Staff Matters 244

Staff Matters February 14, 2020 Issue 244 Week 33

CARING ABOUT OUR STAFF GET THE LATEST GADGETS THROUGH SALARY PACKAGING

In This Issue

Did you know, as an Employer of Choice benefit, Afford offers salary packaging arrangements for you to get a discount on portable electronic devices?

Staff can claim one device per fringe benefit year (1 April – 31 March) and you will be able to claim this benefit directly through Afford Payroll.

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Get The Latest Gadgets Through Salary Packaging Joke Of The Week Afford Trivia

So, with the FBT year coming to an end soon get in quick and upgrade your electronic device. You can purchase a mobile phone, laptop, iPad, tablet, portable printer or a camera.

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Salary Packaging of Portable Electronic Devices is available to all Afford employees, enabling them to purchase the device with pre-tax income, which means you are not paying tax on that portion of your income. In addition, you are not required to pay GST on the device, saving an extra 10%!

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Afford Rewards – A Simple Guide!

This means that if you want the newest iPhone or a new laptop you can salary package it and the device is yours! The best part is that you get it 10% cheaper as you pay from your pre-tax earnings!

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REMINDER - Sibling Camp Coming Soon!

Deadline To Maximise Your Fringe Benefits Staff Profile

Handyman Timetable

Afford provide this service to all staff in-house, through payroll, so make sure you follow these guidelines: • You are eligible to purchase ONE portable electronic device per FBT year (1 April – 31 March)

Selfies of the Week Upcoming Events Afford Trivia Answer

• The device must be used for work at least 50% of the time • To meet packaging requirements and

avoid incurring FBT, staff will be required to keep a daily record of their usage for one month during a three year period after purchasing the device Process for Claiming: • Check the internal procedure form on the Intranet via this link - http://intranet/ documents/Human Resources/Procedure - Salary Packaging Arrangements for Portable Electronic Devices.docx • Then purchase your Portable Electronic Device from any retailer in store or online (ask for a tax invoice to be reimbursed) • Complete the ‘Portable Electronic Device Salary Packaging Form’ with receipts attached and have it signed by your manager and the Financial Controller • Submit the original form to payroll and a scanned version to payroll@afford.com.au This must be completed by the Friday before the payment date for fortnightly paid staff, and 4 working days before the payment date for monthly paid staff.

Update your new device and get your discount and salary packaging benefits today!

AFFORD TRIVIA

What year did we introduce Afford Rewards benefts?

www.afford.com.au

Staff Matters

STAFF PROFILE NAME: Katherine Parnell POSITION: Support Coordinator LOCATION: Victoria FAVOURITE MUSIC/SONG? Magic Man – Heart FAVOURITE MOVIE? The Hairdressers Husband FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Bushwalking and crosswords FAVOURITE FOODS? If it existed – chocolate covered KFC IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Snowy Owl WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Lake Geneva IF YOU HAD THE POWER, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? Deforestation and animal species extinction rates IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? Common sense SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? If I told you then everyone would know!

February 14, 2020 Issue 244

DEADLINE TO MAXIMISE YOUR FRINGE BENEFITS

The deadline date for making a change to your salary packaging, claiming reimbursement or applying to start salary packaging is fast approaching. Funds on your salary packaging card and balances in your salary packaging account need to be spent before the end of the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year on the 31st March 2020.

AccessPay is a salary sacrificing service available for staff to maximise up to $15,900 per year of your pre-tax earnings, to pay for your daily expenses. As an Employer of Choice benefit, Afford and AccessPay allows employees to maximise your take-home pay.

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As part of this benefit, employees have the option to have pre-paid Entertainment or General Living VISA cards which are topped up fortnightly with an amount from your pretax earnings. Each card can hold up to $2,000 of either General Living Expenses or Entertainment funds.

It is very important that staff who have these cards understand that they should spend any money on these cards before March 31st 2020.

The reason you should spend these funds is that any funds remaining on your card on 31st March will be carried over to the next FBT year. If this happens it will reduce the following year’s allowed threshold resulting in a reduced amount that you can claim. So, to get the maximum benefit of salary packaging, we encourage you to spend your card balances by the FBT deadline.

For more information, visit www.accesspay.com.au or contact AccessPay on 1300 133 697.

www.afford.com.au

February 14, 2020 Issue 244

Staff Matters AFFORD REWARDS – A SIMPLE GUIDE! Afford Rewards is the fantastic retailer discount site that’s exclusive to Afford employees. You can find incredible discounts at all of your favourite stores, and you have the potential to save thousands of dollars every single year, just by doing your shopping through Afford Rewards and saving with Instant eGift Card or Cashback!

SAVE 5 %

SAVE 5 %

SAVE SAVE5 15 %%

SAVE 5 %

SAVE 5 %

SAVE 5 %

SAVE 5 %

SAVE 7 %

SAVE 5 %

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SAVE 8%

ONLY $11

SAVE 7.5 %

SAVE 5 %

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SAVE 10%

SAVE 5 %

EARN 6 %

Since Afford Rewards launched back in 2018, we have had over 1,500 Afford staff accessing the app, saving thousands of dollars.

Afford Rewards: A Step By Step Guide Use Afford Rewards SmartSpending™ app, and get every discount on the go! It’s simple: 1 Once you receive your registration email click on the link, set up your password and you’re ready to set up your app!

2. J ust search and download ‘SmartSpending’ app on App Store or Google Play or visit the website www.affordrewards.com.au.

3. On your device log in with your Afford Rewards details. Just make sure you have activated your account first.

4. B rowse the deals available from hundreds of leading retailers and choose which instant eGift card you would like to use.

5. Proceed to the retailer and checkout and purchase the gift card on your smartphone.

6. P ay for your transaction using the gift voucher! You can use it to make purchases immediately in-store or keep for later, or you can even print them and give them as gift cards.

You need to activate your account and register as a member to access Afford Rewards. All new staff receive activation emails within the first few weeks of commencing employment. If you are unsure about your account status, please contact Maureen Brown on - Maureen.brown@afford.com.au Make sure you visit AffordRewards.com.au or download the SmartSpending app on your phone. You have the power to save in the palm of your hand, start saving today!

www.afford.com.au

February 14, 2020 Issue 244

Staff Matters REMINDER - SIBLING CAMP COMING SOON!

ATTENTION Affordians have you heard that a camp for Afford Siblings is coming soon?

Afford is working on an exciting new event concept for the siblings of our valued clients. As you know, the siblings and families of our clients are extremely important and we want to recognise the role siblings play in creating a strong and caring support network. Often siblings assist in the care of a child with disability, and being appreciated can add to a sibling’s sense of self-worth.

Afford’s concept is to create an exclusive siblings event where the brothers and sisters of our clients come together to: • Share experiences with other siblings • Recognise the important role they play within their family • Learn they are not alone • Encourage them to create an Afford social network to whom they can turn for support ** If you would like to register your interest for your site, please email jessica.scicluna@afford.com.au with the following details: site name, clients, number of siblings to participate and ages of siblings. **

Handyman Timetable Our Handy Man, Tahier, will be at the following sites this week:

Meet Our Handyman Tahier

- 17th February: Mount Druitt and St Marys - 18th February: Billabong, Dolphin and Bluebird Group Homes - 19th February: Minto ADE and Ingleburn ADE - 20th February: Campbelltown and Glen Alpine - 21st February: Paperwork/Weekly catchup and attend to

urgent requests

SELFIES OF THE WEEK

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Pawsome Se lfie Above: Eddie Bog Melbourne hiki Beagle bab an, with one of his th DM, ies! ree

UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:

EVENT:

18 February

International Asperger’s Day

20-21 February

Managers Conference

28 February

QLD Client Gala Ball

29 February

Leap Day

Afford Trivia Answer: 2018

www.afford.com.au