Australia encourages the adoption of the electronic invoice

The Australian government has heavily invested in electronic invoicing. Its introduction as a part of the digitalization of small and medium enterprises will be particularly significant as the prime minister has announced new investment and programs.

The goal of these programs is to achieve the widespread use of the electronic invoice in the public and private sectors. The mandatory use of the electronic invoice for government agencies in Australia is expected in July 2022. The promotion of its adoption by private companies will be worked on in parallel which is why the Australian government announced new incentives and investments in its Digital Economy Strategy.

The first step is to increase the awareness of the value of electronic invoicing for companies to promote its adoption, the government expects to invest 15,300,000 AUD.

The entities in charge of promoting the e-invoicing system are the Australian Peppol Authority (ATO) and Treasury who will take the following actions to improve the awareness and the adoption of the electronic invoice:

• Collect information about the use of the electronic invoice and the level of implementation of e-Procurement.
• Continue working with states and territories to increase the adoption of e-invoicing in B2G transactions.
• Promote educational activities for the entrepreneurial sector.
• Work with payment service providers (EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard, New Payments Platform Australia -NPPA) to explore opportunities around the electronic invoice that can complement the payment experience of companies.
• Explore new incentives to accelerate the adoption of the electronic invoice.

Companies in Australia Exchange more that 1.2 million invoice each year. 90% of companies still invoice traditionally and the digitalization of the process can save up to $20 per invoice. The electronic invoice also improves payment times for companies, especially SMEs. With its implementation the Australian government wants to increase the productivity of companies and encourage cost reduction.

Australian Digital Economy Strategy

The promotion of the electronic invoice is a part of the Australian Digital Economy Strategy for the digital transformation of the country to expedite its economic recovery. The government has budgeted 1.2 billion AUD to be spent by 2030.

The main objectives of the digital economy’s transformation are the following:

• Development of the on line digital capabilities of Australians with the development of the digitalization of companies and businesses.
• Promotion of entrepreneurial investment through fiscal incentives so companies stimulate investment in digital technologies to improve their productivity to grow and create more jobs.
• Improve the provision of government services through the development of e-government and thereby improve services like My Gov and My Health
• Digitalization of SMEs. The objective is to improve the productivity of small and medium enterprises so they can capitalize on opportunities created by digital technologies. The government plans to implement consulting programs to develop digital capacities and the introduction of the electronic invoice. Investment for the digital transformation of SMEs will likely include an investment of 800 million AUD in the Digital Business Plan to help companies use digital technologies to grow and create employment to help the Australian economic recovery.
• Data and the digital economy. Favor the mass and effective use of data. Data is vitally important to build a modern digital economy for Australians. Therefore, the Australian government commits to implement the first Australian data strategy to improve the effective, secure and protected use of data from 2021 to 2025.
• Development of Artificial Intelligence for the use of the company’s economy. The government expects to create the National center for Artificial Intelligence with four Centers for Digital Capacity to lay the groundwork for an Australian ecosystem of Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization: implementation in companies, training, and the development of AI pilot projects.
• Development of emerging aviation technology like drones applied to transport, supply chain management, and digital agriculture to improve the logistics and connectivity for rural and urban Australians.
• Improve the security of the digital sphere to establish confidence and the necessary protection to develop the previous points.