From 1 April 2017, payments made to contractors who are subject to the schedular payment rules are required to have withholding tax deducted at the relevant rate by the payer. This includes payments made to all contractors that work for a labour-hire firm who may have previously been eligible to receive exemption certificates from withholding tax. The contractor is required to advise the payer of the relevant rate of withholding tax and these payments must now be included on

Downer EDI Limited (Downer) announced on 8 March that it had signed an agreement to acquire the construction, infrastructure and project management businesses of Hawkins, a New Zealand company, from the McConnell Family. The Chief Executive of Downer, Grant Fenn, said Hawkins was an excellent strategic fit for Downer’s New Zealand business. “Downer has a long and proud history in New Zealand that can be traced back more than a century,” Mr Fenn said. “Today we are a leading p