather than leaving it to a rule of thumb from a group chat.
Can I claim the driving between clients?
Travel that is genuinely part of the working day is treated differently from ordinary commuting, and where that line falls depends on how your day is structured. We map your typical week, document which trips are claimable in your circumstances, and set up a record so the claim is supported rather than estimated.
Why did I get a tax bill in my first year?
Because no employer was withholding tax from your ABN income through the year — the tax was always going to be payable, it simply arrived all at once. We plan for it: estimating as the year runs, setting aside as you earn, and managing the ATO's instalment arrangements once they begin.
What records should I keep?
Platform statements, invoices to private clients, bank records, receipts for expenses, and a travel record that matches how you claim. Kept as you go through the portal, it is minutes a week — and the return is then prepared from evidence rather than reconstruction, able to answer a question years later.
I haven't lodged since I started support work. Where do I begin?
With a formal check of what the ATO expects, then a year-by-year rebuild from platform data, bank statements and prefill. Returns are lodged oldest first, remission of penalties and interest is requested where grounds exist, and the process ends with the file current — and set up to stay that way.
General information only — not tax, legal or financial advice. Advice specific to your circumstances is provided within a signed engagement.
Related reading
Speak to the person who signs the return.
Consultations are with a registered tax agent — by phone or video, wherever you are in Australia.