Quarterlytics / Industrials / Smartgroup

Smartgroup

siq · ASX Industrials
Claim this profile
Ticker siq
Exchange ASX
Sector Industrials
Industry
Employees 501-1000
← All annual reports
FY2020 Annual Report · Smartgroup
Sign in to download
Loading PDF…
ASX Announcement
Appendix 4E and 2020 Annual Report
Release date: 24 February 2021

In accordance with the ASX Listing Rules, Smartgroup Corporation Limited (ASX: SIQ) encloses for release to the market:

•  Appendix 4E, and

•  2020 Annual Report.

For further information, contact:

Tim Looi 
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer 
1300 665 855

Sophie MacIntosh 
Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary 
1300 665 855

This announcement was authorised for release by the Board of Directors of Smartgroup.

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd  |  ABN 48 126 266 831  |  GPO Box 4174, Sydney NSW 2001
Level 8, 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000.  T: 1300 665 855  |  F: 02 9299 4669

Appendix 4E
Preliminary Final Report

1. Company details

Name of entity:   Smartgroup Corporation Ltd

ABN: 

48 126 266 831

Reporting period:  For the year ended 31 December 2020

Previous period:  For the year ended 31 December 2019

2. Results for announcement to the market

Revenues from ordinary activities

Profit from ordinary activities after tax attributable to the owners of 
Smartgroup Corporation Ltd

Profit for the year attributable to the owners of  
Smartgroup Corporation Ltd

Dividends

Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019 
(paid 16 March 2020)

Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2020 
(paid on 16 September 2020)

down

down

$’000

33,503

20,124

13.4% to

32.7% to

$’000

216,332

41,325

down

20,124

32.7% to 

41,325

Amount per security

Franked amount per security

Cents

21.5

17.0

Cents

21.5

17.0

On 24 February 2021, the Directors declared a fully franked final ordinary dividend of 17.5 cents per ordinary share. The final 
dividend will be paid on 23 March 2021 to shareholders registered on 9 March 2021 with an expected total distribution of 
$23,240,000. On 24 February 2021, the Directors also declared a total fully franked special dividend of 14.5 cents per ordinary 
share, comprised of a final special dividend of 9.0 cents per share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2020, and an interim 
special dividend of 5.5 cents per share in respect of the current year. The special dividend will be paid on 23 March 2021 to 
shareholders registered on 9 March 2021 with an expected total distribution of $19,259,000. There is no dividend reinvestment plan.

Comments

The profit for the Group after providing for income tax amounted to $41,325,000 (31 December 2019: $61,449,000).

Refer to the ‘Chairman’s report’ and ‘Managing Director and CEO’s report’ for detailed commentary of the results.

Appendix 4EAppendix 4E (continued)
Preliminary Final Report

3. Net tangible assets

Net tangible assets per ordinary security

Reporting period

Previous period

Cents

(30.76)

Cents

(41.85)

Net tangible assets per ordinary security is total net assets, excluding intangible assets, deferred tax assets, and right-of-use lease 
assets, divided by the number of ordinary shares on issue.

4. Control gained over entities

There were no changes to control over entities in the period.

Detail of joint ventures

Health-e Workforce Solutions Pty Ltd 1

Reporting entity’s percentage holding

Contribution to profit after tax

31 Dec 2020 

31 Dec 2019

31 Dec 2020

31 Dec 2019 

%

50%

%

50%

$’000

45

$’000

8

1 Excludes impairment of investment of $5,118,000 (note 25).

5. Independent auditor’s review

The financial report for the year ended 31 December 2020 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers and an unqualified opinion 
has been issued.

6. Attachments

Additional Appendix 4E requirements can be found in the attached Directors’ Report and the Financial Report.

Appendix 4ESmartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamSmartgroup 
Annual Report 
2020

ACCOUNTABILITY.
CARE.
TEAM.

VALUING ALL OUR

RELATIONSHIPS

DOING  
RIGHT  
BY  
THOSE  
WE SERVE 

COVID-19 has generated a lot of questions for 
businesses across many sectors. Ways of working, 
supply chains, financial models and so much more 
have all come under scrutiny. It’s been a time of 
deep instability for many.

Our key concerns this year have been the health 
and wellbeing of team members and the strength 
and stability of our client relationships. We’ve 
long recognised that our ability to service our 
customers rests with having a workforce that 
is thorough, disciplined and highly committed 
to helping them understand and realise the 
benefits of salary packaging.

Our ability to do good for others 
starts with ensuring we are doing 
everything we can to support our 
own team members.

For more than 20 years, we’ve worked with 
organisations with extensive workforces to take 
the complication out of their compensation. 
We’ve helped teachers, community workers, 
nurses, public servants and many others to 
easily and quickly save money through salary 
packaging. In the process, we have helped our 
clients retain, engage and reward the talented 
individuals they depend on.

This year, we did everything we could to be there 
for those who continue to trust us. Our results 
speak to the strength of those relationships, the 
stability they bring and the reputation we’ve built 
in supporting the communities we serve. 

20+ YEARS 
OF TAKING 
COMPLICATION 
OUT OF 
COMPENSATION

5

We have a proven track record in 
working with organisations and their 
employees to ensure salary packaging 
is as straightforward as possible.

Contents

6

At Smartgroup, we simplify salary packaging, 
fleet management and a range of other employee 
management services for organisations across Australia.

16

Managing Director and 
CEO’s report

12

Our performance 
for investors

2

Doing right by those  
we serve

14

Chairman’s report

4 

20+ years of taking 
complication out 
of compensation

8

Our relationships 
with our customers

Azubuike (Zubby) Okwanma 
from Mosaic Community 
Care. Read Zubby’s story 
on page 11 – one of several 
valued relationships we 
feature in this report

22

Our achievements  
with our people

Further focus on 
strengthening our culture

Contents

7

42

70

Corporate sustainability 
scorecard

Financial report

44

126

Governance and risk 
management

Shareholder information

47

128

Directors’ report

Five-year summary

51

129

Remuneration report

Glossary

66 

130

Auditor’s independence 
declaration

GRI content index

133

Corporate directory

For more information on  
our annual results, please visit 
smartgroup.com.au

30

Our actions in 
communities

Finding smart ways 
to support others

36

Our commitment to 
the environment

Actively managing 
our impacts

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur relationships 
with our customers

8

OUR CUSTOMERS ARE 
AT THE  CENTRE OF 

EVERYTHING 
WE DO

We are in a unique position to support our employer clients 
and employee customers with industry-specific expertise 
and experience. This year, as everyone grappled with the 
challenges and complexities of COVID-19, our team members 
worked tirelessly to help our customers.

Salary packaging enables employees to 
increase their income at no cost to their 
employer. The makeup of each salary packaging 
benefit has different rules and requirements 
under the relevant tax legislation. Part of our role 
is helping employees and employers to navigate 
through these benefits and ensure they are 
administered in a compliant and simple way 
for each organisation we serve. 

A rewarding salary packaging program is 
crucial for many organisations across Australia. 
Every year, we partner with thousands of 
employer clients to deliver benefits to over 
360,000 employee customers across a full 
range of sectors. 

Salary packaging represents a cost-effective 
way to attract and remunerate employees. 
This year, we continued to offer our client 
organisations access to services that include 
salary packaging and novated leasing, fleet 
management, payroll, share plan administration 
and workforce optimisation services. 

Not-for-profit sector 

We are one of the leading providers of 
outsourced salary packaging to the not-for-profit 
sector in Australia, having helped hundreds of 
thousands of employees, such as community 
and charity workers, to utilise the salary 
packaging benefits specific to their industry. 
We provide services to over 1,600 not-for-profit 
organisations in every state and territory of 
Australia. Many of our relationships are long-
standing, with over 100 not-for-profit clients 
having partnered with us for over 10 years. 

Our tailored fleet management solutions 
are delivered via Smartfleet and include fully 
outsourced or inhouse fleet management 
programs. Our payroll business, Smartsalary 
Payroll Solutions, also provides organisations 
with payroll administration services.

The outbreak of COVID-19 meant many 
not-for-profit organisations had to change the 
way they worked without compromising on 
providing high-quality services to the most 
vulnerable people in our society. We responded 
by quickly moving our full client-facing workforce 
to remote working arrangements and rolling out 
webinars, phone appointments and enhanced 
online information so that our not-for-profit 
employee customers could easily access and 
fully utilise their benefits throughout this time.

Healthcare

Healthcare has been in the spotlight this year 
of course, with all parts of the sector under 
pressure to help keep Australians safe from 
COVID-19 at the same time as they deal with 
their already high workloads.

Healthcare is a challenging sector at the best 
of times with complex staffing recruitment and 
rostering arrangements, unpredictable demand 
and the need to access highly specific skill sets.

We are trusted by some of Australia’s largest 
healthcare providers (public and not-for-profit) 
to deliver industry-specific salary packaging 
benefits for nurses, clinicians and auxiliary staff. 
We also help hospitals with innovative workforce 
modelling and workforce optimisation and 
provide a fully flexible and cost-effective fleet 
management solution for healthcare providers. 
Those fleet management solutions include Pool 
Vehicle Booking, a fleet car-sharing system 
that can save time and money and reduce 
the environmental impact of the cars in our 
clients’ fleets.

Our relationships 
with our customers

9

Smartgroup 
& UnitingCare 
Procurement Group

A UNITED APPROACH  
TO FLEET EFFICIENCY

The UnitingCare Procurement Group represents 
agencies of the Uniting Churches across 
Australia and is one of the largest providers 
of human-related services in Australia, apart 
from government, so when it released a tender 
for Uniting’s national fleet management, our 
Smartfleet team were excited to get involved.

Since winning the business, our Smartfleet 
team have implemented a Pool Vehicle Booking 
platform and electronic keybox into Uniting 
Communities’ new head office premises. 

“We have been a carbon certified company 
since 2015 – the first Australian Registered 
Charity and the first SA organisation to 
do so. Our fleet does 2 million kilometres 
and another 1 million in grey fleet (journeys 
using privately owned cars), so saving on 
journeys also saves us having to procure 
offsets. 98% of our company vehicles are 
hybrid petrol/electric vehicles, which reduce 
emissions and fuel by one-third compared 
to a full petrol vehicle.”

Changing suppliers is always a worry, 
says Lee, and this year, the complications 
of COVID-19 and moving into new 
headquarters at the same time as 
Smartfleet came on board only increased 
that. “We didn’t need to be concerned 
at all,” says Lee. “Smartfleet made 
the changeover straightforward and 
implementation of the online pool booking 
and integrated key box has progressed 
well, with Smartfleet being highly 
responsive throughout.”

Outside of his role at Uniting Communities, 
Lee is also the President of the Australasian 
Fleet Management Association (AfMA) – a 
member based, not-for-profit peak industry 
body throughout Australia, New Zealand 
and South East Asia.

Lee Sauerwald,  
Executive Manager 
Corporate Services,  
Uniting Communities.

“It’s had an immediate impact on how we see, 
manage and control our fleet movements,” 
says Lee Sauerwald, Executive Manager 
Corporate Services, Uniting Communities 
“Pooling our company vehicles during the 
day is enabling us to maximise their use. 
A sophisticated online booking system 
enables us to allocate cars specifically and to 
integrate each journey with an auto key box.

“Increasing our visibility around utilisation 
has helped with car sharing/pooling and 
with co-ordinating shared journeys as well 
as keeping down costs by allowing us to 
run fewer vehicles. 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur relationships 
with our customers

10

This year, we worked with the administrators 
and staff of over 930 primary and secondary 
care facilities across Australia. Traditionally, our 
people have worked largely on site, engaging 
with people face-to-face, but with COVID-19, 
we were forced to move to virtual interactions. 
Just as we did for our not-for-profit sector 
customers, we shifted to telephone and 
video appointments and running information 
webinars. We combined these initiatives with 
extended operating hours to better support 
our healthcare workers. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us 
all of the importance of taking care of our 
healthcare workers, who play such an important 
role in caring for our community. We are pleased 
to report that we have been able to do this while 
maintaining high service levels, with our client 
organisations telling us that they were thankful 
we implemented alternative methods to engage 
and educate their employees.

Corporate

We work with almost two thousand corporate 
organisations to manage their employee salary 
packaging and novated leasing programs, fleet 
requirements, employee payroll arrangements 
and employee share plans. Few businesses 
have our industry knowledge or resources 
to manage the complexities of effective salary 
packaging and a comprehensive novated 
leasing program. We manage both for a wide 
range of small, medium and large corporates, 
along with employee share plan administration 
for private, public and start-up companies.

This year was far from easy for our teams, with 
lockdowns and restrictions preventing people 
from having face-to-face meetings and large 
numbers of people continuing to work from 
home. People now want the flexibility of mixed 
office-based working and working from home. 
We’ve adapted to these changes by working 
virtually with our clients and managing effective 
remote working capabilities for team members.

Government

We have long-standing relationships with local, 
state and federal government departments and 
agencies and work closely with them to meet 
their salary packaging needs. 

Some of Australia’s largest government 
agencies, including the Department of 
Defence and the Australian Taxation Office, 
trust us to ensure they comply with their 
complex administrative requirements. 

We are deeply proud of these relationships. 
Working closely with those who want to do 
best by others lies at the heart of who we 
are and what we value.

This year has been a particularly challenging 
one for government departments as they have 
looked to implement government measures 
across a range of fronts. Our clients have 
been at the frontline of the state and federal 
governments’ health and economic responses 
to the pandemic. For their people, that has 
meant both a change to the way they work 
and, in some instances, the duties they perform. 
That has required us to increase our channels 
for customer communication to make them 
aware of how salary packaging can assist in 
the transition from office-based working to 
working from home. 

Education

In the fast-moving education sector, we work 
with a full range of public, private and faith-
based educational institutions. We manage 
a wide range of benefits for teachers, 
administrators and support personnel in 
individual schools, universities, state education 
departments and dioceses who trust us to 
organise their salary packaging needs. We’re 
proud to have helped tens of thousands of 
teachers, education administrators and other 
school staff over the years with their salary 
packaging requirements.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has affected 
educational institutions in a range of ways, 
most notably the move from face-to-face 
learning to online learning and needing to 
quickly respond to health and government 
advice and requirements. We’ve responded 
by finding alternative communication channels 
including webinars, phone appointments and 
virtual meetings. Overall, our business activity 
in the education sector was down. However, 
we expect this will change as restrictions are 
reduced and access to school and education 
facilities resumes.

Recognised again for our service

In the light of all these changes, it was 
particularly pleasing that we have maintained 
the highest-ever audit score from the Customer 
Service Institute of Australia for the fifth 
consecutive year – a testament to the skills 
and motivation of our people who have 
worked through so many challenges this 
year to continue to do their best for our 
clients and customers.

Our relationships 
with our customers

11

Smartgroup 
& Mosaic 
Community Care

SUPPORTING THOSE  
WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Azubuike (Zubby) Okwanma has been 
a disability support worker for 15 years. 
Structuring his pay to include salary packaging 
benefits has made a significant difference to his 
take-home pay – a difference he’s been happy 
to share with his friends and colleagues.

Zubby arrived in Australia with a passion 
for helping people with disabilities to live 
independently. “I’ve always wanted to support 
people who struggle so that they can do more 
things for themselves. It excites me to see 
people making the most of their lives and 
being as independent as they can.”

Salary packaging has meant that Zubby 
has been able to pursue his dream of 
becoming a qualified social worker in the 
future. This year, he has been studying 
Social Work at Curtin University. The way 
his salary is structured means that he 
has been able to do this part-time and 
still support his family. “It’s been great,” 
he says. “I really, really recommend it.” 

Azubuike (Zubby) Okwanma

Zubby has worked at Mosaic Community 
Care for three years. Before that, he was 
a support worker in the northern part of 
Western Australia. He and his wife Juliet 
have four young children, so when he found 
out about the option of salary packaging 
in his current job, he called AccessPay.

“They’ve been really helpful,” says Zubby. 
“I gave them my details and they took care 
of everything. My take-home pay went up, 
and was able to save money that I would 
never have saved otherwise.” Zubby says 
he has recommended AccessPay to many 
people, especially those doing casual work 
and living pay to pay.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur performance  
for investors

12

GOOD 
RETURNS IN  
A UNIQUE  
YEAR

The following highlights represent the financial performance 
of Smartgroup for the year ended 31 December 2020.

NPATA1
2019
$81.0m

STATUTORY 
NPAT
2019
$61.4m

REVENUE
2019
$249.8m

EBITDA2
2019
$118.2m

$65.2m

20%

$41.3m

33%

$216.3m

13%

$95.4m

19%

2020  
financial  
highlights

13

OPERATING CASH FLOW3
AS A PERCENTAGE 
OF NPATA 
2019
110%

DIVIDENDS DECLARED4
2019
63.0cps

NET CASH (DEBT)5
2019
($21.0m)

63.0

41.5

43.5

35.0

44.0

26.2

24.8

16.6

115%

+5pts

43.5cps

$2.5m

77.8

81.0

64.1

65.2

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

cents per share

$ million

DIVIDENDS PER SHARE DECLARED  
(FULLY FRANKED)

AFTER-TAX PROFITS 
(NPATA)

The 2020 financials are presented on an 
adjusted basis and have been reconciled 
to the statutory 2020 financial report.

1.  NPATA is Net Profit After Tax, adjusted 
to exclude the non-cash tax-effected 
amortisation of intangibles and significant 
non-operating items.

2.  EBITDA is Earnings Before Interest, Tax, 
Depreciation and Amortisation adjusted 
for significant non-operating items.

3.  Operating cash flow excludes receipts 
and payments from customers’ salary 
packaging accounts and significant 
non-operating items.

4.  2019 includes a special dividend of 20.0cps paid 
in May 2019. 2020 includes a 9.0cps special 
dividend declared on 24 February 2021. In addition, 
a special interim dividend of 5.5cps was declared 
on 24 February 2021 in respect of the 2021 year.

5.  Net Debt is cash and cash equivalents less corporate 
borrowings adjusted to exclude capitalised borrowing 
costs and vehicle borrowings.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamChairman’s 
report

14

HOLDING  
TRUE IN A 
CHALLENGING 
YEAR

The Board is proud of the business 
resilience that our company 
has shown and the individual 
resilience of our people, our 
clients and their employees, 
many of whom have been at 
the front line of the challenges 
throughout this difficult year.

WORKING FOR OUR  
CUSTOMERS & OUR PEOPLE

WGEA Employer 
of Choice for 
Gender Equality

Recognised 
as an Inclusive  
Employer by 
Diversity Council 
Australia for  
2019–2020

Chairman’s 
report

15

Smartgroup 2020 – 
Chairman’s report

Smartgroup remains a strong and customer-
focused organisation. This year, we have 
managed our way through the business 
and community challenges brought on 
by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Board is proud of the business resilience 
that our company has shown and the individual 
resilience of our people who have continued to 
support our clients and their employees, many 
of whom have been at the front line of the 
challenges throughout this difficult year.

In a year when many businesses had to rely 
on government assistance and/or raise further 
equity, Smartgroup has been able to stand 
strong. However, we could not fully escape 
the impacts of the deterioration in economic 
conditions nor the pandemic-related 
restrictions on normal business activities. 

Revenue of $216.3 million represents a 
reduction of 13% on our CY2019 results. 
Operating Earnings Before Interest, Tax, 
Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) 
also reduced 19% to $95.4 million. Net Profit 
After Tax and Amortisation (NPATA) reduced 
20% to $65.2 million, and Statutory Net Profit 
After Tax was down 33% to $41.3 million.

Notwithstanding the reduced levels of financial 
performance, the Board is pleased to announce 
a fully franked final dividend of 17.5 cents per 
share. The Board has also declared a fully 
franked special dividend of 14.5 cents per 
share, comprised of a final special dividend 
of 9.0 cents per share in respect of the year 
ended 31 December 2020 and an interim 
special dividend of 5.5 cents per share in 
respect of the current year. 

Like so many other businesses, we have had 
to incorporate flexibility into how we work. 
Our ability to do that, while maintaining good 
customer service, is a testament to our culture 
of innovation and our inclusive workplace. 

Our efforts in these areas have seen us awarded 
a WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality 
as well as being one of a select group of 
companies as an Inclusive Employer by 
Diversity Council Australia for 2019–2020. 

At the start of this year, Tim Looi was 
appointed Managing Director and CEO, 
having worked alongside Deven Billimoria, 
Smartgroup’s previous Managing Director 
and CEO, who retired in February 2020 
after 19 years with the organisation. Tim 
has developed a detailed knowledge of the 
business in his role as Chief Financial Officer 
over the previous 10 years. He has shown 
the drive and insight to manage this business 
through an unprecedented year while laying 
the foundations for us to continue to build 
business success through ongoing focus on 
our customers, improving our digital capabilities 
and simplifying Smartgroup’s activities.

On behalf of the Board, I’d like to thank our 
many clients and shareholders for their ongoing 
support and the management team and all of 
our employees for their focus and commitment 
in a year that has tested all of us. I would also 
like to thank Deven for his entrepreneurship 
and dedication to Smartgroup and express my 
gratitude to my fellow Non-Executive Directors 
who have provided invaluable support and wise 
counsel during these unprecedented times.

Looking forward to 2021 and beyond, we know 
that we will continue to face challenges and 
not just from the pandemic. However, we are 
confident that, with our flexible and inclusive 
working environment and high-quality products 
supported by outstanding service, we will 
continue to deliver financial returns for our 
shareholders while playing a key role in the 
support of Australian workers and communities.

Michael Carapiet
Chairman

Not surprisingly, given the 
trading environment, we saw 
a reduction in our financial 
results. However, the Board is 
pleased that we have been able 
to deliver investors a strong 
fully franked final dividend 
as well as an additional fully 
franked special dividend. 
Delivery of this dividend 
reinforces the confidence 
that the Board has in the core 
business and our commitment 
to continue to support all 
those who have invested in 
Smartgroup and what we do.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamManaging Director  
and CEO’s report

16

MOVING 

FORWARD 
TOGETHER

We finished 2020 with a good set of results within the 
context of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic 
has presented to our business, our team members, 
our clients and customers.

We are all well aware of the broad impact the 
pandemic had on the Australian economy 
and indeed Australian society. Like most 
businesses in the country, we have had to 
deal with the operational challenges and 
financial impacts of this crisis. So it is with great 
pride that Smartgroup has been able to deliver 
a good set of results for the year without having 
to apply for the JobKeeper Payment. We have 
a business and a business model that has 
proven its ability to withstand the challenging 
economic conditions presented in 2020.

The pandemic meant that our business 
operations had to quickly pivot to accommodate 
our workforce moving to remote working while 
also adjusting to changes for our clients and our 
customers. As different states moved in and out 
of lockdown at different times, face-to-face visits 
with our clients and customers were no longer 
possible and our teams shifted their interactions 
to phone, video, webinars and email. Across 
Smartgroup, we worked closely with our clients 
to communicate changes, adapting our way of 
doing business and helping remove uncertainty 
during unpredictable times.

Financial results

In spite of these challenges, the number of 
salary packaging customers remained steady 
at 360,500 (2019: 358,500), and we saw 4% 
growth in our fleet vehicles under management 
to 24,900, while the number of novated leases 
under management reduced by 3% to 66,700.

A fall in novated lease volumes of 14% was the 
key driver of revenue reduction this year. April 
saw a sharp fall in volumes, and lease activity 
continued to be lower than historical levels 
throughout the rest of 2020.

Tim Looi
Managing 
Director 
and CEO

Novated lease yields were 6% lower than 2019, 
resulting from both the previously announced 
insurance price reductions that came into effect 
on 1 July 2020 and an increase in customers 
choosing to refinance their existing leases, 
rather than starting a lease on a new vehicle. 
While the proportion of lower-yielding refinanced 
leases spiked in April and remained higher 
than historical levels, we saw a shift back 
towards new vehicle leases in the later 
months of the year.

As the pandemic-induced business downturn hit, 
Smartgroup responded with a cost containment 
program. The value attributed to one-off savings 
measures in 2020 is around $4 million.

In May 2020, Smartgroup also completed an 
operational restructure. The ongoing annual 
savings associated with this restructure are 
expected to be around $4 million.

2020 NPATA includes several individually 
significant items, including (all stated pre-tax):

•  $1.0 million provision for short-term fleet 
products where counterparty fulfilment 
is uncertain;

•  $1.5 million redundancy costs from the 

operational restructure.

Our business model again enabled us to 
generate high operating cash flows, at 115% 
of NPATA (2019: 110%), which saw us achieve 
a net cash position by the end of 2020.

 
 
Managing Director  
and CEO’s report

17

COVID-19 has tested us all, but we are very happy with how the Smartgroup 
team has come together and worked tirelessly to continue looking after our 
clients and customers.

Revenue

EBITDA1

300

250

200

m
$

150

147.1

84.7

100

50

62.4

205.4

107.9

97.5

241.8

119.2

249.8

124.0

216.3

104.9

122.6

125.8

111.4

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

0

H1

H2

48%

47%

46%

58.4

59.4

49.0

44.6

56.6

58.8

43%

37.7

25.6

44%

47.0

48.4

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

m
$

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

H1

H2

NPATA1

Dividend (fully franked)

m
$

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

H1

H2

77.8

39.4

81.0

40.5

38.4

40.5

65.2

33.1

32.1

64.1

33.8

30.3

44.0

25.4

18.6

120

100

)

m
$
(

102%

100%

89%

t
u
o
y
a
p
d
n
e
d
v
D

i

i

80

60

40

20

0

68%

69%

70%

26.3

27.4

28.3

26.9

28.3

12.0

23.2

22.6

24.2

20.4

18.2

11.9

80%

60%

40%

20%

0

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

121.5

123.2

130.9

131.7

132.8

Shares on 
issue (m)

H1

H2

Special

Dividend % of NPATA

%
A
D
T
B
E

I

A
T
A
P
N

f
o
%
d
n
e
d
v
D

i

i

1.  Adjusted to reflect one-off impact on adoption of AASB 16 Leases from January 2018. Impact is to increase 2018 EBITDA by $1.6m in each of H1 

and H2 and reduce 2018 NPATA by $0.1m in each of H1 and H2.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  Team 
 
 
 
 
 
Managing Director  
and CEO’s report

18

Novated leases under management

2,000

3,500

500

2,750

65,250

(2,250)

68,500

(1,500)

67,500

(800)

66,700

s
e
s
a
e
L

75,000

70,000

65,000

60,000

62,500

55,000

50,000

45,000

40,000

CY2017

CY 
organic 
growth

CY2018

2019 
acquisitions

Two VIC 
health 
contracts 
not 
renewed

CY 
organic 
growth

CY 2019

H1 2020 
acquisitions

H1 2020 
organic 
growth

H1 2020 H2 2020 
organic 
growth

CY 2020

Fleet vehicles under management

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

17,500

2,600

2,800

22,900

1,100

500

400

24,000

24,500

24,900

l

s
e
c
h
e
v

i

t
e
e
F

l

10,000

5,000

–

CY2017

Fleet West 
acquisition

CY2018

CY 
organic 
growth

CY 2019

CY 
organic 
growth

H1 2020

H1 2020 
organic 
growth

H2 2020 
organic 
growth

CY 2020

WORKING WITH AND 
FOR OUR CUSTOMERS

Within the business, 
we have continued 
to focus on ensuring 
strong governance 
as the increased 
expectations on the 
Australian financial 
services industry 
continue to flow 
from the Banking 
Royal Commission.

 
Managing Director  
and CEO’s report

19

A focus on good governance

Within the business, we have continued to focus 
on ensuring strong governance as the increased 
expectations on the Australian financial services 
industry continue to flow from the Banking 
Royal Commission, including the roll out of 
enhancements to our sales and disclosure 
practices and preparing for compliance with 
the deferred sales model for the sale of add 
on insurance products introduced by the 
government into legislation in December 2020. 

As a member of the National Automotive 
Leasing and Salary Packaging Association 
(NALSPA), we continue to support initiatives 
to communicate the macro-economic benefits 
arising from the existing Fringe Benefits Tax 
(FBT) policy settings.

Customer experience and simplification

Despite the challenges of remote working, 
our team continued to make good progress in 
improving our customer experience, enhancing 
our digital capabilities and simplifying our 
operations. One example of this is our online 
leasing quote tools, which enable the whole 
process to be managed easily and securely 
online. Continued enhancements to our 
websites and systems included the use 
of ‘Sam’, our automated chatbot, to deliver 
a better customer experience. 

We completed the transition of Selectus clients 
in July 2020, six months ahead of schedule. 
Clients and customers are now benefiting from 
more automation and higher levels of service 
within the core platforms. This transition is a 
continuation of the workstream embarked 
upon 24 months ago. As a result of our 
simplification program, we are now supporting 
fewer processes and platforms, lowering our 
costs and enabling us to deliver a better 
customer experience. 

In 2020, we also refreshed our Company wide 
values to reflect our One Company, One Team 
culture. The new values – Accountability, Care, 
Team – will help us to build our culture, foster 
working relationships and give clear direction 
on what we stand for, across all the geographies 
in which we operate. 

Our customers and clients 

Our client base represents a high proportion of 
organisations that support the communities and 
people of Australia, including hospitals, nursing 
homes and not-for-profit organisations through 
to numerous state and federal government 
departments. The salary packaging services 
we provide deliver benefits on a daily basis 
to all these important Australian workers.

Customer service remains at the core of the 
Smartgroup DNA, and we take great pride in 
Smartsalary once again receiving the highest-
ever audit score from the Customer Service 
Institute of Australia – a ranking we have 
maintained for five years. At the same time, 
we remain mindful that customer needs and 
expectations continue to evolve, particularly in 
the digital arena, and we remain committed to 
adapting and evolving to meet these changes.

Customer Net Promoter Score (NPS) was 
introduced within the Smartsalary brand almost 
a decade ago, and we extended this to the bulk 
of our acquired businesses in late 2019. NPS 
scores can range from -100 to +100 and are 
designed to measure the net percentage of 
customers who are promotors of a brand. 
Since late 2019, we have seen NPS in the 
acquired businesses rise from around 15 at 
inception to more recently reaching a level of 
44, a healthy result given the short timeframe 
for implementation and improvements. NPS 
across Smartsalary and Smartleasing has 
continued to be strong, maintaining an average 
monthly score of 44 throughout 2020. 

Our people 

Our strength as a business comes from the 
diversity, experience and skills of our employees. 
In 2020, Smartgroup joined a select group 
of Australian companies recognised as an 
Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the 
Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). 
This accreditation reflects an elite standard of 
equality across seven key focus areas including 
leadership, accountability and gender pay equity 
– all issues we consider incredibly important. 

The strength of our workplace diversity is 
also reflected in our rating as an Inclusive 
Employer by the Diversity Council Australia 
for 2019–2020. 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamManaging Director  
and CEO’s report

20

Salary packaging customers

24,700

500

358,500

(3,500)

355,500

5,000

360,500

18,000

3,000

343,000

(12,200)

s
e
g
a
k
c
a
p
y
r
a
a
S

l

375,000

355,000

335,000

315,000

325,000

295,000

275,000

CY2017

CY 
organic 
growth

CY2018

2019 
acquisitions

Two VIC 
health 
contracts 
not 
renewed

CY 
organic 
growth

CY 2019

H1 2020 
acquisitions

H1 2020 
organic 
growth

H1 2020 H2 2020 
organic 
growth

CY 2020

Top 20 clients by number 
of contract renewals

Relationship length 
of Top 20 clients 

5%5%

10%

25%

25%

1 Term
2 Terms
3 Terms
4 Terms
5 Terms
6 Terms

5%

10%

20%

35%

3-5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
16-20 years
20+ years

30%

30%

Top 20 client revenue profile

Dec 2020
$216.3m

60%

40%

Top 20
Other

Salary packaging client 
and customer profile

4%

10%

14%

Dec 2020
360,500 
packages

43%

29%

PBI non-hospitals1
PBI hospitals2
Government
Education3
Corporate

1.  ‘PBI non-hospitals’ includes charities and other not-for-profit organisations registered as a public benevolent institution (PBI) and recognised by the ATO 
as eligible for FBT exemption, excluding PBI hospitals with hospital employees having a different tax status to employees of all other PBI organisations.

2.  ‘PBI hospitals’ includes public and private not-for-profit hospitals.
3.  ‘Education’ includes public and private not-for-profit educational institutions.

 
Managing Director  
and CEO’s report

21

Supporting our communities

We also play an important part in the broader 
community. In 2020, we expanded our Carbon 
Offset Program, growing it to three partners 
– Greenfleet, Carbon Positive Australia and 
The Nature Conservancy. Since our Carbon 
Offset Program began, it has contributed 
to the removal of 699,408 tonnes of carbon 
from our environment.

The Smartgroup Foundation plays a further 
role in connecting our organisation and team 
members to the community we serve. In 2020, 
the Foundation continued into its second year, 
and supported 11 organisations with grants 
totalling over $179,000. These funds go to 
charities all across Australia, supporting 
grassroots projects in our communities. 

2020 began with the Black Summer of bushfires 
all across Australia. Smartgroup was proud 
to support the relief recovery efforts of the 
Red Cross, the Foundation for National 
Parks & Wildlife, RSPCA South Australia, 
Anglicare NSW and Anglicare Victoria. 

Customer service remains at the 
core of the Smartgroup DNA, and 
we take great pride in Smartsalary 
once again receiving the highest-
ever audit score from the 
Customer Service Institute of 
Australia – a ranking we have 
maintained for five years.

The continued success of our business relies on 
customer focus, flexibility and hard work by our 
people and teams. Never has that been more 
tested than by what 2020 has thrown at them. 
It would have been impossible to foresee the 
kind of challenges that the business would face 
in my first year as CEO, and yet we can say with 
confidence that the company is in a position 
of strength to move forward from here.

What we have achieved this year would not 
have been possible without our dedicated and 
committed team members continuing to provide 
strong levels of service to our loyal customers. 
I want to thank our team members, our Board 
of Directors, our loyal customers and, of course, 
our shareholders for their continued support this 
year. We look forward to the opportunities and 
the challenges that the coming year presents.

WORKING FOR OUR  
CUSTOMERS & OUR PEOPLE

Expanding our customer 
Net Promoter scoring 
and feedback across 
Smartgroup

As a result of our 
simplification program,  
we are now supporting 
fewer processes and 
platforms, lowering our 
costs and enabling us  
to deliver a better 
customer experience

Tim Looi
Managing Director and CEO

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur achievements 
with our people 

22

FURTHER  
FOCUS ON 
STRENGTHENING 
OUR CULTURE

We have continued to communicate through 
every channel and means possible to keep 
our team members informed about COVID-19 
issues and how Smartgroup is responding 
to safeguard our customers and business. 
We conducted wellbeing pulse surveys to 
ensure we identified and addressed issues 
that mattered to our team members across 
Australia. Care packs were sent to Melbourne 
team members (twice) and Adelaide colleagues. 
These were sourced, packed and sent by 
Smartgroupers for interstate colleagues in need. 

High performance and strong engagement stem from 
continuing investment in the capabilities of our people and 
how we work and win together. This year, we supported our 
team to navigate the difficulties of COVID-19 and successfully 
found new ways to deliver our services. We ended the year 
with 666 full-time equivalent permanent and temporary team 
members across Australia, nearly 70% of whom are utilising 
flexible remote working arrangements.

Our teams

Our strong culture and courageous leadership 
have helped us navigate the uncertainty and 
changes generated by COVID-19. Our priority 
this year has been to support our team 
members to stay safe and thrive. 

Like many organisations, the outbreak of 
COVID-19 affected our people in different 
ways. Teams navigated working apart from 
one another and adjusted to the realities of 
working from home for an extended period. 
To support this transition, we implemented 
new collaborative ways of working supported 
by technological tools and agile people 
practices to help everyone work effectively 
and be their best. What we particularly noticed 
during this time was our team continued to 
exhibit incredible levels of service and care for 
customers, many of whom were impacted by 
circumstances resulting from COVID-19.

Conducting mental health refresher training 
for people leaders and introducing a new 
Mental Health Policy has enabled us to 
demonstrate our commitment to wellbeing 
for our team members. Other supportive 
initiatives this year have included a resilience 
training pilot for people leaders, wellbeing 
initiatives like R U OK Day and the introduction 
of an annual wellness allowance for each 
team member.

Our achievements 
with our people 

23

666

Full-time equivalent team 
members across Australia

70%

Of Smartgroup team 
members are utilising 
flexible remote working 
arrangements

40%

A gender balance of 40% 
female and male at all levels 
of the organisation below 
Board level

Engagement remains a key focus for us. In particular, 
we pride ourselves on being an inclusive and 
diverse employer.

Highlights 

Some 2020 achievements:

•  Recognised as an Employer 

of Choice for Gender Equality 
by WGEA

•  Recognised as an Inclusive 

Employer by Diversity Council 
Australia

•  Launched new values
•  Mental health refresher training 

for people leaders

•  New Mental Health Policy
•  Significant people policies 

introduced 

Challenges 

•  COVID-19 saw teams needing 
to work apart from one another

•  We recognised the need to 
actively protect the mental 
wellbeing of our employees
•  Our leaders needed to adjust 
to new ways of leading and 
running their teams

•  We looked to find new ways 
to support parents and carers

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur achievements 
with our people 

24

The feedback we received was 
overwhelmingly enthusiastic:

“I had been having the worst day, when my 
care pack arrived. I was so surprised and 
grateful, I started to cry! The tea bags, the 
masks, the puzzle, everything was just so 
great, Thank you so much for caring.”

“Thank you for thinking of us in Melbourne! 
It brightened my day so much and it was 
so nice to know I work for such a caring 
organisation. My husband was really jealous!”

Significant people policies introduced this year 
have included our updated Parental Leave 
Policy to award paid parental leave to team 
members from day one of employment with 
Smartgroup. Our Diversity Policy was also 
revised to give additional support to team 
members with caring responsibilities 
for elders and disabled family members.

We also introduced fortnightly Lunch and Learn 
webinars, chaired by our CEO, to effectively 
share and build our collective knowledge and 
functional expertise. These came about from our 
2019 Beyond Further working groups that saw 
Smartgroupers from different geographies and 
teams contribute ideas and initiatives to bring 
new ideas to life. This demonstration of learning 
and capability aligns with our employee value 
proposition of increasing each team member’s 
personal equity. Fostering a love of learning 
and sharing of knowledge and ideas between 
teams has demonstrated our culture of care 
and connection.

We also launched customer excellence training 
for our vehicle sales team to further enhance 
our service culture and continuously improve 
our customer experience. This program will 
continue to be rolled out and embedded across 
customer-facing teams in 2021.

Leadership and learning

Diversity and inclusion

Our leaders faced particular challenges this 
year. To help address these, we introduced 
people leader monthly webinars led by 
the CEO to answer questions and share 
information and inspiration. 

Capability building at every level of Smartgroup 
remains our primary people focus. We want 
our people to thrive in our environment and 
to have opportunities to achieve their fullest 
potential within our group. Our strong history 
of identifying talent and promoting internally 
has continued in 2020. 

Encouraging our people to acquire skills, 
particularly in the area of customer obsession, 
and change agility has helped us create talent 
pipelines, ensuring we have a future-ready 
team to deliver on our strategic imperatives. 
This year, we have conducted Real Talk 
Leadership training to further invest in leadership 
effectiveness and role modelling our values. 
We specifically chose the Real Talk Leadership 
program because of its focus on teamwork, 
transparency and individual accountability.

Belonging and valuing each team member 
for the unique contribution they make to our 
business remains a cornerstone of Smartgroup 
culture. In particular, we pride ourselves on 
being recognised as an inclusive and diverse 
employer. In recent years, we have proudly 
championed flexible work and raised awareness 
about difference and diversity to ensure 
everyone can contribute to their full potential 
within our organisation. As well as improving 
the working experiences of our people, this has 
helped us build a stronger culture with empathy, 
respect and care as its foundation.

Our diverse workforce includes gender-
balanced teams, over 70 cultures and strong 
representation of women in senior leadership 
positions. We continue to pioneer in the field 
of gender equality and are passionate about 
recognising and appreciating diversity in all 
forms. In 2020, we were one of the select group 
of 119 Australian companies recognised as an 
Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the 
Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). 
This accreditation reflects an elite standard of 
equality across seven key focus areas including 
leadership, accountability and gender pay equity 
– all issues we consider incredibly important.

Our achievements 
with our people 

25

As a diverse employer, we are 
committed to playing an active 
and ongoing role in providing 
equal employment opportunity 
to all people. Our Reconciliation 
Action Plan includes practical 
actions that will drive Smartgroup’s 
contribution to reconciliation ...

WORKING FOR OUR  
CUSTOMERS & OUR PEOPLE

Over 70 cultures 
are represented 
in our diverse 
workforce

Recognised as 
an Inclusive  
Employer by 
Diversity Council 
Australia for  
2019–2020

We were also recognised as a 2019–2020 
Inclusive Employer by Diversity Council Australia. 
In awarding us this recognition, we achieved a 
number of benchmarks pertaining to recognising 
and celebrating culture and faith and gender 
diversity as well as embracing the LGBTQI+ 
community and challenges associated with 
mental health in our teams.

In addition to this, we were proud to develop 
a Reconciliation Action Plan, providing 
Smartgroup with a framework to support the 
national reconciliation movement. As a diverse 
employer, we are committed to playing an active 
and ongoing role in providing equal employment 
opportunity to all people. Our Reconciliation 
Action Plan includes practical actions that will 
drive Smartgroup’s contribution to reconciliation, 
both internally and in the communities in which 
we operate. It is designed to contribute to 
advancing the five dimensions of reconciliation 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur achievements 
with our people 

26

WORKING FOR OUR  
CUSTOMERS & OUR PEOPLE

Relationships 
are at the heart 
of our business

The Diversity 
Speaks 
programme 
inspires and 
celebrates 
diversity and 
difference

by supporting Smartgroup to develop 
respectful relationships and create meaningful 
opportunities with Aboriginal and Torres Strait 
Islander peoples. 

Parents and carers represent almost half of our 
workforce. We want all people who work here to 
feel supported and valued through every stage 
of life. For parents and carers, we recognise the 
ongoing and changing challenges of being a 
carer and believe information, empathy, flexibility 
and support are equally valued by Smartgroup 
and our team members. In 2020, we were 
proud to launch Circle In – our Smartgroup 
parents and carers portal to help support 
Smartgroup team members who have caring 
responsibilities with a range of tools, information, 
easy access to relevant policies and stories 
shared by other team members. As a result 
of doing this, parents and carers have told us 
some myths have been busted through the 
sharing of stories of other Smartgroup carers, 
and sensitive topics have been addressed. 

We first introduced our Diversity Speaks 
programme in 2019 to inspire and celebrate 
diversity and difference. Every year, we choose 
a number of speakers to share their experiences 
with us – the goal being to help raise awareness 
and care. Whilst our usual array of Smartgroup 
events was constrained this year due to the 
impacts of the pandemic, we were proud to 
host two significant events during the year with 
remarkable guest speakers who shared their 
inspirational stories with us.

Australian Olympic and World Champion hurdler 
Sally Pearson presented to us on International 
Women’s Day, and Australian Paralympic 
and Commonwealth Games champion Kurt 
Fearnley presented to us on International 
Day of People with Disability. We chose Sally 
and Kurt because their stories of overcoming 
obstacles and adversity to achieve world-
class excellence whilst remaining humble, 
kind and quintessentially Australian-speaking 
to the very values that Smartgroup is proud 
to embody. Their experiences resonate as we 
seek to navigate change and continuously 
improve our practices for the betterment of 
our customers and clients. 

Our achievements 
with our people 

27

Smartgroup 
& relationships

EVERYTHING STEMS FROM  
STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Born in the north-east of England, with a 
background in nursing, Danielle was working 
for a not-for-profit as a development manager 
when she was approached by the owner of 
AccessPay because he liked the way she 
related to people.

She joined the company 10 years ago as State 
Manager for Western Australia, looking after the 
employees of not-for-profits based in Western 
Australia. The drawcard, she says, was working 
with people who did so much good for others 
and making sure that they received what 
amounted to a pay rise through packaging 
their salaries. In time, Danielle became 
General Manager Client Services.

“People who work in not-for-profits are 
entitled to specific benefits, and our job is 
to make sure they are able to make informed 
decisions about those arrangements,” says 
Danielle. “Relationships drive everything 
we do. When that’s right, everything else 
happens. For example, where we have 
healthy relationships with companies, 
we can work together to lift participation. 
That becomes a win-win for everyone. 
It helps the organisation keep its workforce, 
it rewards people for their work and we earn 
returns for our investors. 

“Success is about partnership, not just sales. 
We want every single person in each client 
organisation to understand salary packaging 
and to be aware of their eligibility, regardless 
of what they choose to do with that 
information. That way, they know their 
options and they can do what feels 
comfortable for them. They can then get 
in touch when they are ready to make 
the most of what they are entitled to.”

Danielle Crawford, General 
Manager Client Services 
enjoys the relationship focus 
we maintain at Smartgroup.

Three years ago, when the business was 
acquired by Smartgroup, Danielle was initially 
concerned that they could lose the personal feel 
that made the work so valuable and rewarding. 
Instead, she says, she found that Smartgroup 
brought the same ethos to the work but on a 
larger scale. Not only did Smartgroup believe in 
partnership, but the size of the business meant 
she was now working with a large section of the 
not-for-profit sector across Australia in her role 
as General Manager Client Services.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur achievements 
with our people 

28

Our purpose is to 
break through – to 
discover different and 
better ways to help 
service our customers.

New values launched as part 
of our Beyond Further initiative

Our purpose is to break through – to discover 
different and better ways to help service our 
customers. We’ve always said that the roles 
of our people are not defined by policies or 
job descriptions but rather by our actions and 
our behaviours in dealing with colleagues and 
customers and our broader community, day 
in and day out. We encourage everyone who 
works here, individually and as a team, to do 
what it takes to make a real difference at work.

This year, we refreshed our values to reflect 
our one company, one team culture and 
as an outcome and reflection of our brand 
harmonisation strategy. We chose to do that 
this year with the appointment of our new 
CEO, Tim Looi. These new values will ensure 
that, across all geographies, our team will 
demonstrate and celebrate behaviours 
that enable us to go Beyond Further. 

Our new values are:

We own it: 
Accountability

We care:  
Care

We think of we not me: 
Team

We continue to evolve our structure

Our successful acquisition of businesses across 
our different service areas in recent years has 
resulted in a complex operating model that 
was product focused and in need of a refresh. 
We’ve recognised that we need to simplify 
our business to capture opportunities by 
shifting to a more customer-centric model – 
one that provides us with a single view of the 
customer, service offerings that cater to different 
customer journeys and platforms that provide 
seamless customer engagement and enable 
us to deliver our customers the outcomes 
they are looking for.

To bring this alive, we have realigned our 
organisation to focus on our customers even 
more, using a front-to-back approach that 
seeks to better understand our customers 
and then embed those insights into our 
operational model and structure.

In arriving at these new values, we wanted 
to put much more emphasis on how we work 
together and act and to signal to our staff and 
to our customers the standards, service and 
sentiment you can expect from Smartgroup 
going forward.

Beyond Further expresses our commitment 
to going the extra mile in everything we do. 
It forms the frame of our culture and values 
and describes the essence and DNA of 
Smartgroup. Each week, we celebrate Beyond 
Further behaviours and story telling throughout 
our business. Doing this enables us to share, 
celebrate and inspire as we embrace our 
#onecompany #oneteam vision.

We also took the opportunity, through team 
member feedback from engagement surveys 
and benchmarking, to ensure we are continuing 
to nurture and keep our talented team members 
and attract new ones. To that end, we refreshed 
our perks to include Making a Difference Days, 
Summer Days leave, service awards and paid 
parental and carers leave. We chose these 
because they align with our focus on wellbeing 
and life/work balance as well as community 
support. The great response and take-up of 
these initiatives have been pleasing. Already, 
we’ve seen great feedback and uptake of 
our new perks.

Our achievements 
with our people 

29

Profile

666

70

Full-time equivalent team 
members across Australia.

Over 70 cultures represented 
by our workforce.

70%

Of Smartgroup team members 
are utilising flexible remote 
working arrangements.

2019-20

119

Recognised as an 
Inclusive Employer by 
Diversity Council Australia.

In 2020, one of the select group of 119 Australian companies 
recognised as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by 
the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

As an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality, we actively work to meet our targets: 

Gender pay equity 
across the group.

Recruitment activity is 
always proactively seeking 
to address gender balance 
in Smartgroup’s workforce. 

A gender balance of at least 
40% female and 40% male at 
all levels of the organisation 
below Board level.

All Smartgroup team members 
have access to the same 
training, development, 
promotions and career-
enhancing opportunities 
regardless of gender.

We continue to make progress towards our targets.

Achieve gender balance 
(40M/40F) in Group 
Executives by 2022 

Achieve gender balance 
(40M/40F) in senior 
managers by 2022  

Maintain gender balance 
(40M/40F) at front line 
manager and Team 
Member level

Achieved

Achieved

Achieved

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur actions  
in communities

30

FINDING  
SMART WAYS  
TO SUPPORT  
OTHERS

We pride ourselves on being good corporate citizens and 
therefore we have always had a philosophy of supporting 
clients and the community. Many of our clients operate in 
the public benevolent institutions sector, so it makes sense 
for us to align ourselves with their interests and objectives. 
This year, we continued to support community and charity 
organisations through direct sponsorships and also through 
the Smartgroup Foundation.

Smartgroup’s community sponsorship initiatives 
this year spanned four areas: sport, the arts, 
indigenous programs and advocacy for women. 
We’ve chosen to support these four areas 
because we see each of them individually as 
being important to the successful functioning 
and improvement of our society. 

Sadly, COVID-19 affected a number of our 
partnerships this year. Our fourth year of 
partnership with the Queensland Reds was 
interrupted, although the team were able to 
play in a domestic competition in which they 
were the runners up. Equally, the second year 
of our partnership with Opera Australia came to 
a halt when all three tiers – major performances, 
regional tour and schools tour – were shut 
down. Nevertheless, we are very proud to be 
supporting the arts community during this very 
difficult time and pleased that our partnership 
will continue in 2021. 

Things went a little more smoothly for our third 
year of partnership with women’s rugby in 
Australia through the Wallaroos and Super W 
competitions. These partnerships advance the 
professionalism of women’s rugby, allowing 
these talented women to pursue their athletic 
ambitions. While the Wallaroos season was 
also cancelled for 2020, the Super W season 
was all but complete before the COVID-19 
pandemic struck.

The third year of our partnership to support 
PCYC Indigenous programs was also one 
of mixed fortunes. COVID-19 saw the 
cancellation of the Bunburra Corroboree 
Education Workshop and Touch Football 
Tournament on the Gold Coast, but PCYC 
QLD was able to restart the Catch Me If 
You Can program in Hervey Bay in term 4. 
This will be expanded in term 1 2021 with 
new programs in Cherbourg, Yarrabah and 
Napranum. We are very proud to support such 
positive programs for both the Indigenous 
young people of these communities and the 
QLD Police officers delivering the program. 

Our support of the UN Women National 
Committee Australia went ahead without 
interruption, with Smartgroup hosting tables 
at UN Women’s International Women’s Day 
Breakfasts in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, 
Perth and Canberra. 

 
Our actions  
in communities

31

11

We’ve supported 11 
deserving projects run by 
community organisations 
over two rounds of grants 
in 2020.

5

Charities supported with 
donations in 2020 to assist 
with the bushfire recovery 
efforts across Australia.

2021

COVID-19 caused significant 
disruption to many activities 
planned for 2020, and we’re 
optimistically looking forward 
to 2021. 

Smartgroup is committed to giving back to the community in which we 
live and operate. In 2020, we were proud to continue our community 
sponsorships and work by the Smartgroup Foundation, notwithstanding 
the challenges of COVID-19.

Highlights 

Some 2020 achievements:

•  We continued to fund important 

community sponsorship activities 
notwithstanding the challenges 
of COVID-19 

• 

In its second year, our Smartgroup 
Foundation provided funding for 
deserving community projects run 
by 11 not-for-profit organisations

•  We enjoyed our third year of 

partnership with women’s rugby 
through the Super W competition
•  We supported the restart of the PCYC 
Queensland Catch Me If You Can 
programs in the second half of the year

•  All the UN Women National 
Committee Australia events 
went ahead without interruption

Challenges 

•  The impacts of COVID-19 saw many 
planned events by our sponsorship 
partners needing to be delayed or 
cancelled for the year

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur actions  
in communities

32

The Smartgroup Foundation

Established in 2019, the Smartgroup Foundation 
was created to give back to grassroots charities 
in areas selected by Smartgroup employees. 

We surveyed our team members 
to ask them the areas that they 
would like the Foundation to 
support, and they nominated the 
following six areas: 

Animal welfare

Children and 
families at risk

Children’s 
illnesses and 
disabilities

Cancer

Mental illness

The environment

This year, we provided funding for deserving 
projects run by 11 organisations through two 
rounds of grants. The projects were chosen 
because they were grassroots initiatives to 
improve our community working across the 
areas nominated by our team members, and 
in each case, they met the selection criteria 
required for approval. 

Our actions  
in communities

33

The work done by the Smartgroup Foundation this year 
reinforces our commitment to supporting the not-for-profit 
sector and the communities that we work with and service.

Organisation

The project we supported

Child Abuse Protection 
Services (NSW)

MacKillop Family Services 

A Safe Arrival program for refugee and migrant mothers in two NSW communities.

PawPals program – a canine assisted learning program to help re-engage young 
people and get them back into the classroom and back to school.

Chris O’Brien Lifehouse

The purchase of two pieces of equipment to enable training in specialised 
radiation therapy techniques.

United Way South Australia 

Imagination Library – an early literacy program that gifts a monthly book pack to 
children aged 0 to 5 years living in disadvantaged communities in South Australia. 

Zoe Support Australia 

The Banksia Project 

Zoe Support Centre for Growing and Learning project – funding the lease of 
one centre in Mildura in North West Victoria, a region with significant entrenched 
poverty, for 12 months so that young mothers (age 13–25) can continue their 
education pathways.

Rural Growth Rooms expansion – funding the opening of two new Growth 
Rooms in Gippsland and rural Victoria to support rural men. The Growth Rooms 
are free, peer-to-peer sessions that provide an opportunity for men to come 
together, connect and support one another.

Berry Street

Participating in funding for a Multisystemic Therapy program for 50 families and 
270 young people entering care over three years.

Sir David Martin Foundation – 
Triple Care Farm 

Aftercare program – funding four young people to participate in the six-month 
aftercare program after completing their substance addiction rehabilitation at 
the Triple Care Farm.

Eastern Health

Seabin Foundation

The purchase of two Smileyscope Virtual Reality headsets and the upgrade 
of an existing headset for use in paediatric emergency rooms in hospitals.

Funding two Seabins at a Sydney-based marina. Seabins act as a floating 
garbage bin in the ocean skimming the surface of the water and collecting 
marine debris.

One Eighty

Funding for Lifeline Accidental Counsellor training and Mental Health First Aid 
training for a number of young people. 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur actions  
in communities

34

CONTRIBUTING TO  
BRIGHTER FUTURES

Smartgroup sponsors two PCYC Queensland 
programs that are helping young indigenous 
girls and boys gain new perspectives 
and experiences.

Smartgroup 
& PCYC 
Queensland

“It’s a very effective program,” says Phil Schultz, 
CEO, PCYC Queensland. “The kids leave the 
program with a newfound respect for Police 
and authority. It’s been very successful.”

Each year, around 100 boys and girls take 
part – many of them from remote communities 
in Northern Queensland – with each program 
catering for 12–15 young adults. Smartgroup 
funds several of the programs. 

This year, lockdowns in Queensland meant 
programs in the first half of 2020 were affected 
because no-one could come in or out of 
communities. But Catch Me If You Can resumed 
in the second half of the year, and Phil Schultz 
is confident it will continue running in 2021.

We also contribute to Bunburra, an annual touch 
rugby event for indigenous boys and girls held at 
Surfers Paradise. 200 young people from all over 
Queensland come to the event and play in the 
competition which is held on the beach.

“To get to the event, kids need to have attended 
school and worked very hard,” says Phil Schultz. 
“The reward for all that hard work is that they get 
to have exciting new experiences – from travelling 
to and staying in Surfers Paradise to the opening 
and closing ceremonies, the games themselves 
and the celebrations and fireworks afterwards. 
They then take that positivity back to their 
communities, acting as strong role models 
for those around them.” 

The event, which has been running for five 
years now, was cancelled this year because of 
COVID-19 but is expected to return next year.

“Smartgroup are an important member of our 
sponsorship family for this event,” says Phil 
Schultz. “Events like this couldn’t happen without 
sponsorship, and Smartgroup’s involvement 
contributes both to the success of the event 
and to the further development of indigenous 
youth in Queensland. We are very appreciative 
of the funding – it makes a big difference for 
these kids and their futures.”

Phil Schultz, 
CEO, PCYC 
Queensland

PCYC Queensland first got involved with 
Smartgroup when we organised salary 
packaging for their staff. Later, we did a fleet 
review when the organisation decided to shift 
from owning to leasing their fleet. But through 
that relationship has come a deeper association 
that has seen us take on sponsorship for two 
major PCYC programs: Bunburra touch rugby 
league and Catch Me If You Can. Catch Me If 
You Can is a program for young Aboriginal girls 
and boys. The program pairs young adults with 
local mentors from business, Police and sports 
teams in group and one-on-one mentoring 
sessions. The goal is to help them find their 
way forward and form a relationship with 
people in authority.

Our actions  
in communities

35

“Nearly everyone I know has experienced 
some type of domestic violence … 
I personally experienced it at the age 
of 14 and know how difficult it can be to 
report the abuse and access the various 
support services available,” says Montana. 
“What inspires me the most is that I am in 
a role where I am able to support victims 
and educate the community on family 
violence … I am honoured to have been 
given this opportunity. I’m excited about 
furthering my education and developing 
my skills in my field of work as it will 
teach and help me improve the way 
I communicate and educate others 
about domestic violence.” 

Our two inaugural Regional South Training 
Scholarships were awarded to two 
invaluable Anglicare WA staff members 
in the South West of Western Australia. 
Deborah Fitzgerald of Albany will be 
undertaking training in treating PTSD 
and complex trauma, and the skills and 
knowledge she receives will support 
her appointment in her role of Child and 
Adolescent Counsellor. Libby Coatsworth 
from Bunbury has also been given a 
scholarship and will be undertaking a 
certificate of play therapy to support 
her current diploma studies and her 
passion for working with children.

Congratulations to all three winners this year. 
It is a pleasure to continue to work alongside 
Anglicare WA, as they do so much good in 
the community, and for these scholarships 
to make it possible for Montana, Deborah 
and Libby to further extend their skills.

LIFE-CHANGING OPPORTUNITIES  
FOR THOSE WHO CHANGE LIVES

Anglicare WA is one of the largest social service 
providers in Western Australia. With 55 locations 
across the state, 620 staff, hundreds of 
volunteers and 88 services, the organisation 
works relentlessly to address a full range 
of social needs. 

We’ve been working with Anglicare WA for more 
than 18 years. Today, we assist them with salary 
packaging and novated leasing for more than 
60% of their people and help them manage their 
vehicle fleet. It’s a strong relationship and one 

Smartgroup 
& Anglicare WA

Scholarship winner 
and domestic violence 
worker, Montana, based 
in Kununurra in the  
East Kimberley.

where our people are deeply involved on a 
day-to-day basis.

Recognising that their frontline teams are critical 
to the success of their services, last year, we 
introduced a scholarship to help regional and 
remote Anglicare WA staff access educational 
opportunities that would not normally be 
available to them. This scholarship was so 
well received that this year we added two 
more regionally based scholarships to make 
a true difference for these people who do 
such amazing work.

The first scholarship this year was awarded to 
Montana, an inspiring Aboriginal woman who is 
a domestic violence worker in the North West. 
Montana is based in Kununurra in the East 
Kimberley and provides a critical response 
service to people in her community. Her training 
and development scholarship greatly enhanced 
her professional knowledge, and as a direct 
consequence it now benefits the clients she 
connects with each day.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur commitment  
to the environment

36

ACTIVELY  
MANAGING  
  OUR 

IMPACTS

Exciting expansion of our  
Carbon Offset Program

Smartgroup has partnered with Greenfleet 
since 2008 to provide a Carbon Offset 
Program to novated leasing customers. 

This year, we expanded our program into 
South Australia and Western Australia with 
the introduction of two new partners – The 
Nature Conservancy and Carbon Positive 
Australia. These new environmental partners 
increase our presence nationally and diversify 
the environmental projects we are involved with. 
To date, our Carbon Offset Program, Purple 
Meets Green has contributed to 699,408 tonnes 
of carbon being removed from the environment. 

As an ASX200 listed organisation and a good corporate 
citizen, we are committed to playing our part in improving 
communities and our environment. This year, we expanded 
our Carbon Offset Program and continued to enhance our 
other conservation activities by working with our clients to 
increase their fleet efficiencies and by further streamlining 
our own operations.

Our direct carbon impact is relatively low

Our novated leasing and fleet management 
services provide clients and customers with 
convenient and cost-effective ways to own 
and operate vehicles. However, whilst our 
business is connected to cars, our direct 
environmental impact is low because we do 
not own the vehicles, or direct or influence 
the purchase decision around the choice of 
vehicle by our customers. 

Title to the vehicles is almost always held by 
the financier or by the customer, so we generally 
have very few vehicle assets on our balance 
sheet. That said, we recognise that we have 
a unique ability to help contribute to lowering 
Australia’s carbon load, particularly in our 
novated lease management offering, and 
we continue to do this through our innovative 
Carbon Offset Program and other measures.

 
Our commitment  
to the environment

37

Contributed to

699,408

tonnes of carbon being 
removed from the 
environment since inception 
of the Purple Meets Green 
Carbon Offset Program

86.4%

Reduction in carbon 
emissions from air travel 
per FTE from 2019 to 2020

2

New environmental 
partners added in 2020 to 
the Purple Meets Green 
Carbon Offset Program

We continue to look for ways to do right by the environment 
through our partnership programs and sponsorships and 
monitoring and adjusting our own operations to minimise 
our impact.

Highlights

Some 2020 achievements:

•  We expanded our Carbon Offset 
Program into South Australia and 
Western Australia with the introduction 
of two new Purple Meets Green partners 
– The Nature Conservancy and Carbon 
Positive Australia

•  We continued to improve our fleet 

efficiencies via smart vehicle allocation, 
car sharing and telematics by Smartfleet
•  Our air travel was significantly reduced 
this year, and all carbon from air travel 
was offset

•  We continued to increase our use of 
video technology for our office-based 
and remote staff

•  We continued to reduce our energy 

consumption

•  We continued to reduce the waste 

created by paper forms and documents

Challenges

•  Our ability to influence the vehicle 

choices of our novated leasing and fleet 
management customers is limited, but 
we continue to look for ways in which 
we can assist customers to manage 
their carbon impact

•  We continue to look for ways to more 

effectively manage our electronic waste 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur commitment  
to the environment

38

Our partnership with the Adelaide 
Coastal Wetlands Restoration 
Project through The Nature 
Conservancy will enable Smartgroup 
customers to offset the carbon 
emissions of their leased vehicles 
and contribute to the restoration of 
the coastal wetland. 

WORKING FOR OUR  
CUSTOMERS & OUR ENVIRONMENT

Working closely 
with The Nature 
Conservancy

Saltmarsh, mangrove 
and seagrass beds 
capture and store 
carbon at a rate 30 to 
50 times higher than 
vegetated habitat

The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation 
organisation dedicated to conserving the lands 
and waters on which all life depends. This highly 
trusted organisation works in 79 countries on 
innovative solutions to our world’s toughest 
challenges so that nature and people can 
thrive together. 

The Nature Conservancy has been working with 
the Government of South Australia and coastal 
ecologists on the Adelaide Coastal Wetlands 
Restoration Project – a project that will have a 
significant impact for the local environment as 
well as delivering carbon capture and storage. 

The site adjoins the Adelaide International Bird 
Sanctuary, a critically important habitat for many 
Australian and migratory birds. Around 15,000 
shorebirds gather here for up to six months 
each year before migrating to breeding grounds 
in China, Siberia and elsewhere in East Asia. 
Expanding the habitat available to these birds 
will strengthen global conservation efforts along 
one of the world’s three great migratory bird 
flight paths. Over the next two years, the team 
will restore natural tidal flow to a stranded 
wetland, which will expand the area where 
mangroves and saltmarsh can grow. 

Our partnership with the Adelaide Coastal 
Wetlands Restoration Project* through The 
Nature Conservancy will enable Smartgroup 
customers to offset the carbon emissions of 
their leased vehicles and contribute to the 
restoration of the coastal wetland. 

Normally, carbon capture projects involve 
planting trees, but The Nature Conservancy 
is demonstrating that coastal ocean 
ecosystems also capture carbon dioxide from 
the atmosphere – putting it at the forefront of 
“blue carbon” in Australia. That is significant 
because saltmarsh, mangrove and seagrass 
beds capture and store carbon at a rate up 
to 40 times higher than vegetated habitat. 

We will also be supporting an important 
restoration project in the Eurardy Reserve 
in Western Australia through our partnership 
with Carbon Positive Australia, where 1,350ha 
of previously cleared bushland is being restored 
to its former natural glory. 

*  No tradable or third-party certified carbon 

credit will be produced from the Project, and 
the Project will not result in any carbon rights 
or carbon ownership for either voluntary or 
compliance offset purposes.

Our commitment  
to the environment

39

Carbon Positive Australia has worked on some 
of the largest native tree planting projects in 
Australia including the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity 
Corridor Project and the Gondwana Link. 
Since 2006, it has planted almost 6 million 
native trees across 5,000 hectares. 

Eurardy Reserve is owned by Bush Heritage 
and forms a crucial ecological linkage between 
the Kalbarri National Park to the west and 
the Toolonga Nature Reserve to the northeast. 
This area contains at least 12.6% of the world’s 
rare flora and fauna and is of great cultural and 
biological significance.

Eurardy is also located within what is known 
as the South Western Botanical Province. 
The Reserve protects more than 700 plant 
species, including five nationally endangered 
or vulnerable species. Provincial plants are 
special because they only grow in specific 
ecosystems determined by climate and 
vegetation type. Eurardy’s yellow soils, for 
example, are home to kwongan heathland, 
which is recognised globally as a significant 
threatened ecosystem.

Smartgroup customers who choose to offset 
the carbon emissions of their novated leased 
vehicles are now contributing to planting native 
trees at Eurardy Reserve. On average, offsetting 
the carbon emissions of a small car will equate 
to 27 trees being planted each year. For a 
medium-sized car, it’s 32 trees, and for a larger 
car, 36 trees a year will be planted. 

Projects like this not only provide carbon sinks 
but also provide much-needed protection 
to threatened species and ecosystems. After 
last year’s fire season and the colossal loss of 
natural habitat, flora and fauna, expanding our 
environmental programs to include nature-based 
solutions such as tree planting is a positive and 
practical way for our Smartgroup community to 
help contribute to vital local restoration projects. 

Helping to recycle tyres

Every year in Australia, owners of motor 
vehicles dispose of 56 million used tyres. 
We recognise that our customers are 
contributing to this significant landfill issue 
and the adverse environmental impact it 
creates. From late 2018, we’ve partnered 
with Tyre Stewardship, an Australia Competition 
and Consumer Commission-accredited 
recycling program working with major tyre 
retailers throughout Australia to recycle tyres 
for uses that include road resurfacing and 
children’s playground ‘safe’ surfaces.

Promoting sustainable and 
ethical supply chain management

A majority of our annual supplier spend is in 
relation to our contracted providers of facilities, 
IT, facilities, contractors and temporary staff, 
consulting and specialist advice, business 
development and marketing. These make up our 
largest supply agreements and are overseen by 
the relevant Executive and by our Procurement 
Manager and Finance team. The remaining 
supplier spend is in relation to smaller, regular 
products and services or one-off requirements. 
In 2019, we implemented a Group Procurement 
Policy, overseen by Finance to govern our 
procurement decisions for third party supplied 
products and services at a group level. The key 
objectives of the policy are to achieve value for 
money; encourage sustainable competition; 
demonstrate probity, ethical behaviour and 
accountability; make efficient and effective 
use of  resources and mitigate supplier risk.

Smartgroup does not tolerate or support the 
use of forced or compulsory labour, and we 
extend this approach through all areas of our 
supply chain. Smartgroup has a structured 
approach to Modern Slavery, as follows, 
that ensures both Smartgroup as well as our 
suppliers, operate a sustainable and ethical 
supply chain and to help protect against Modern 
Slavery. We are working with our employees 
and our suppliers to extend our Modern Slavery 
obligations and impact in the following areas:

1.  Policy – incorporation of Modern Slavery 

obligations into our policies and work practices.

2.  Education – Working with our staff and our 
suppliers to educate them on the impacts 
of modern slavery.

3.  Assurance – defining the risk profile in 
our supply chain, prioritising risk areas 
and proactively engaging with our suppliers 
to confirm their compliance.

To date, Smartgroup has incorporated Modern 
Slavery into our Group Procurement Policy, 
conducted a detailed risk assessment across 
our supplier network, rolled out Modern Slavery 
training across all senior team members and 
has defined standard compliance terms and 
conditions that are incorporated into all our 
new supplier contracts and existing supplier 
contracts upon renewal. We are required by 
the Modern Slavery Act in Australia to issue a 
Modern Slavery Statement and our first report 
will be issued in June 2021 and will cover the 
2020 financial year.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamOur commitment  
to the environment

40

Fleet efficiency initiatives

The vehicles that we allocate through our fleet 
business travel many millions of kilometres 
collectively every year. Our Smartfleet business 
is committed to facilitating the efficient use of 
vehicles in workplaces. The following example 
shows the impact that Smartfleet made for one 
of our government clients after taking over their 
fleet management services:

SINCE COMMENCEMENT:

Number of vehicles 
dropped from:

1,180

To

916

18.6%

Reduction in 
number of 
vehicles

WITHIN THE FIRST TWO YEARS:

Fuel  
usage dropped

16.01%

Combined CO2 
emissions reduced by

15.42%

Access to rental cars 
tightened with total vehicle 
rental days falling from.

6,000 2,100

to

Distance travelled by  
all vehicles down

10.41%

delivering savings 
the equivalent to 
six full-time vehicles.

Three initiatives are reducing unnecessary 
vehicle utilisation and contributing to a reduction 
in our clients’ environmental footprints: 

•  Smart vehicle allocation – Pool Vehicle 

Booking is a powerful online module that 
maximises the usage and availability of 
vehicles, reducing trip duplication and 
identifying excess vehicles, saving time 
and money and, ultimately, reducing the 
environmental impact of the fleet.

•  Car sharing – Smartfleet has partnered with 
DriveMyCar to provide a simple on-demand 
car-sharing service to help organisations 
meet short-term vehicle requirements, 
reducing both the cost and carbon 
footprint associated with running a fleet.

•  Telematics by Smartfleet – We have 

partnered with FleetComplete to offer 
telematics to clients. Telematics helps 
ensure driver safety and helps reduce 
inefficiencies in driver behaviour and vehicle 
use, which can otherwise increase both 
the costs to maintain vehicles and fuel 
consumption (and therefore emissions).

Our commitment  
to the environment

41

We have reduced our operational 
offices from seven to six, which 
reduced our electricity usage 
and carbon emissions. This year, 
we continued to invest in rolling 
out enhanced video conferencing 
technology and reduced our 
carbon emissions from air travel 
by 396 tonnes. 

Low Glow project – Barolin Nature Reserve, 
Bundaberg QLD

Of course, carbon is not the only form 
of pollution that is adversely affecting 
environments. The Low Glow project is 
a long-term project aimed at protecting 
endangered turtles in an environmentally 
sensitive area impacted by artificial light from 
a nearby city and involves forming a green 
curtain to shield the sea turtle hatchery.

We’ve supported Greenfleet’s Low Glow 
project since it began in 2016. To extend the 
project, Bundaberg Regional Council received 
a Smart Cities grant, which they are managing 
to build a “light map” and find more ways for 
the community to reduce light pollution to 
protect the local sea turtle population. 

Air and land travel 

Our air travel was significantly lower this year. 
Flights generated 57.95 tonnes of carbon 
dioxide, which is 396 tonnes less than in 2019. 
Once again, we offset 100% of the annual 
carbon emissions from work-related air travel. 

We had already increased our use of video 
conferencing technology to connect our 
office-based and remote staff in 2019, giving 
us greater flexibility and workplace efficiency. 
This was further rolled out throughout 2020. 
In April, we moved swiftly from onsite activities 
with customers to virtual working, delivering 
over 30,000 one-on-one phone and webinar 
sessions to clients and customers throughout 
the year. Greater virtual connectivity across 
all our sites will have a positive and permanent 
impact on our travel-related spend and 
carbon footprint.

Reducing our energy consumption 

Last year we also reduced our operational 
offices from seven to six, which reduced our 
electricity usage and carbon emissions. This 
year, we again engaged BidEnergy to measure 
our electricity usage and emissions for all offices 
around Australia. Our electricity emissions are 
reported in the corporate sustainability 
scorecard on page 42. 

Responsible environmental management 
in our day-to-day operations 

We continue to optimise processes by 
improving our online offering and making it 
easier for our customers to interact with us 
digitally, reducing the waste created by paper 
forms and documents.

We also facilitate waste separation and recycling 
in each of our offices nationally. Last year, we 
continued the implementation of initiatives to 
reduce the amount of paper and by-products 
used to print, with all paper used for printing in 
our offices made from recycled paper or from 
sustainably sourced forests.

Opportunities to improve the environments 
we all share are many and varied. Our approach 
continues to be one of doing what we can to 
set the right example internally, while leveraging 
our relationships and forging sponsorships 
that enable us to have the most positive effect 
we can.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamCorporate 
sustainability 
scorecard

42

Corporate sustainability scorecard

People

Headcount

Full-time equivalents (FTEs) (excluding temps) 

Number of permanent employees

Permanent employees who are female (%)

Number of full-time permanent employees

Full-time employees who are female (%)

Number of part-time permanent employees

Part-time employees who are female (%)

Number of fixed-term/temp/casual employees

Fixed-term/temp/casual employees who are female (%)

Employee engagement score (%)

Employee participation in the engagement survey

Eligible employees receiving annual performance reviews (%)

Team members eligible to participate in training and development (%)

2020

2019

2018

697

630

605

54%

547

50%

58

88%

92

52%

54%

69%

100%

100%

762

689

661

51%

594

47%

67

90%

100

55%

52%

79%

100%

100%

752

695

670

50%

605

46%

65

83%

82

60%

55%

76%

100%

100%

Safety incidents per FTE (total)

<0.01 (2)

0.07 (45)

0.08 (59)

Lost-time injury frequency rate (injuries/million hours worked)

Absenteeism (%)

Risk culture score (risk awareness, values and behaviours) (%)

Parental leave

Number of employees who took parental leave

Number of employees who returned to work after leave

Employee share ownership

Employee share plan participation rate (% of eligible employees)

Number of employee shareholders (via share plan)

Employee gender diversity

Board

Executive

Senior management

All employees

Environment

Electricity – total consumption (kWh)

Electricity (tonnes CO2-e per FTE)

Air travel (tonnes CO2 per FTE)

Land travel (tonnes CO2-e per FTE)

Printed material (tonnes CO2-e total)

Customers

Net Promoter Score (average monthly score) – Smartsalary and Smartleasing only

Net Promoter Score (average monthly score) – Smartgroup*

3.35

2%

80%

3.24

2%

74%

2.83

2%

66%

F 18  M 18

F 13  M 17

F 31  M 20 

F 40  M 11 

F 21  M 19

F 28  M  5

49%

325

54%

422 

63%

422 

F 25%  M 75%    F 25%  M 75% 

F 14%  M 86% 

F 50%  M 50%    F 43%  M 57% 

F 38%  M 62% 

F 46%  M 54% F 47%  M 53% 

F 46%  M 54% 

F 53%  M 47%    F 51%  M 49% 

F 51%  M 49% 

402,922

557,707

690,207

0.50

0.09

0.13

0.79

44

38

0.65

0.66

0.25

2.44

46

–

0.78

1.00

0.31

2.07

47

–

Customer complaints (as a percentage of total customers)

0.32%

0.74%

1.02%

* Average monthly NPS for Smartsalary, Smartleasing, AccessPay and Advantage.

Corporate 
sustainability 
scorecard

43

SNAPSHOT:

Gender diversity targets of 

40/40/20*

achieved at Executive, 
Senior Management and 
All Employee levels.

Gender targets of 

40/40/20*

set for our Board to achieve 
by the end of 2023.

56,738

tonnes of carbon offset 
through our Carbon Offset 
Program, Purple Meets 
Green, throughout 2020.

$179,000

Donated to 11 worthwhile 
projects through the 
Smartgroup Foundation 
in 2020.

2

new partners introduced to 
Purple Meets Green in 2020.

100%

of carbon from air travel by 
Smartgroup team members 
was offset in 2020.

40/40/20 targets describe a target gender representation of at least 
40% female, 40% male and 20% either gender.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamGovernance 
and risk 
management

44

Governance and risk management

Smartgroup believes that good corporate governance is 
key to maximising company performance and delivering high 
returns to shareholders. Smartgroup has a strong corporate 
governance framework in place, which is reported in the 
Corporate Governance Statement (available at http://ir.
smartgroup.com.au/Investors/?page=Corporate-Governance).

Smartgroup operates in a dynamic environment and is 
exposed to risks associated with operating in the salary 
packaging and novated leasing industry. Smartgroup 
recognises risk management as an integral part of good 
corporate governance and as fundamental in achieving its 
strategic and operational objectives. 

The Board is responsible for:

• 

reviewing, ratifying and monitoring management’s 
framework and systems of risk management, internal 
controls and compliance;

•  approving policies relating to and overseeing the 

management of financial and non-financial risks, including 
economic, environmental and social sustainability risks; and

•  setting the risk appetite within which the Board expects 

management to operate.

A Risk Management Policy (available at http://ir.smartgroup.com.
au/Investors/?page=Corporate-Governance) and a Risk 
Management Framework are in place to identify, assess, manage 
and report risks on a consistent and reliable basis in accordance 

with the risk appetite and tolerances set by the Board. 
Accountability for risk management is structured as:

•  management is responsible for managing all risks, 

where possible;

•  a dedicated risk function (under the Chief Risk Officer) 
provides risk management expertise and oversight for 
business risk management activities; and

•  an internal audit function provides independent assurance 
regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of Smartgroup’s 
system of internal controls and risk management procedures.

The Board regularly discusses the economic, environmental and 
social sustainability risks (including risks relating to the COVID-19 
pandemic) that it considers are likely to have a material effect on 
Smartgroup’s financial performance or enterprise value. Relevant 
risks are reported on Smartgroup’s risk register and are closely 
analysed by the Board and the Audit and Risk Committee. 

Additional information in relation to risk management can be found 
throughout the Annual Report and in the Corporate Governance 
Statement that is available on the Smartgroup website.

Material risks

The material risks that could adversely affect Smartgroup’s 
future business, operations and financial performance are 
outlined below.

Risks and opportunities

How we respond

Australian private new car market

The success of Smartgroup’s novated leasing business is driven 
by a buoyant Australian private new car market. New car sales 
have been in steady decline in recent years. 

There remains uncertainty around the impact of COVID-19 
on consumer spending and the supply of new cars and, 
consequently, the new car sales market.

Regulatory environment

The salary packaging and novated leasing industry has been 
subject to regulatory scrutiny following the Hayne Royal 
Commission. There are regulatory proposals to address a 
perception of customer detriment from the sale of certain add-on 
insurance products. These changes are likely to impact 
Smartgroup’s operations and the demand for some of our products 
and services.

•  Continue to promote the advantages of novated leasing to 

customers who wish to acquire a car.

•  Where an existing customer does not wish to acquire another 
car, Smartgroup is focusing on maximising customer retention 
through refinancing of existing cars.

•  Smartgroup has a large dealer panel across the country that 

supports our ability to source new cars. 

•  We continue to explore new product and service offerings whilst 
developing new distribution channels to drive business growth. 

•  We monitor and proactively engage with regulatory and 

industry bodies on proposed changes to prevent unintended 
consequences and improve customer outcomes.

•  We evaluate the requirements of new regulations, legislation 

and industry practices and implement the control environment 
required to comply with them.

Fringe benefits tax

The provision of products and services within salary packaging 
administration and novated leasing is underpinned by the 
associated benefits permitted under fringe benefits tax (FBT) 
legislation. Changes to these laws may adversely impact the salary 
packaging benefits administered by Smartgroup and could render 
any of Smartgroup’s product offerings less profitable or obsolete.

•  Through our membership of NALSPA, we support initiatives 
to communicate the macro-economic benefits arising from 
the existing FBT policy settings, including the significant role 
salary packaging plays in the financial wellbeing of many 
everyday Australians.

•  We continue to explore growth opportunities aligned to our 
core business but outside the scope of FBT legislation.

Governance 
and risk 
management

45

Risks and opportunities

Cyber security/data privacy

Cyber attacks may compromise technology platforms used 
by Smartgroup to store confidential information of clients and 
customers. It is possible that measures taken by Smartgroup 
do not prevent or detect unauthorised access to or disclosure 
of confidential information. Any successful cyber attack could 
result in the loss of information or assets, breaches of data 
privacy laws and/or client agreements and extended outages 
of technology platforms and potentially, client losses.

How we respond

•  A dedicated IT security team monitors, assesses and continues 

to enhance our resilience to cyber threats.

•  A number of policies govern the management of information 

security across Smartgroup.

•  The Privacy Policy governs how we collect, use, disclose and 

hold personal information.

•  A training program continually raises team members’ awareness 

on privacy and cyber security threats.

Business interruptions

Similar to other companies, Smartgroup is exposed to the risk of 
business disruption caused by loss of key team members, failure 
of IT systems and cyber attacks. Any systemic failure or sustained 
interruption could impair Smartgroup’s operations and customer 
service levels and client retention. Furthermore, disaster recovery 
plans may prove to be ineffective and insurance policies may fail 
to cover all damages and losses suffered.

•  The Business Resilience Policy and Framework guide 
Smartgroup’s response to major incidents and our 
recovery plans. 

•  We periodically test our ability to respond effectively 

to interruptions. 

•  We continually monitor and refresh our investment in our 
IT infrastructure and systems to support the continuity 
of our operations.

Business transformation

The execution of Smartgroup’s strategy and focus on continuous 
improvement may introduce changes to our business operations 
(including processes, systems, team members, capability and 
capacity). Change and transformation projects that are not well 
executed have the potential to cause significant disruptions, 
resulting in client losses, customer dissatisfaction and team 
member disengagement. 

People/Team members

A stable and experienced management team is key to the success 
of Smartgroup. The management team has deep knowledge of the 
business and the industry and strong relationships with key clients. 
The loss of key personnel may adversely affect Smartgroup.

Suppliers

Smartgroup is dependent on a number of key suppliers to 
provide services and products, such as technology, insurance 
and salary packaging cards. The availability, performance and 
reliability of their services and products are critical to the 
continuity of Smartgroup operations.

Funding 

Smartgroup depends on financial institutions to provide funding 
for our novated leasing customers. Any loss of access to funding 
or material changes to the terms of funding for our customers 
could adversely affect Smartgroup’s ability to attract or retain 
novated leasing customers.

Workplace health and safety

Smartgroup is committed to providing a safe and healthy 
environment for our team members. The current COVID-19 
pandemic has also required us to embrace new ways of 
working that carry heightened risks relating to safety, health 
and wellbeing.

Key client contracts

Most of Smartgroup’s contracts with clients are for fixed terms 
and are subject to renewal or tender processes. In addition, 
some contracts can be terminated by the client without cause, 
prior to the end of the contract term. The loss of multiple key clients 
through termination or failure to renew is likely to affect 
Smartgroup’s financial performance.

•  A dedicated Project Management Office (PMO) resourced with 
senior project managers governs and manages change and 
transformation activities.

•  Project management methodologies and prioritisation guide the 
initiation, approval, prioritisation and management of projects. 
•  Post-implementation reviews are conducted to ensure lessons 

learned are incorporated into future projects.

•  A talent development program and capability assessments 
of key people leaders are in place to support ongoing 
succession planning. 

•  Short-term and long-term incentive plans support the retention 
of key personnel and the successful execution of our strategy.

•  We negotiate contracts with strong terms and contingencies 
to facilitate the continuity of services and products from 
key suppliers.

•  We work to diversify our exposure to key suppliers where 

appropriate to reduce the risk of single-supplier dependency. 

•  We have formal contractual agreements to govern our 

funding arrangements with financial institutions. Multi-year 
contractual agreements ensure continued access to funding 
at competitive terms.

•  Smartgroup has relationships and established funding 

arrangements with multiple financial institutions.

•  The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Policy sets out our 

commitment to providing a work environment that ensures 
the health and safety of team members. 

•  Mental health awareness training, tools and support are 

delivered to managers and team members. 

•  Processes are in place for team members to report safety 

hazards and incidents. 

•  Our priority has been to protect the health, safety and wellbeing 
of our team members during COVID-19. We have regular 
communication with team members to promote awareness 
of physical and mental wellbeing and actively monitor relevant 
indicators to identify areas to address. We have implemented 
COVID-19 safety protocols in our offices.

•  Business growth continues to reduce the revenue concentration 
with key clients. The 10 largest contracts now represent a 
smaller percentage of total revenues compared to prior years.

•  We monitor client and customer satisfaction through 
Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and customer feedback.

•  Refer also to the “Competition” section.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamGovernance 
and risk 
management

Risks and opportunities

Competition

The salary packaging and novated leasing industry is subject 
to increasing competition in respect of pricing, products and 
services and delivery platforms. Competition may also increase 
from mergers between existing competitors or the entry of 
new competitors. Smartgroup’s competitive position in the 
market may deteriorate as a result of these factors or by failure 
of Smartgroup to respond to changes in market conditions, 
customer demands or technology advancement, with possible 
consequences for client retention and profitability. 

46

How we respond

•  We continue to transform our business operations to be 
more customer-centric and digitally enabled. Anticipated 
improvements to our cost to serve and maintaining our 
recognised position as an industry leader in customer care 
and innovation provide us with a competitive advantage.
•  We are focused on how we engage with our customers 
and improve our understanding of their needs and 
expectations so that products and services can be 
tailored and delivered accordingly.

•  We continue to focus on creating exceptional experiences for 
our customers and using innovation to drive process efficiency.

Sustainability 

•  Refer to the sustainability report (p. 36).

Smartgroup recognises that our long-term success relies upon the 
governance and sustainability of our business. Whilst Smartgroup 
has a relatively small environmental footprint (team member travel, 
energy usage and office material consumption), our actions could 
deliver negative environmental outcomes.

Climate change 

Smartgroup is exposed to climate change risks associated with the 
ownership of vehicles. Any climate change legislation or changes in 
customer preferences that affect private car ownership or vehicle 
types (e.g. increased adoption of electric/hybrid) could in turn have 
an impact on Smartgroup’s future financial performance.

Modern slavery

Smartgroup does not tolerate or support the use of forced 
or compulsory labour, and we extend this approach through 
all areas of our supply chain. Our main supply chain activities 
relate to engaging with providers of IT, facilities, contractors 
and temporary staff, consulting and specialist advice, business 
development and marketing. We recognise the risk of not 
meeting our modern slavery obligations should our suppliers 
operate in a manner that is contrary to these obligations.

•  We monitor and assess developments relating to the impact 

of climate change on our strategy and operations.

•  Refer to the sustainability report (p. 36).

•  Smartgroup has incorporated modern slavery provisions 

into our Group Procurement Policy and has defined standard 
compliance terms and conditions that will be incorporated into 
all our new supplier contracts and existing supplier contracts 
upon renewal. 

•  Our first Modern Slavery Statement report will be issued in 

June 2021 and will cover the 2020 financial year. 

•  Refer to the sustainability report (p. 36).

Directors’ 
report

47

•  Andrew Bolam
•  Carolyn Colley 
•  Deborah Homewood
•  Timothy Looi (appointed 29 February 2020)
•  John Prendiville
• 

Ian Watt

Principal activities

During the financial year, the principal activities of the Group 
consisted of outsourced employee benefits and administration 
services, being primarily salary packaging, novated leasing, fleet 
management, share plan administration, payroll administration 
and workforce optimisation services.

Directors’ report

The Directors present their report, together with the financial 
statements, on the consolidated entity (referred to hereafter 
as the Group) consisting of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd 
(referred to hereafter as the Company or parent entity) and 
the entities it controlled at the end of or during the financial 
year ended 31 December 2020.

Directors

The following people were Directors of the Company during the 
financial year and up to the date of this report. Each Director held 
that position from the start of the financial year until the date of 
this report, unless otherwise stated:

•  Michael Carapiet
•  Deven Billimoria (retired 28 February 2020)
•  Gavin Bell 

Dividends

Dividends paid during the financial year were as follows:

Consolidated

Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019 of 21.5 cents (2018: 21.0 cents) per 
ordinary share

Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2020 of 17.0 cents (2019: 21.5 cents) per 
ordinary share

No special dividends were paid during the financial year (2019: 20.0 cents per ordinary share)

Total

2020
$000

28,272

2019
$000

27,446

22,579

28,305

–

50,851

26,300

82,051

On 24 February 2021, the Directors declared a fully franked 
final dividend for the year ending 31 December 2020 of 17.5 
cents per share. The final dividend will be paid on 23 March 2021 
to shareholders registered on 9 March 2021 resulting in a total 
distribution of $23,240,000. On 24 February 2021, the Directors 
also declared a total special dividend of 14.5 cents per share, 
comprised of a final special dividend of 9.0 cents per share 
in respect of the year ended 31 December 2020, and an 
interim special dividend of 5.5 cents per share in respect of the 
current year. The special dividend will be paid on 23 March 2021 
to shareholders registered on 9 March 2021 with an expected 
total distribution of $19,259,000. The financial effect of 
dividends declared after the reporting date is not reflected 
in the 31 December 2020 financial statements and will be 
recognised in subsequent financial reports.

Review of operations

The Group’s profit after income tax expense for the year 
amounted to $41,325,000 (2019: $61,449,000). Refer to 
the Chairman’s report and the Managing Director and 
CEO’s report for further commentary. 

from 29 February 2020 following Deven Billimoria’s retirement 
on 28 February 2020.

The deterioration in economic conditions, as a result of the 
COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in a significant reduction in 
revenue in 2020. In response to the disruption, short and long 
term savings measures were put in place in order to ensure 
that earnings margins were maintained at acceptable levels.

There were no other significant changes in the state of affairs 
of the Group during the financial year.

Matters subsequent to the end of the financial year

No matter or circumstance has arisen since 31 December 2020 
that has significantly affected or may significantly affect the 
Group’s operations, the results of those operations or the 
Group’s state of affairs in future financial years.

Likely developments and expected results of operations

Likely developments in the operations of the Group and the 
expected results of those operations are contained in the 
Managing Director and CEO Report on page 16.

Business objectives and cash use

The Company has used cash and cash equivalents to fund 
its day-to-day operations and to pay down debt.

Environmental regulation

The Group is not subject to any significant environmental 
regulation under Australian Commonwealth or State law.

Significant changes in the state of affairs of the Group

As announced on 18 October 2019, Timothy Looi commenced 
as Smartgroup’s new Managing Director and CEO with effect 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamBoard of 
Directors

Board of Directors

48

The following people were directors of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd during the financial year and up to the date of this report, unless 
otherwise stated. Former directorships (last three years) quoted below are directorships held in the last three years for listed entities 
and exclude directorships of all other types of entities unless otherwise stated.

Qualifications: Michael holds a Master of 
Business Administration from Macquarie University.

Experience and expertise: Michael has more 
than 30 years’ experience in the financial sector. 
Michael is the Chairman of Link Group (ASX: 
LNK), a global provider of share registry, corporate 
market data analytics and asset management 
services and the largest provider of administration 
services to the Australian superannuation sector. 
He is also Chair of Adexum Capital Ltd, a private 
equity fund manager. Michael was previously 
Chair of SAS Trustee Corporation and a Director 
of Southern Cross Media Group Ltd, and 

has also served on several Commonwealth 
Government boards including Infrastructure 
Australia, Clean Energy Finance Corporation 
and Export Finance Insurance Corporation. 

Former directorships (last three years): Michael 
was formerly Chair of Insurance and Care NSW 
(iCare NSW), a role that he held from August 2015 
until September 2020

Special responsibilities: Member of ARC, HRRC 
and ITIC 

Interests in shares: 2,381,412

Interests in options: None

Former directorships (last three years): None

Special responsibilities: None 

Interests in shares: 73,242

Interests in options: 965,790

Qualifications: Tim holds a Bachelor of 
Economics from Sydney University and is a 
Member of Chartered Accountants, Australia 
and New Zealand.

Experience and expertise: Tim has worked for 
Smartgroup since 2009 and throughout that time 
has held responsibilities as the Chief Financial 
Officer in addition to the management of group 
operations, client relationships and sales and 
marketing. Prior to Smartgroup, Tim held senior 
positions at Aristocrat Leisure in strategy and 
finance. He commenced his career with 
PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1994.

Qualifications: Andrew holds a Bachelor of 
Commerce from the University of Tasmania 
and is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA).

Experience and expertise: Andrew has more 
than 20 years of experience in financial and 
general management. He is currently an Executive 
Director and the Chief Financial Officer of Media 
Innovations Holdings Pty Ltd, the operator of 
the Fetch TV business in Australia. Andrew 
previously held several senior roles in the Usaha 
Tegas Group of Companies including Benaris 
International Pty Ltd (oil & gas), Usaha Tegas Sdn 
Bhd (diversified investment), Bumi Armada Berhad 

(offshore oil & gas services) and Astro All Asia 
Networks plc (pay TV). Andrew’s earlier career 
included senior roles with the Shell Group of 
Companies in Australia and Malaysia.

Former directorships (last three years): None

Special responsibilities: Member of ARC and ITIC 

Interests in shares: 257,760

Interests in options: None

Qualifications: Deborah completed her registered 
nurse training at St Andrews Hospital (QLD) and 
also holds a Master of Management from 
Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

Sales, South Asia. Deborah is a current member 
of Chief Executive Women and chaired the 
Membership Committee of that organisation 
from 2010 to 2012.

Experience and expertise: Deborah has many 
years of management experience in various 
sectors, including retail, the medical industry 
and communications. She is currently Managing 
Director of MAX Solutions and was formerly 
CEO of Pacnet, Australia and New Zealand, an 
Asian-headquartered telecommunications carrier. 
Deborah was with Pacnet for 10 years and held 
various other senior roles including Vice President 

Former directorships (last three years): None

Special responsibilities: Member of HRRC and ITIC

Interests in shares: 6,618

Interests in options: None

Michael Carapiet
Chairman and  
Non-Executive Director

Timothy Looi
Managing Director 
and CEO – appointed 
29 February 2020

Andrew Bolam
Non-Executive Director

Deborah Homewood
Non-Executive Director

Board of 
Directors

49

Qualifications: Ian holds a Bachelor of 
Commerce from the University of Melbourne and 
a Master of Economics and PhD in Economics 
from La Trobe University and has completed the 
Advanced Management Program at Harvard 
Business School.

Experience and expertise: Ian worked for nearly 
20 years at very senior levels of the Australian public 
service. His most recent appointment was as 
Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister 
and Cabinet and head of the Australian Public 
Service, a position he held from 2011 to 2014. 
Before that, he was Secretary of the Departments 
of Defence, Finance, and Communications, 
Information Technology and the Arts between 2001 
and 2011 and Deputy Secretary of the Department 
of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Ian is currently 

the Chair of the International Centre for Democratic 
Partnerships and the ADC Advisory Council, is on 
the Boards of Citibank Pty Ltd, the Grattan Institute 
and the Committee for Economic Development 
Australia (CEDA) and is a member of the Council 
of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Ian is 
a Senior Advisor to Flagstaff Partners.

Former directorships (last three years): Non-
Executive Chairman of BAE Systems Australia Pty Ltd 
from July 2016 to February 2019

Special responsibilities: Chairman of ITIC and 
member of ARC

Interests in shares: 106,522

Interests in options: None

Qualifications: Gavin holds a Bachelor of Laws 
from the University of Sydney and Master of 
Business Administration (Executive) from the 
Australian Graduate School of Management.

Former directorships (last three years): Gavin was 
formerly a Board member of Insurance and Care NSW 
(iCare NSW), a role that he held from October 2015 
until September 2020 

Experience and expertise: Gavin is an 
experienced director, CEO and lawyer. He is 
a Non-Executive Director of IVE Group Ltd 
(ASX: IGL). Before becoming a Director, Gavin 
was Managing Partner and Chief Executive 
Officer of law firm Herbert Smith Freehills 
(formerly Freehills). He was also a partner 
in the firm for 25 years. 

Special responsibilities: Chairman of HRRC and 
member of ARC

Interests in shares: 77,650

Interests in options: None

Qualifications: John holds a Bachelor of 
Science (Hons) in Astrophysics from the 
Royal Military College, Duntroon, and Master 
of Business Administration from the University 
of Western Australia and the Institute for 
International Finance in Japan.

Experience and expertise: John has 30 years’ 
experience in the financial sector. He is currently 
a Director and a member of the Audit and Risk 
Committee of the University of Notre Dame 
Australia. John is also a shareholder and director 
of GetCapital Pty Ltd, a rapidly growing provider 

of finance to the SME space in Australia, and a 
range of other private companies with interests 
in the technology, property, industrial and fintech 
space. Previously, John held numerous senior 
roles at Macquarie Group, where he worked for 
20 years until his departure in 2011.

Former directorships (last three years): None

Special responsibilities: Chairman of ARC and 
Member of HRRC

Interests in shares: 675,000

Interests in options: None

Qualifications: Carolyn holds a Bachelor of 
Economics from Macquarie University and a 
Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment. 
She is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants 
Australia and New Zealand and a Graduate of 
the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Experience and expertise: Carolyn has more 
than 30 years’ experience spanning financial 
services, product development and innovation. 
Carolyn was most recently Chief Operating Officer 
and co-founder of Faethm, a global analytics 
SaaS platform. Previously, she was CEO of 
Decimal Software Ltd, and before that, she 

held senior executive roles at Macquarie Bank, 
St George Bank and BT Financial Group. 
Carolyn is a Non-Executive Director of CountPlus 
Ltd (ASX:CUP) and is an Independent Non-
Executive Director of OnePath Custodians Ltd 
and Oasis Fund Management Ltd (IOOF’s 
superannuation businesses) and of ASX’s 
Clearing and Settlement Boards.

Former directorships (last three years): None

Special responsibilities: Member of HRRC and ITIC

Interests in shares: 7,000

Interests in options: None

Ian Watt AC
Non-Executive Director

Gavin Bell
Non-Executive Director

John Prendiville
Non-Executive Director

Carolyn Colley
Non-Executive Director  

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamBoard of 
Directors

50

Deven Billimoria
Managing Director and CEO 
– retired 28 February 2020

Former Managing Director and CEO, Deven 
Billimoria, also held office as a director during 
the period from 1 January 2020 to 28 February 
2020. Deven worked with Smartgroup for 
approximately 20 years and held the roles of 
Managing Director and CEO of Smartgroup 
Corporation from 2014 and Managing Director 

and CEO of Smartsalary Pty Ltd from 2001. 
Deven held no other directorships in listed 
entities in the 3 years before his retirement. 
As at 28 February 2020, the date on which 
Deven retired as a director, he held interests 
in 2,581,053 shares, and 697,784 options.

Company secretaries

Sophie MacIntosh was appointed Chief Legal Officer on 
7 November 2016 and was appointed Joint Company Secretary 
on 13 December 2016. Sophie is an experienced legal and 
governance professional with over 20 years’ experience gained 
working in global law firms specialising in all aspects of corporate 
and commercial law. Sophie holds a Master of Laws from the 
University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Business and a Bachelor 
of Law from the University of Technology Sydney and is a 
member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Jonathan Swain was appointed as an additional Company 
Secretary effective 19 August 2019. Jonathan is a Senior 
Company Secretary with Company Matters Pty Ltd. He has 
previously worked in a range of legal, company secretarial 
and management roles. Jonathan is admitted as a solicitor in 
New South Wales and is a Fellow Member of the Governance 
Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute 
of Company Directors.

Meetings of Directors

The number of meetings of the Company’s Board of Directors and each Board committee held during the year ended 31 December 
2020 and the number of meetings attended by each Director were as follows:

Director

Board

Audit and Risk 
Committee

Human Resources 
and Remuneration 
Committee

IT and Innovation 
Committee

Attended

Held1 Attended

Held1 Attended

Held1 Attended

Held1

Michael Carapiet

Gavin Bell

Andrew Bolam

Carolyn Colley

Deborah Homewood

Timothy Looi2

John Prendiville

Ian Watt

Deven Billimoria3

15

15

15

14

15

13

14

15

2

15

15

15

15

15

13

15

15

2

4

4

4

–

–

–

4

4

–

4

4

4

–

–

–

4

4

–

3

3

–

3

3

–

3

–

–

3

3

–

3

3

–

3

–

–

3

–

3

3

3

–

–

3

–

3

–

3

3

3

–

–

3

–

1.  The number of meetings held during the time the Director held office or was a member of the relevant committee.

2.  Appointed as a Director on 29 February 2020.

3.  Retired as a Director on 28 February 2020.

Remuneration report 

51

The remuneration report describes the remuneration arrangements for the Key Management Personnel of the Group (KMP) for the year 
ended 31 December 2020. The remuneration report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of section 300A of the 
Corporations Act 2001 and has been audited.

Introduction from the Chair of the Human Resources and Remuneration Committee

Dear shareholder

On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present Smartgroup’s 
remuneration report for the year ended 31 December 2020. 

Other key remuneration decisions and outcomes for 2020 
affecting KMP were as follows:

The 2020 year was significantly affected by the broad 
challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and 
remuneration decisions made during 2020 needed to 
reflect those challenges as they evolved during the year. 

At the start of 2020, the Board proposed to set a remuneration 
framework largely similar to that described in the 2019 
remuneration report, which received strong support from 
shareholders at the AGM held in June 2020, with more than 
99% of votes in favour of the resolution to adopt it. Under that 
framework, up to 50% of Executive KMP short-term incentives 
were payable on the achievement of financial KPIs based on 
the NPATA achieved by the Group, with the remaining 50% 
based on the achievement of other non-financial KPIs. After 
the impacts of COVID-19 on the Company’s business became 
apparent during the first half of 2020, the Board approved a 
modified short-term incentive arrangement for 2020 under 
which the maximum short-term incentive opportunity for 
Executive KMP was reduced to 75% of the maximum and 
adjusted KPIs were set. Further details about these changes 
are described in more detail later in this remuneration report.

The Board considered that these changes were appropriate 
having regard to the need to deliver during 2020 a series of 
initiatives to address the effects of COVID-19 and to ensure 
the longer-term sustainability of Smartgroup’s business 
performance and shareholder value creation. 

The aggregate amount of short-term incentive payments paid 
to Executive KMP in respect of 2020, based on the extent 
to which the approved KPIs were achieved, was $348,312. 
The Board considers that these payments are appropriate 
having regard to the Company’s good overall performance 
in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that 
the Company did not claim JobKeeper.

Further details of the specific KPIs approved by the Board for 
2020 and the extent to which they were achieved, are set out 
later in the remuneration report.

• 

In January 2020, two Executive KMP received an increase 
in their fixed remuneration, with one receiving a $20,000 
increase and one receiving a $60,000 increase.

•  As part of the Company’s cost containment plan implemented 
in response to COVID-19, the Chairman and the Managing 
Director and CEO each accepted a 50% reduction in 
fees/fixed remuneration for a period of three months from 
April 2020, and all other Directors and Executive KMP 
accepted a 20% reduction in fees/fixed remuneration 
for the same period.

•  A one-off cash bonus of $75,000 was approved to one 
Executive KMP to reflect additional duties undertaken 
during the year, to be paid in January 2021.

•  No Executive KMP 2018 long term incentive shares vested 
in 2020, as earnings per share and relative total shareholder 
return thresholds were not achieved.

•  Tony Forward, the Chief Information Officer, is included as a 
member of KMP with effect from 1 February 2020, the date 
of his appointment to that role on a permanent basis, and 
Nigel Underwood, who held the role of Chief Financial Officer 
from 6 April 2020 to 4 December 2020 was included in 
Executive KMP for that part of the year.

•  A new executive service contract with Timothy Looi took 
effect from 29 February 2020 to reflect his appointment 
as Managing Director and CEO.

Further details of these decisions and outcomes are set out later 
in the remuneration report. The Board believes that the 2020 
remuneration outcomes fairly reflect the performance of the 
Company and Executive KMP in the context of the year’s events.

We thank you for your support and welcome your feedback on 
our remuneration report.

Yours sincerely

Gavin Bell
Chair of the Human Resources and Remuneration Committee

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamRemuneration report52

Who is covered by the report

The names and titles of the KMP during the year ended 31 December 2020 are set out below. 

Name

Non-Executive Directors

Michael Carapiet

Gavin Bell

Andrew Bolam

Carolyn Colley

Deborah Homewood

John Prendiville

Ian Watt

Continuing Executive KMP

Timothy Looi

Tony Forward

Sarah Haas

Sophie MacIntosh

Executives who ceased to be KMP during the year

Deven Billimoria 

Nigel Underwood

Title

KMP for full year or part year

Chairman and Non-Executive Director

Full year

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Non-Executive Director

Full year

Full year

Full year

Full year

Full year

Full year

Managing Director and CEO1

Full year

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Part year – started 1 February 2020

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Chief Legal Officer (CLO)

Full year

Full year

Managing Director and CEO

Part year – ceased 28 February 2020

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Part year – started 6 April 2020, 
ceased 4 December 2020

1.  Timothy Looi became an Executive Director on assuming the role of Managing Director and CEO on 29 February 2020. Mr Looi was a member of the KMP for the period from the start of the 

financial year until 28 February 2020 in his previous role as Chief Financial Officer. He was therefore a member of the KMP for the full year.

Executive KMP remuneration strategy

Smartgroup’s remuneration strategy focuses Executive KMP on:

•  sustained growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation 

and amortisation of intangibles, adjusted to exclude 
significant non-operating items (EBITDA) and net profit 
after tax, adjusted to exclude the non-cash tax-effected 
amortisation of intangibles and significant non-operating 
items (NPATA); and

• 

risk management and other key non-financial drivers of value.

The Board ensures that the remuneration of Executive KMP is:

•  set in a way that is consistent with the strategy outlined above;
• 
•  competitive but reasonable, and acceptable to shareholders.

transparent and clearly aligned to performance; and

The Board’s Human Resources and Remuneration Committee 
(HRRC) assists the Board in fulfilling its corporate governance 
responsibilities, including reviewing and recommending 
remuneration arrangements for Directors and Executive KMP. 
The HRRC has structured an executive remuneration framework 
that is competitive with the market and consistent with the 
overall remuneration strategy of the Group.

The executive remuneration framework: 

• 

• 

• 

is intended to attract, motivate and retain high-calibre 
executives who are critical to the organisation’s growth 
and success;

rewards team and individual performance, capability 
and experience;

reflects competitive rewards for contributing to growth 
in shareholder wealth; and

•  provides a clear structure for earning rewards.

During 2020, aspects of the remuneration framework were 
adjusted from those in place in 2019 to focus Executive KMP 
on delivering a series of initiatives to address the effects of 
COVID-19 and to ensure the longer-term sustainability of 
Smartgroup’s business performance and shareholder value 
creation. Further details of these adjustments are set out below.

Components of Executive KMP remuneration

The Group aims to reward Executive KMP with a level and 
mix of remuneration based on their position, responsibility 
and performance. This remuneration has both fixed and 
variable components.

The executive remuneration and reward framework consists 
of four components:

•  Total fixed remuneration (TFR) comprising base salary, 

superannuation and non-monetary benefits;

•  Short-term performance incentives (STI); 
•  Long-term performance incentives (LTI), and
•  Other statutory entitlements such as long service leave.

In alignment with its remuneration strategy, the Board’s policy 
is to structure remuneration for Executive KMP so that it includes 
both a fixed component and an at-risk or performance-based 
component (comprising a combination of STI and LTI), such 
that a significant part of the Executive KMP’s total remuneration 
is at risk.

The charts below show the relative proportions of TFR, STI and 
LTI for:

•  Tim Looi, as Managing Director and CEO for the period 
from 29 February 2020 to 31 December 2020; and

• 

the other Executive KMP for the year ended 
31 December 20202.

2.  This excludes remuneration paid to Deven Billimoria and Nigel Underwood who ceased to 

be KMP during the year

Remuneration reportCEO

TFR  42%

STIP 21%

LTIP  37%

OTHER
EXECUTIVE
KMP

TFR  54%

STIP 14%

LTIP  32%

The amounts shown above are the amounts that would have 
been payable to the CEO and to Other Executive KMP if they 
had each achieved their maximum STI and LTI entitlement 
for the year (excluding any accelerated vesting and end of 
service benefits).

Further details on the components of Executive KMP 
remuneration are set out below.

Total fixed remuneration

Fixed remuneration, consisting of base salary, superannuation 
and non-monetary benefits, is reviewed annually by the HRRC, 
based on individual and business unit performance, the overall 
performance of the Group and comparable market remuneration.

Short-term incentives 

Executive KMP are eligible to participate in the Company’s 
Short Term Incentive Plan (STIP) in a manner determined by 
the Board. The STIP puts a proportion of each Executive KMP’s 
remuneration at risk subject to meeting specific predetermined 
performance measures linked to the Company’s objectives set 
annually. This aligns employee interests with the Group’s financial 
performance and the Group’s organisational values. As with fixed 
remuneration, the Board and the HRRC rely on comparative data 
from companies of a similar size. Data from competitors is also 
considered to ensure that the STIP remains competitive and 
attractive and to incentivise the executive team to stay and 
to strive for exceptional performance.

Participants in the STIP have a target cash payment set every 
year as a percentage of their total fixed annual remuneration. 
Payments under the STIP depend on the achievement of a 
range of financial and non-financial key performance indicators 
and objectives (KPIs), as approved by the Board. The KPIs 
set in relation to the STIP are designed to compensate 
and reward Executive KMP for achieving the Company’s 
short-term business strategy and are tested annually after 
the end of the relevant year. 

53

Any amount that may be paid to the participants under the STIP 
is subject to the absolute discretion of the Board, after taking 
into account performance against KPIs and any other matters 
determined by the Board to be relevant to its discretion including, 
without limitation, the conduct of the relevant Executive KMP. 

Long-term incentives 

In early 2015, the Board established a Long-Term Incentive Plan 
(LTIP) for the Managing Director and CEO and other Executive 
KMP, which was approved for adoption by shareholders at the 
2015 AGM. At the Company AGM in May 2018, shareholders 
approved the issue of shares under the plan for a further three 
years, in accordance with the ASX Listing Rules.

The LTIP aligns reward with shareholder value by tying this 
component of executive remuneration to the achievement 
of performance measures that underpin sustainable long-term 
growth. LTIP grants are usually made once a year. Any grant 
of LTIP shares to the Managing Director and CEO is required 
to be approved by shareholders under the ASX Listing Rules. 
This approval is usually sought at the Company’s AGM.

The LTIP is a loan-funded share plan. Shares are purchased by 
the participant and funded by a loan provided by the Company. 
The shares are held by the participant until they vest or are 
forfeited and are eligible for dividends. All dividends paid 
or distributions made by the Company to the participant are 
applied to repay the loan and to meet the tax liability on those 
dividends or distributions.

The loan is for five years from issue, is subject to limited 
recourse and is interest free, as required by ASIC Class Order 
CO14/1000 and consistent with ASIC’s policy published in 
Regulatory Guide 49. The loan is repayable in full on the earlier 
of the termination date of the loan and the date on which the 
shares are sold. If the vesting/performance conditions are 
not met and the shares do not vest for any other reason, 
the shares are acquired by the Company for the value of 
the outstanding loan. 

Shares issued under the LTIP are forfeited if the performance 
hurdles are not met or the participant ceases employment before 
vesting (subject to the Board’s discretion to permit vesting of 
shares depending on the circumstances in which employment 
ceases). Where there is a change of control event, the Board 
may, at its discretion, determine that some or all of a participant’s 
unvested shares may vest. 

From time to time, the Board may consider amending the 
vesting terms and the performance hurdles to ensure they are 
aligned to market practice and to safeguard the best outcomes 
for the Company. Further, the Board has the absolute discretion 
to replace the LTIP in any one or more years with an equivalent 
STIP or any other program.

2020 Executive KMP remuneration structure

Total fixed remuneration 

With effect from January 2020, two KMP received increases 
to their fixed remuneration, with the Chief Operating Officer 
increasing from $340,000 to $400,000 and the Chief Legal 
Officer increasing from $340,000 to $360,000.

As part of the Company’s cost containment plan implemented 
in response to COVID-19, the Managing Director and CEO 
accepted a 50% reduction in fixed remuneration and all other 
Executive KMP accepted a 20% reduction in fixed remuneration, 
for a period of three months from April 2020. The total amount of 
fixed remuneration foregone by Executive KMP over this period 
was $154,462.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamRemuneration report54

Long-term incentives

Number and price of shares issued

Participants in the LTIP are granted a number of shares based 
on a proportion of the relevant executive’s TFR. For 2020, 
the LTIP grant to the Managing Director and CEO was 88% 
of TFR, and the LTIP grants to other Executive KMP was 
60% of TFR, as measured by the fair value of the shares 
on the grant allocation date, that is, when the number of 
shares to be issued was determined. 

Under the 2020 LTIP grant:

•  670,392 shares were issued to the Managing Director and 
CEO at an issue price of $6.20 per share, being the 20-day 
volume weighted average price (VWAP) of shares up to and 
including the trading day immediately before the date of the 
2020 AGM; and

•  a total of 1,245,905 shares were issued to other continuing 
Executive KMP at an issue price of $6.67 per share, being 
the 20-day VWAP of shares up to and including the trading 
day immediately before the date of issue, with VWAP for the 
period prior to the cumulative dividend date being reduced 
by the amount of the declared dividend. 

A further 164,851 shares were issued to Nigel Underwood, 
as an incoming member of Executive KMP, at an issue price 
of $6.20 per share, being the 20-day VWAP of shares up to 
and including the trading day immediately before the date of 
the 2020 AGM. Following Mr Underwood’s resignation effective 
4 December 2020, these shares will be bought back by the 
Company in accordance with the terms of the LTIP.

Vesting of shares

Vesting of 75% of the shares issued under the 2020 LTIP 
grant is subject to an earnings per share (EPS) performance 
hurdle. Vesting of the other 25% of the shares issued under the 
2020 LTIP grant is subject to a total shareholder return (TSR) 
hurdle. The performance hurdles are described in more detail 
below. Shares issued under the 2020 LTIP grant will vest on 
31 December 2022 if the performance hurdles are met. 

The shares awarded under the LTIP are economically equivalent 
to options. The principal value of the LTIP grant to the Managing 
Director and CEO and other Executive KMP therefore comes 
through the increase in market value of the shares over the issue 
price. This provides further alignment with shareholder interests 
and further links remuneration with Company performance.

Short-term incentives 

Target cash payments

Participants in the STIP have a target cash payment set every 
year as a percentage of their total fixed annual remuneration. 
In 2020, this target was 51% of total fixed annual remuneration 
for Tim Looi, as Managing Director and CEO (2019: 60%), 
and 26% for each other Executive KMP (2019: 28%). 

KPIs 

In 2019, up to 50% of Executive KMP STI payments were 
conditional on the achievement of financial KPIs based on 
the NPATA achieved by the Group, with achievement of that 
NPATA target also acting as a gateway for further STI payments 
based on the achievement of other non-financial KPIs. 

After the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the Company’s 
business became apparent during the first half of 2020, 
the Board approved a modified STI arrangement for 2020 
under which:

• 

• 

the maximum short-term incentive opportunity for Executive 
KMP was reduced to 75% of the maximum opportunity 
originally proposed; 

the original 2020 KPIs were replaced with new KPIs focused 
on delivery of organisational change, cost management, risk 
management and capability improvement initiatives, including 
several initiatives put in place specifically to address the 
effects of COVID-19; and

•  payment of all short-term incentives were made subject to 

the Board being satisfied that the Company’s overall financial 
performance was satisfactory in the context of the COVID-19 
pandemic and subject to risk management and internal audit 
remedial actions being closed out on a timely basis. 

The Board considered that these changes were appropriate 
having regard to the need to deliver in the balance of 2020 a 
series of initiatives to address the effects of COVID-19 and to 
ensure the longer-term sustainability of Smartgroup’s business 
performance and shareholder value creation.

Details of the specific KPIs approved by the Board for 2020, 
and the extent to which they were achieved, are set out in 
Table 3 on page 56.

Board discretion 

All payments under the STIP are subject to Board discretion. 
In 2020, the Board determined that all payments would be 
conditional on the Board being satisfied that the Company’s 
overall financial performance was satisfactory in the context of 
the COVID-19 pandemic. STI payments to individual Executive 
KMP are also subject to a specific discretion to reduce or 
withhold payment where risk management and internal audit 
remedial actions are not closed out on a timely basis.

Remuneration report55

EPS performance hurdle

The EPS performance hurdle applies to 75% of the total number of shares issued to each Executive KMP under the 2020 LTIP grant. 

The EPS performance hurdle is based on achievement of a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the Company’s NPATA per share 
from the 2019 NPATA per share of $0.615 (calculated on the basis of reported 2019 NPATA of $81.0 million and 131.7 million shares 
on issue) to the NPATA per share for the financial year ending on 31 December 2022, as set out in the table below. 

Table 1: EPS performance hurdle

EPS performance hurdle – applies to a maximum of 75% of the total number of shares issued under the 2020 LTIP grant

Measure 

EPS CAGR

Vesting period

EPS CAGR

EPS target

Shares subject to vesting

The period of three 
years ending 31 
December 2022*

Below 5.0%

5.0%

Between 5.0% and 10.0%

$0.712

10.0% or greater

$0.819

Nil

50%

Straight line between 
50% and 100%

100% (capped)

* Or such other date on which the Board makes a determination as to whether the vesting condition has been met.

While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on 2020 earnings, the Board considers that the 2020 EPS performance hurdle is a 
challenging but achievable target.

TSR performance hurdle

The TSR performance hurdle applies to 25% of the total number of shares issued to each Executive KMP under the 2020 LTIP grant.

TSR measures the growth in the price of the shares plus cash distributions notionally reinvested in shares. Each of the companies in 
the S&P/ASX 200 Index is ranked from highest to lowest based on their TSR over the performance measurement period, being the 
three-year period starting on 1 January 2020 and ending on 31 December 2022. For the purpose of calculating the TSR measurement, 
the relevant share prices are determined by reference to the VWAP over the 20 trading days up to and including 1 January 2020 (the 
performance measurement period start date) and the 20 trading days up to and including 31 December 2022 (the performance 
measurement period end date).

The TSR hurdle is based on the TSR performance of the Company over the performance measurement period compared to the TSR 
of other companies in the S&P/ASX 200 Index, as set out in the table below.

Table 2: Relative TSR performance hurdle

TSR performance hurdle – applies to a maximum of 25% of the total number of shares issued under the 2020 LTIP grant

Measure 

Vesting period

Smartgroup TSR performance 
compared to Index

Shares subject to vesting

Relative TSR 
(ranking)

The period of 
three years ending 
31 December 
2022*

0 to 49th percentile

50th percentile

51st to 74th percentile

75th to 100th percentile

Nil

50%

Straight line between 50% and 100%

100%

* Or such other date on which the Board makes a determination as to whether the vesting condition has been met.

The Board believes it is appropriate to have a proportion of the shares awarded under the LTIP to be subject to a TSR performance 
hurdle to provide a market-based hurdle. 

Fair value

The fair value used for grant allocation purposes was calculated using the black scholes model.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamRemuneration report56

2020 Executive KMP remuneration outcomes

STI – achievement of KPIs and financial outcomes

The table below shows the KPIs approved by the Board under the STIP for 2020 for Executive KMP and the Board’s assessment of 
the extent to which those KPIs were achieved. In addition to this assessment, the Board determined that risk management and internal 
audit remedial actions were closed out on a timely basis and that the Company’s overall financial performance was satisfactory in the 
context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 3: 2020 KPIs and achievement 

KPI

Relevant Executive

How it is measured

Actual achievement

1.  Manage growth 
and profitability

CEO, CFO, COO, 
CIO, CLO

Delivery of cost savings, operational improvements 
and contribution of new revenue sources

2.  Engage workforce

All

Team engagement, remote working/back to office 
transition and operational restructure delivery

3. Improve core 
operations

CFO, COO, CLO, CIO

Platform consolidated and renegotiation of all 
key supplier agreements

4. Customer and digital

CFO, COO, CIO

5. Manage risk and 
engage with 
regulatory reform

All

Transition to new salary packaging card 
product platform, data analytics and unit 
economics development and improvement 
in system scalability

Delivery of Internal Audit plan and actions, 
engagement with regulatory bodies and 
project delivery

63%

61%

63%

67%

79%

Under the STIP for the year ended 31 December 2020, a total of $178,664 will be paid to the Managing Director and CEO, and a total 
of $169,648 to other Executive KMP. 

The table below shows the actual STIP outcome for each Executive KMP for the year ended 31 December 2020 in absolute terms and 
as a percentage of their revised maximum STIP opportunity, under the modified STI arrangement approved by the Board.

Table 4: 2020 STIP outcomes 

Name of executive

Timothy Looi

Tony Forward

Sarah Haas 

Sophie MacIntosh 

STI amount

$178,664

$46,148

$71,750

$51,750

Percentage of  
revised target STI

51%

51%

72%

52%

Neither of the executives who ceased to be members of the KMP during the year received any STI payment.

LTI – vesting of shares subject of 2018 grant under the LTIP

Shares issued under the 2018 LTIP grant had a vesting period ending on 31 December 2020. The vesting of these shares was subject 
to the achievement of an EPS hurdle and a TSR hurdle. 

Shares subject to EPS hurdle

The EPS hurdle applied to 75% of the shares issued under the 2018 LTIP grant. It was based on the CAGR in the Company’s NPATA 
per share from the pro-forma 2017 NPATA per share of $0.52. As at 31 December 2020, the NPATA per share was $0.50, which 
represents a CAGR of -1% from the pro-forma 2017 NPATA per share. This result means that none of the shares issued under the 
2018 LTIP grant that are subject to the EPS hurdle have vested.

Shares subject to TSR hurdle

The TSR hurdle applied to 25% of the LTIP shares issued under the 2018 LTIP grant. The Company’s TSR performance was measured 
to be in the 0 to 49th percentile of the S&P/ASX 200 Index. This result means that none of the shares issued under the 2018 LTIP grant 
that are subject to the TSR hurdle have vested.

The Company engaged Minter Ellison to provide external verification of the above calculations.

Other Executive KMP remuneration outcomes for 2020

A one-off cash bonus of $75,000 was approved to one Executive KMP to reflect additional duties undertaken during the year.

As disclosed in the 2019 Annual Report, upon departure of the previous CEO Deven Billimoria, in February 2020, the Company paid 
a cash termination benefit of $586,261. Following Mr Billimoria’s departure, all unvested LTIP shares held by Mr Billimoria were bought 
back and cancelled by the Company in accordance with the terms of the LTIP.

Remuneration report57

Link between 2020 Executive KMP remuneration outcomes and 2020 financial performance

In considering the Group’s performance, the benefit to shareholders and appropriate remuneration for the executives, the Board, 
through the HRRC, has regard to financial and non-financial indices, including the indices shown in the below table in respect of the 
current financial year and the previous four financial years.

Table 5: Indices relevant to the Board’s assessment of the Group’s performance and the benefit to shareholders

Index

NPATA ($m)

EPS (cents)

Ordinary dividends declared in respect of the financial year 
– per share (cents)

Special dividends declared in respect of the financial year 
– per share (cents)

Share price – year end ($)

Three-year TSR performance compared to index1 (percentile) (%)

2016

44.0

36.2

24.8

 –

6.28

N/A

2017

64.1

52.0

35.0

–

10.85

100%

2018

77.82

59.42

41.5

–

8.88

87%

2019

81.0

61.5

43.0

20.0

6.94

71%

2020

65.2 

50.3

34.5

9.0

6.89

33%

1.  The relevant comparator index for 2017 and 2018 was the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index. The relevant comparator index for 2019 and 2020 was the S&P/ASX 200.
2.  Adjusted to reflect one-off impact of adoption of AASB 16 Leases from January 2018.

As shown above, the Company’s three-year TSR to 31 December 2020 was in the 3rd quartile of all companies in the S&P/ASX 200. 

The graph below illustrates the relationship between the Group’s performance and STIP awards in respect of the financial year ended 
31 December 2020 and the preceding four financial years.

Table 6: Relationship between the Group’s performance and STIP outcomes

)
0
0
0
’
$
(

A
T
A
P
N

90,000

80,000

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000
–

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

–

)
0
0
0
’
$
(

i

d
a
p
P
T
S

I

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

EPS

STIP Paid

The graph below illustrates the relationship between the Group’s performance and LTIP awards in respect of the financial year ended 
31 December 2020 and the preceding four financial years. As explained above, the LTIP has two hurdles, the most significant being the 
growth in NPATA per share. 

For the year ended 31 December 2020, the three-year CAGR in NPATA per share was less than 15%, and none of the shares issued 
under the 2018 LTIP grant vested. For the year ended 31 December 2019, the three-year CAGR in NPATA per share was 14%, and 
83% of the shares issued under the 2017 LTIP grant were vested. For each of the three previous financial years, the growth in NPATA 
per share exceeded the relevant hurdles, and 100% of relevant LTIP shares were vested. 

Table 7: Relationship between the Group’s performance and LTIP outcomes

)
s
e
r
a
h
s
/
A
T
A
P
N

(

S
P
E

0.70

0.60

0.50

0.40

0.30

0.20

0.10

–

)
s
’
0
0
0
(
s
e
r
a
h
s
d
e
t
s
e
v
P
T
L

I

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

–

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

EPS

LTIP vested shares

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamRemuneration report 
 
 
 
 
 
 
58

Non-Executive Directors’ remuneration

Fees and payments to Non-Executive Directors reflect the 
time committed by and the responsibilities of these Directors. 
The Board decides the total amount paid to each Non-Executive 
Director as remuneration for their services as a Director. 
The total amount of fees paid to all Directors for their services 
(excluding, for these purposes, the salary of any Executive 
Director) must not exceed the amount fixed by the Company 
in general meeting. The aggregate sum includes any special 
and additional remuneration for special exertions and additional 
services performed by a Director as determined appropriate 
by the Board.

The limit on the aggregate remuneration for Non-Executive 
Directors was increased from $1,150,000 to $1,300,000 by 
a resolution passed at the AGM in May 2019. Any further 
increase to the aggregate annual sum referred to above 
would require further approval by shareholders.

The fees (exclusive of superannuation) paid to the current 
Non-Executive Directors are:

•  $230,000 per annum for the Chairman; and 
•  $100,000 per annum for each Non-Executive Director. 

In addition to the above:

• 

the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee is paid $25,000 
per annum;

•  each other member of the Audit and Risk Committee (other 
than the Chairman of the Board) is paid $12,500 per annum; 

• 

the Chair of the Human Resources and Remuneration 
Committee and the Chair of the IT and Innovation Committee 
are paid $20,000 per annum; and

•  each other member of those committees (other than 

the Chairman of the Board) is paid $10,000 per annum 
per committee. 

The Chairman does not receive a separate fee for acting as 
a member of the Board committees on which he serves. 

In addition to the fees, superannuation contributions and GST, 
if applicable, are paid in each case. There are no retirement 
benefit schemes for Non-Executive Directors other than statutory 
superannuation contributions.

As part of the Company’s cost containment plan implemented in 
respond to COVID-19, the Chairman accepted a 50% reduction 
in fees, and all other Non-Executive Directors accepted a 20% 
reduction in fees for a period of three months from April 2020. 
The total amount of fees foregone by Non-Executive Directors 
over this period was $66,083.

Detailed remuneration disclosures

Statutory remuneration details for 2020 and 2019

Details of the remuneration of the KMP of the Group are set 
out in the following tables in accordance with the Corporations 
Act and the Accounting Standards. The KMP are set out 
on page 52 above. The amounts disclosed as cash salary 
and fees in the 2020 remuneration table are net of the 
three-month reductions in Executive KMP fixed remuneration 
and Non-Executive Director fees referred to above.

Remuneration reportShort-term 
benefits

Post-
employment  
benefits

Long-term 
benefits

Cash salary 
and fees
$

Bonus
$

Superannuation
$

Annual and 
long-service 
leave1
$

LTIP 
expense 
(net)2
$

201,250

126,146

116,562

114,167

114,167

128,250

125,875

687,222

576,261

328,119

359,702

321,702

254,940

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

178,664

46,148

71,750

51,750

–

19,119

11,984

11,073

10,846

10,846

12,184

11,958

3,508

21,370

19,598

21,370

21,370

16,098

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

8,587

61,611

32,310

35,406

31,662

23,410

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(96,765)

75,291

75,168

45,215

(7,496)

–

59

Total
$

220,369

138,130

127,635

125,013

125,013

140,434

137,833

602,552

913,197

501,343

533,443

418,988

294,448

3,454,363

348,312

191,324

192,986

91,413

4,278,398

Table 8: 2020 remuneration

Non-Executive Directors

Michael Carapiet

Gavin Bell

Andrew Bolam

Carolyn Colley

Deborah Homewood

John Prendiville

Ian Watt

Executive Directors

Deven Billimoria3

Timothy Looi4

Other Executive KMP

Tony Forward5

Sarah Haas 

Sophie MacIntosh 

Nigel Underwood6

Total

1.  The amounts disclosed in this column represent the accrued leave expense for the period.
2.  LTIP expense (net) can be negative where there are forfeitures resulting from termination of employment and/or the reversal of LTIP expense in relation to EPS hurdles that are not met.
3.  Deven Billimoria retired as an Executive Director on 28 February 2020. The amounts in this table reflect remuneration paid to Mr Billimoria up until his retirement on 28 February 2020, and 
includes the cash termination benefit of $586,261 paid as disclosed in the 2019 Annual Report, as well as the payment of $13,261 in accrued employee entitlements. The LTIP expense 
attributable to Mr. Billimoria in 2020 relates to loan funded shares that did not vest, but for which accelerated LTIP expense was recognised.

4.  Timothy Looi became an Executive Director on assuming the role of Managing Director and CEO on 29 February 2020. Mr Looi was a member of the KMP for the period from 1 January 2020 
to 28 February 2020 in his previous role as Chief Financial Officer. Therefore, he was a member of the KMP for the full year. The amounts in this table include all remuneration paid to Mr Looi 
from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 in both roles.

5.  Tony Forward was designated as a member of the KMP on 1 February 2020. The amounts in this table comprise all remuneration paid to Mr Forward from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020.
6.  Nigel Underwood became a member of the KMP on 6 April 2020 and ceased to be a member of the KMP on 4 December 2020. The amounts in this table comprise all remuneration paid to 

Mr Underwood from 6 April 2020 to 31 December 2020 and includes an end of service payment of $19,476.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamRemuneration report60

Total
$

251,850

145,088

134,137

96,989

131,400

147,825

145,088

Short-term 
benefits

Post-
employment  
benefits

Long-term 
benefits

Cash salary 
and fees
$

Bonus
$

Superannuation
$

Annual and 
long-service 
leave1
$

LTIP 
expense 
(net)
$

230,000

132,500

122,500

88,968

120,000

135,000

132,500

579,272

398,808

319,272

364,272

319,254

151,029

 – 

 – 

 –

–

 –

 – 

 –

–

–

39,000

25,000

–

–

21,850

12,588

11,637

8,021

11,400

12,825

12,588

 – 

 – 

 –

–

 –

 – 

 –

 – 

 – 

 –

–

 –

 – 

 –

20,746

54,188

879,617

1,533,823

20,746

20,746

18,230

20,746

1,711

37,463

29,855

29,855

29,851

2,453

260,107

97,825

172,132

62,217

–

717,124

506,698

609,489

432,068

155,193

Table 9: 2019 Remuneration

Non-Executive Directors

Michael Carapiet

Gavin Bell

Andrew Bolam

Carolyn Colley2

Deborah Homewood

John Prendiville

Ian Watt

Executive Director

Deven Billimoria3

Other Executive KMP

Timothy Looi

Sarah Haas 

Sophie MacIntosh 

Dave Adler4

Clarence Yap5

Total

3,093,375

64,000

193,834

183,665

1,471,898

5,006,772

1.  The amounts disclosed in this column represent the accrued leave expense for the period.

2.  Carolyn Colley commenced as a Non-Executive Director on 15 March 2019.

3.  As disclosed in the 2019 Remuneration Report, the reported LTIP expense and total remuneration for Deven Billimoria for 2019 was accelerated across a shorter vesting period resulting in an 

increase of $268,562 in connection with his retirement as Managing Director and CEO.

4.  Dave Adler ceased to be a member of KMP on 1 August 2019. The amounts in this table include all remuneration paid to Mr Adler from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019.

5.  Clarence Yap ceased to be a member of KMP on 31 January 2019. The amounts in this table include all remuneration paid to Mr Yap from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 and include 

an end of service payment of $124,823.

Other transactions with key management personnel

$7,463 in cost reimbursements were paid to key management personnel in 2020 (2019: $10,085). 

Reimbursements to key management personnel

2020

2019

Non-Executive Directors:

Michael Carapiet

Gavin Bell

Andrew Bolam

Carolyn Colley

Deborah Homewood

John Prendiville

Ian Watt

Executive Directors:

Deven Billimoria

Timothy Looi

Other Key Management Personnel:

Tony Forward

Sarah Haas

Sophie MacIntosh

Nigel Underwood

Total

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

1,186

9,647

4,392

400

–

–

1,485

7,463

207

70

161

–

–

10,085

Additionally, 4,000 shares were held by related parties of Timothy Looi, an executive director (2019: 4,000 shares).

There were no other transactions with key management personnel in the period.

Remuneration reportProportion of remuneration linked to performance

The proportion of remuneration paid to the KMP of the Group that is linked to performance is set out in the table below.

Table 10: Proportion of remuneration

61

Non-Executive Directors

Michael Carapiet

Gavin Bell

Andrew Bolam

Carolyn Colley

Deborah Homewood

John Prendiville

Ian Watt

Executive Directors

Deven Billimoria1 

Timothy Looi2

Other Executive KMP

Tony Forward3

Sarah Haas

Sophie MacIntosh

Nigel Underwood4

Dave Adler5

Clarence Yap6

Fixed remuneration

At risk – STIP

At risk – LTIP

2020

2019

2020

2019

2020

2019

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

116%

72%

76%

79%

90%

85%

–

–

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

43%

64%

–

73%

68%

–

86%

100%

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

0%

20%

9%

13%

12%

0%

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

0%

0%

–

8%

4%

–

0%

0%

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(16%)

8%

15%

8%

(2%)

15% 

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

57%

36%

–

19%

28%

–

14%

0%

1.  Deven Billimoria retired as an Executive Director on 28 February 2020. Figures for 2019 include $268,562 accelerated LTIP expense, as disclosed in the 2019 remuneration report.

2.  Timothy Looi became an Executive Director on assuming the role of Managing Director and CEO on 29 February 2020. Mr Looi was a member of the KMP for the period from 1 January 2020 

to 28 February 2020 in his previous role as Chief Financial Officer. He was therefore a member of the KMP for the full year. The amounts in the 2020 column of this table include all remuneration 
paid to Mr Looi from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 in both roles.

3.  Tony Forward was designated as a member of the KMP with effect from 1 February 2020. The amounts in this table comprise all remuneration paid to Mr Forward from 1 February 2020 to 

31 December 2020. 

4.  Nigel Underwood became a member of the KMP on 6 April 2020 and ceased to be a member of the KMP on 4 December 2020. The amounts in this table comprise all remuneration paid to 

Mr Underwood from 6 April 2020 to 31 December 2020.

5.  Dave Adler ceased to be a member of the KMP on 1 August 2019.

6.  Clarence Yap ceased to be a member of the KMP on 31 January 2019.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamRemuneration report62

Service agreements

Non-Executive Directors

Non-Executive Directors do not have fixed-term contracts with the Company. On appointment to the Board, all Non-Executive Directors 
enter into a service agreement with the Company in the form of a letter of appointment. The letter summarises the Board policies and 
terms, including compensation. 

Executive Directors

Remuneration and other terms of employment for Executive Directors are formalised in service agreements. Details of these service 
agreements in place during the financial year are as follows:

Name:

Role title:

Timothy Looi

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer

Commencement date:

29 February 2020

Term of agreement:

No fixed term. Mr Looi’s employment will continue until terminated by either party in accordance with 
the agreement.

Remuneration:

During his employment Mr Looi is entitled to:

• 
receive fixed annual remuneration of $680,000 inclusive of superannuation contributions; and
•  participate in the STIP with target participation under the STIP capped at a maximum of $350,000 
inclusive of superannuation and payments under the STIP in any given year dependent on the 
achievement of a range of financial and non-financial KPIs as approved by the Board on an 
annual basis.

Mr Looi is also eligible to participate in the LTIP. The issue of shares under the LTIP and the terms on 
which they are issued is at the discretion of the Board.

The employment contract may be terminated by either party giving 12 months’ written notice or, 
in the case of termination by the Group, by payment in lieu of notice. The Group may terminate the 
employment contract immediately and without payment for notice or payment in lieu of notice in the 
event of serious misconduct or other specified circumstances. There is no contractual entitlement to 
termination payments in the event of termination.

Termination:

Post-employment 
restrictions:

Mr Looi has agreed to certain post-employment restrictions that apply for up to 12 months from the 
date of termination of employment. The enforceability of these restrictions is subject to all usual legal 
requirements.

Name:

Role title:

Deven Billimoria

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer

Commencement date:

1 June 2014

Termination date:

28 February 2020

Remuneration:

At the time when his employment ceased, Mr Billimoria was entitled to:

• 
receive fixed annual remuneration of $605,000 inclusive of superannuation contributions; and
•  participate in the STIP with target participation under the STIP capped at a maximum of 60% 
of fixed annual remuneration and payments under the STIP in any given year dependent on 
the achievement of a range of financial and non-financial KPIs as approved by the Board on 
an annual basis. 

Mr Billimoria was also eligible to participate in the LTIP. 

Post-employment 
restrictions:

Certain post-employment restrictions apply for up to 12 months from the date of termination 
of employment. The enforceability of these restrictions is subject to all usual legal requirements.

Other Executive KMP

Other Executive KMP have employment agreements setting out the terms and conditions of their employment. The agreements are 
not of a fixed duration. These agreements provide for:

total compensation inclusive of a base salary and superannuation contribution;

• 
•  eligibility to participate in the STIP, with target participation in the STIP capped at a maximum of 30% of total fixed annual remuneration;
• 
termination by either party giving three months’ written notice or, in the case of termination by the Group, payment in lieu of notice;
• 
•  no entitlement to termination payments in the event of termination; and
•  certain post-employment restrictions that apply for up to six months from the date of termination of employment, and the 

immediate termination by the Group without payment in lieu of notice in the event of serious misconduct or other specific circumstances;

enforceability of these restrictions is subject to all usual legal requirements.

Remuneration report63

Share-based compensation

Bonus shares and cash offers

No bonus shares were issued or cash offers made to Directors or other members of the KMP as part of compensation during the year 
ended 31 December 2020.

LTIP 

As described above, the Company has established an LTIP for the Managing Director and CEO, other Executive KMP and other senior 
management. The LTIP is in the form of a loan funded share plan. The securities issued under the LTIP are ordinary shares that are held 
subject to escrow until vesting. The terms of the LTIP are therefore, such that the benefits to participants are similar to the benefits that 
would be received had the participant been granted options – that is, the participant benefits from the increase in the market price over 
the issue price of the share. Accordingly, for the purposes of compliance with the Corporations Act in relation to the disclosure of details 
of options, the Company provides a summary below of the terms of the shares issued under the LTIP during the year ended 
31 December 2020, with the terms of the shares issued under the LTIP for 2019 reflected in the 2019 Annual Report.

The terms and conditions of each LTIP grant affecting remuneration in the current or a future reporting period are disclosed in Table 11 
and Table 12 below.

Table 11: Terms and conditions of the shares granted under the LTIP in 2020

Grant  
date

3 March 
2020

10 June 
2020

Performance 
period

Three years to 
31 December 
2022

Three years to 
31 December 
2022

Earliest 
exercise 
date

Expiry  
date

Exercise 
price

Number 
of shares 
issued 

Fair value 
price at 
grant date

Total fair 
value at 
grant date

1 January 
2023

2 March 
2025

1 January 
2023

11 June 
2025

$6.67

1,245,905

$1.25

$1,557,381

$6.20

835,243

$1.40

$1,171,428

Performance 
achieved

To be 
determined

To be 
determined

As noted above, shares issued under the LTIP are not options. However, for compliance with the Corporations Act, the Company provides 
a summary below of the vesting of shares issued under the LTIP in 2018 that have a vesting period ending on 31 December 2020. 

Table 12: LTIP shares with a vesting period ending on 31 December 2020

Number 
of non-
forfeited 
shares1 

Fair value 
price at 
grant 
date

Exercise 
price 

Performance 
achieved

79,807

$10.89

$1.96

0%

17,212

$10.84

$1.67 

0%

Number 
of shares 
vested at 
31 December 
20202

% vested at 
31 December 
20202

Nil

Nil

0%

0%

Grant  
date

28 March 
2018

4 May 2018

Performance 
period

Exercise 
date

Expiry 
date

Three years to 
31 December 
2020

Three years to 
31 December 
2020

1 
January 
2021

1 
January 
2021

27 
March 
2023

3 May 
2023

1.  Prior to performance determination by the Board.
2.  As determined by the Board on 17 February 2021. 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamRemuneration reportThe following table sets out details of shares granted to Executive KMP under the LTIP in 2020 and the vesting profile of long-term 
incentives granted to Executive KMP as remuneration. There were no options over ordinary shares issued to Directors and other KMP 
as part of compensation as at 31 December 2020.

Table 13: 2020 LTIP grants and vesting profile of long term incentives granted as remuneration

64

Balance at 
start of year 
– unvested

Granted as 
compensation

Vested 
in year

Name 

Timothy Looi

Tony Forward

Sarah Haas

Sophie MacIntosh

Deven Billimoria1

Nigel Underwood2

348,892

–

182,056

204,831

697,784

670,392

204,537

223,464

201,118

–

–

164,851

Total KMP

1,433,563

1,464,362

1.  Deven Billimoria ceased to be a member of the KMP on 28 February 2020.
2.  Nigel Underwood ceased to be a member of the KMP on 4 December 2020. 

Director and Executive KMP shareholdings

Balance at 
end of year 
– unvested

Balance at 
end of year 
– vested but 
unexercised

Balance at 
end of year 
– vested and 
unvested

862,216

204,537

336,672

314,326

–

–

103,574

–

–

–

–

–

965,790

204,537

336,672

314,326

–

–

Forfeited

(157,068)

–

(68,848)

(91,623)

(697,784)

(164,851)

(1,180,174)

1,717,751

103,574

1,821,325

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

The number of shares in the Company held during the financial year by each Director and other members of the KMP, including their 
personally related parties, is set out in the table below. 

These numbers exclude unvested shares issued under the LTIP and shares issued under the LTIP that are vested but unexercised as at 
31 December 2020.

Table 14: Director and Executive KMP shareholdings 

Balance at 
start of year 
including 
vested LTIP

Received 
as part of 
remuneration

Additions

Disposals

Michael Carapiet

Gavin Bell

Andrew Bolam

Carolyn Colley

Deborah Homewood

John Prendiville

Ian Watt

Timothy Looi

Tony Forward

Sarah Haas

Sophie MacIntosh

Deven Billimoria1

Nigel Underwood2

Total

2,201,956

77,650

257,760

3,000

6,618

655,000

83,522

574

–

–

347

2,300,000

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

88,376

281,053

–

5,586,427

369,429

179,456

–

–

4,000

–

20,000

23,000

72,668

–

–

168

10,000

309,292

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(88,376)

See note 1

See note 2

Balance at 
end of year

2,381,412

77,650

257,760

7,000

6,618

675,000

106,522

73,242

–

–

515

1.  Deven Billimoria ceased to be a member of the KMP on 28 February 2020. As at that date, Mr Billimoria held a balance of 2,581,053 shares (excluding unvested shares issued under the LTIP). 

Acquisitions or disposals by Mr Billimoria since that date are not recorded by the Company.

2.  Nigel Underwood ceased to be a member of the KMP on 4 December 2020. As at that date, Mr Underwood held no shares (excluding unvested shares issued under the LTIP). Acquisitions or 

disposals by Mr Underwood since that date are not recorded by the Company.

This concludes the remuneration report, which has been audited.

(88,376)

3,585,719

Remuneration reportOther disclosures

Shares under option

As at 31 December 2020, there were 1,717,751 unvested shares 
held by employees under the LTIP (being shares issued under the 
2019 and 2020 LTIP grants). The LTIP shares are legally held by 
the employees. However, they cannot deal in the shares until the 
vesting conditions are satisfied and the loan is fully repaid. These 
have been treated as options in accordance with AASB 2 
Share-based Payment issued by the Australian Accounting 
Standards Board.

Shares issued on the exercise of options

There were no ordinary shares of Smartgroup Corporation 
Ltd issued on the exercise of options during the year ended 
31 December 2020 and up to the date of this report. 

Indemnity and insurance of officers

The Company has indemnified the Directors and executives of 
the Company for costs incurred in their capacity as a Director 
or executive for which they may be held personally liable except 
where there is a lack of good faith. During the financial year, 
the Group paid a premium in respect of a contract to insure 
the Directors and executives of the Company against a liability 
to the extent permitted by the Corporations Act. The contract 
of insurance prohibits disclosure of the nature of the liability 
and the amount of the premium.

Indemnity and insurance of auditor

The Company has not, during or since the end of the year, 
indemnified or agreed to indemnify the auditor of the Company 
or any related entity against a liability incurred by the auditor. 
During the year, the Company has not paid a premium in 
respect of a contract to insure the auditor of the Company 
or any related entity.

Proceedings on behalf of the Company

No person has applied to the Court under section 237 of the 
Corporations Act for leave to bring proceedings on behalf of 
the Company or to intervene in any proceedings to which the 
Company is a party for the purpose of taking responsibility 
on behalf of the Company for all or part of those proceedings.

Non-audit services

Details of the amounts paid or payable to the auditor for 
non-audit services provided during the financial year by the 
auditor are outlined in note 39 to the financial statements. 

The Directors are satisfied that the provision of non-audit 
services during the financial year by the auditor (or by another 
person or firm on the auditor’s behalf) is compatible with the 
general standard of independence for auditors imposed by 
the Corporations Act. 

Other disclosures

65

The Directors are of the opinion that the services as disclosed 
in note 39 to the financial statements do not compromise 
the external auditor’s independence requirements under 
the Corporations Act for the following reasons:

•  All non-audit services have been reviewed and approved 

to ensure that they do not impact the integrity and objectivity 
of the auditor.

•  None of the services undermine the general principles relating 
to auditor independence as set out in APES 110 Code of 
Ethics for Professional Accountants issued by the Accounting 
Professional Ethical Standards Board, including reviewing 
or auditing the auditor’s own work, acting in a management 
or decision-making capacity for the Company, acting as 
advocate for the Company or jointly sharing economic risks 
and rewards.

Officers of the Company who are former partners of 
PricewaterhouseCoopers

There are no officers of the Company who are former partners 
of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rounding of amounts

The Company is of a kind referred to in ASIC Legislative 
Instrument 2016/191 relating to the ‘rounding off’ of amounts 
in the Directors’ report. Amounts in the Directors’ report have 
been rounded off in accordance with the instrument to the 
nearest thousand dollars or, in certain cases, the nearest dollar.

Auditor’s independence declaration

A copy of the auditor’s independence declaration as required 
under section 307C of the Corporations Act is set out on the 
following page.

Auditor

PricewaterhouseCoopers continues in office in accordance with 
section 327 of the Corporations Act.

Resolution of Directors

This report is made in accordance with a resolution of Directors, 
pursuant to section 298(2)(a) of the Corporations Act.

On behalf of the Directors

Michael Carapiet
Chairman

24 February 2021 
Sydney

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamAuditor’s 
independence 
declaration

66

Auditor’s Independence Declaration 
As lead auditor for the audit of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd for the year ended 31 December 2020, I 
declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief, there have been:  

(a) 

no contraventions of the auditor independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 in 
relation to the audit; and 

(b) 

no contraventions of any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit. 

This declaration is in respect of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd and the entities it controlled during the 
period. 

Joe Sheeran 
Partner 
PricewaterhouseCoopers 

Sydney 
24 February 2021 

PricewaterhouseCoopers, ABN 52 780 433 757 
One International Towers Sydney, Watermans Quay, Barangaroo, GPO BOX 2650, SYDNEY  NSW  2001 
T: +61 2 8266 0000, F: +61 2 8266 9999, www.pwc.com.au 
Level 11, 1PSQ, 169 Macquarie Street, Parramatta NSW 2150, PO Box 1155 Parramatta NSW 2124 
T: +61 2 9659 2476, F: +61 2 8266 9999, www.pwc.com.au 

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. 

  
  
 
  
  
Reconciliation of Statutory Results to Adjusted Results
For the year ended 31 December 2020

Reconciliation of 
Statutory Results to 
Adjusted Results

67

$ million

Revenue

Operating EBITDA

Joint venture contribution

EBITDA

Depreciation

Amortisation

Impairment of joint venture investment

Net finance costs

PBT

Income tax expense

NPAT

Add back: Amortisation of acquired intangibles 
(tax-effected)

Cash tax benefit

NPATA

Shares (# millions)

NPATA per share (cents)

Statutory 
Financials: 
CY 2020

Reclassify:
Equity 
share of 
investments

Add back: 
Acceleration 
of LTIP 
expense

Add back: 
Impairment 
of joint 
venture 
investment

216.3 

95.0 

– 

95.0 

(3.2)

(22.1)

(5.1)

(3.1)

61.5 

(20.2)

41.3

14.8 

3.4 

59.5

– 

– 

0.3 

0.3 

– 

(0.3)

–

– 

–

– 

–

0.2 

– 

0.2 

–

0.4

–

0.4 

–

– 

–

–

0.4

–

0.4

–

–

0.4

–

–

–

–

–

– 

5.1

–

5.1

–

5.1

–

–

5.1

Adjusted 
CY 2020

216.3

95.4

 0.3 

95.7

(3.2)

(22.4)

–

(3.1)

67.0

(20.2)

46.8

15.0

3.4 

65.2

132.8 

49.1 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamFinancial Report

68

FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS

Financial ReportFinancial Report 2020 Smartgroup Corporation Ltd
31 December 2020 ABN 48 126 266 831

Financial Report

69

70

Consolidated Statement 
of Profit or Loss  
and Other 
Comprehensive Income

71

Consolidated Statement 
of Financial Position

72

Consolidated Statement 
of Changes In Equity

73

Consolidated Statement 
of Cash Flows

74

Notes to the 
Consolidated Financial 
Statements

For more information on  
our annual results, please visit 
smartgroup.com.au

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  Team70

Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss  
and Other Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 31 December 2020

Consolidated

Revenue

Share of profits from joint venture accounted for using the equity method

Note

8

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

216,332

249,835

45

8

Expenses

Product costs

Employee benefits expense

Administration and corporate expenses

Occupancy expenses

Advertising and marketing expenses

Depreciation expense

Amortisation of acquired intangible assets

Amortisation of contract rights

Other expenses

Operating profit

Impairment of joint venture investment

Finance costs

Acquisition transaction costs

Onerous lease costs

Profit before income tax expense

Income tax expense

Profit after income tax expense

Other comprehensive income

Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss

Net change in fair value of cash flow hedges taken to equity, net of tax

Other comprehensive income, net of tax

Total comprehensive income

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

(5,970)

(80,299)

(29,009)

(1,428)

(1,843)

(3,173)

(8,059)

(89,654)

(27,865)

(1,366)

(3,397)

(3,521)

(21,089)

(21,221)

(1,024)

(2,769)

69,773

(5,118)

(3,113)

(11)

(11)

61,520

(20,195)

41,325

(459)

(1,573)

92,728

–

(3,019)

(561)

(438)

88,710

(27,261)

61,449

26

26

(160)

(160)

41,351

61,289

Cents

31.9

31.9

Cents

47.7

47.6

9

9

9

9

25

9

9

10

17

17

The above Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income should be read in conjunction with the accompanying 
notes.

Financial Report 
Consolidated Statement  
of Financial Position
As at 31 December 2020

Consolidated

ASSETS

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Income tax receivable

Other current assets

Total current assets

Non-current assets

Investments accounted for using the equity method

Deferred tax assets

Right-of-use assets

Property and equipment

Intangible assets

Total non-current assets

Total assets

LIABILITIES

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Customer salary packaging liability

Income tax payable

Provisions

Lease liabilities

Other current liabilities

Total current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Provisions

Derivative financial instruments

Lease liabilities

Borrowings

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

EQUITY

Issued capital

Reserves

(Accumulated loss) / Retained earnings

Equity attributable to the owners of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd

Total equity

71

Note

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

11

38

19

10

21

25

10

40

34

7

35

38

10

36

40

23

37

22

40

12

13

14

27,368

48,111

15,881

851

1,869

39,639

65,402

25,649

–

2,621

94,080

133,311

827

12,247

9,143

1,742

290,402

314,361

408,441

29,892

48,111

–

13,989

3,738

5,782

6,400

8,333

11,592

1,369

311,904

339,598

472,909

35,273

65,402

1,474

11,056

3,629

5,733

101,512

122,567

2,596

47

8,678

24,673

35,994

137,506

270,935

1,684

10

11,543

60,392

73,629

196,196

276,713

262,522

259,115

8,776

(363)

270,935

270,935

8,435

9,163

276,713

276,713

The above Consolidated Statement of Financial Position should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamFinancial StatementsConsolidated Statement  
of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 31 December 2020

Consolidated

Note

Balance at 1 January 2019

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income for the year

Transactions with owners in their capacity as owners:

Contributions of equity, net of transaction costs 
and tax

Share-based payments

Dividends provided for or paid

Balance at 31 December 2019

13

14

16

Consolidated

Note

Balance at 1 January 2020

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income for the year

Transactions with owners in their capacity as owners:

Contributions of equity, net of transaction costs 
and tax

Share-based payments

Dividends provided for or paid

Balance at 31 December 2020

13

14

16

2,428

–

5,856

–

(160)

(160)

2,739

–

8,435

Share 
capital
$’000

256,687

–

–

–

–

–

259,115

Share 
capital
$’000

259,115

8,435

–

–

–

3,407

–

–

262,522

–

26

26

–

315

–

8,776

72

Reserves
$’000

(Accumulated loss)/
Retained earnings
$’000

Total equity
$’000

Reserves
$’000

(Accumulated loss)/
Retained earnings
$’000

29,765

61,449

–

61,449

–

–

(82,051)

9,163

9,163

41,325

–

292,308

61,449

(160)

61,289

2,428

2,739

(82,051)

276,713

Total equity
$’000

276,713

41,325

26

41,325

41,351

–

–

(50,851)

(363)

3,407

315

(50,851)

270,935

The above Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Financial ReportConsolidated Statement  
of Cash Flows
For the year ended 31 December 2020

Consolidated

Cash flows from operating activities

Receipts from customers

Payments to suppliers and employees

Transaction costs relating to business acquisitions

Interest received from cash held on behalf of customers

Interest and transaction costs paid on borrowings

Interest paid on lease liabilities

Income taxes paid

Net cash inflow from operating activities  
excluding salary packaging receipts and payments

Receipts in restricted cash

Payments of customer salary packaging liability

Net cash inflow from operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities

Payments for business acquisitions (net of cash acquired)

Proceeds from business acquisition escrow claims

Payments for property, plant and equipment

Dividends received from joint venture

Interest received

Capitalised contract rights

Net cash outflow from investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Repayment of borrowings

Dividends paid

Proceeds from long term incentive plan

Payment of lease liabilities

Proceeds from borrowings

Net cash outflow from financing activities

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Restricted cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year

Restricted cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

73

Note

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

40

34

25

7

12

16

40

254,641

283,031

(151,438)

(161,355)

(19)

884

(1,972)

(1,006)

(457)

2,181

(1,576)

(986)

(26,557)

(31,853)

74,533

88,985

2,455,979

2,363,265

(2,473,270)

(2,349,537)

57,242

102,713

–

–

(1,153)

500

423

(611)

(841)

(73,748)

(50,851)

3,392

(2,756)

38,000

(85,963)

(29.562)

39,639

65,402

27,368

48,111

75,479

(471)

531

(882)

–

301

(4,500)

(5,021)

–

(82,051)

3,869

(2,846)

6,900

(74,128)

23,564

39,186

42,291

39,639

65,402

105,041

The above Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamFinancial Statements74

Note 1. General information

Net current liability position

The financial statements cover Smartgroup Corporation Ltd 
(referred to as the ‘Company’ or ‘parent entity’) and its 
subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the ‘Group’). The 
financial statements are presented in Australian dollars, 
which is Smartgroup Corporation Ltd’s functional and 
presentation currency.

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd is a listed public company limited 
by shares, incorporated and domiciled in Australia. Its registered 
office and principal place of business is:

Level 8, 133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney, Australia, 2000

A description of the nature of the Group’s operations and its 
principal activities is included in the Directors’ Report, which 
is not part of the financial statements.

The financial statements were authorised for issue, in accordance 
with a resolution of Directors, on 24 February 2021. The Directors 
have the power to amend and reissue the financial statements.

Note 2. Basis of preparation

These general purpose financial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and 
Interpretations issued by the Australian Accounting Standards 
Board (AASB) and the Corporations Act 2001, as appropriate 
for for-profit oriented entities. These consolidated financial 
statements also comply with International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting 
Standards Board (IASB). 

Historical cost convention

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical 
cost convention, except for, where applicable, the revaluation of 
financial assets and liabilities (including derivative instruments) 
at fair value through profit or loss.

Critical accounting estimates

The preparation of the financial statements requires the use of 
certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management 
to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Group’s 
accounting policies. The areas involving a higher degree of 
judgement or complexity, or areas where assumptions and 
estimates are significant to the financial statements, are 
disclosed in note 4.

Parent entity information

In accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, these financial 
statements present the results of the Group only. Supplementary 
information about the parent entity is disclosed in note 27.

Rounding of amounts

The Company is of a kind referred to in Corporations Instrument 
2016/191, issued by the Australian Securities and Investments 
Commission, relating to the ‘rounding off’ of amounts in the 
financial statements. Amounts in the financial statements have 
been rounded off in accordance with the instrument to the 
nearest thousand dollars, or in certain cases, the nearest dollar.

As at 31 December 2020, the Group had net current liabilities 
of $7,432,000 due to the early repayment of non-current 
borrowings, specifically $53,748,000 of its term loan facility and 
$20,000,000 of its revolving loan facility, both of which were due 
to be repaid in May 2022 but were repaid in December 2020. 
The debt facilities were repaid early as the Group held a large 
excess cash balance immediately prior to repayment.

The Group has prepared projected cashflows for the twelve 
months from the date of the Directors’ Declaration, taking into 
consideration the continued business impacts of the COVID-19 
pandemic. These forecasts indicate that the Group is expected 
to generate sufficient levels of operating cashflows to enable it 
to pay its debts as and when they fall due. Further, the Group 
currently has undrawn debt facilities of $20,352,000 that may 
be drawn for operational liquidity purposes, with these facilities 
maturing on 1 May 2022. These factors support the Group’s 
ability to continue as a going concern.

Note 3. Significant accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation 
of the financial statements are set out in note 41 and in the 
respective notes. These policies have been consistently 
applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

New or amended Accounting Standards and 
Interpretations adopted

The Group has adopted all of the new or amended Accounting 
Standards and Interpretations issued by the Australian 
Accounting Standards Board (AASB) that are mandatory for 
the current reporting period with the following standards and 
amendments applied for the annual reporting period 
commencing 1 January 2020:

Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting

AASB 2019-1 Amendments to Australian Accounting 
Standards – References to the Conceptual Framework 

AASB 2018-6 Amendments to Australian Accounting 
Standards – Definition of a Business

AASB 2018-7 Amendments to Australian Accounting 
Standards – Definition of Material 

AASB 2019-5 Amendments to Australian Accounting 
Standards – Disclosure of the Effect of New IFRS Standards 
Not Yet Issued in Australia

The adoption of these Accounting Standards and Interpretations 
did not have any significant impact on the financial performance 
or position of the Group.

New standards and interpretations not yet adopted

Certain new accounting standards and interpretations have been 
published that are not mandatory for the 31 December 2020 
reporting year and have not been early adopted by the Group.

There are no other standards that are not yet effective and 
that would be expected to have a material impact on the entity 
in the current or future reporting years and on foreseeable 
future transactions.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report75

Expected credit loss

In preparing the financial statements, the Group re-assessed 
areas of judgement and identified that the estimates more 
exposed to uncertainty were those of expected credit loss (ECL) 
and inputs to assessing the carrying value of assets and 
liabilities. Using the Group’s own direct experience/knowledge 
as well as forward looking information, obtained by reviewing 
external analyst reports and public forecasts, to identify potential 
impacts from COVID-19, the inputs to these estimates were 
stress-tested, with the amount of the ECL re-evaluated.

Operations provision

The Group exercises judgement in measuring and recognising 
provisions relating to the operations, including potential customer 
and supplier disputes and claims. Judgement is necessary in 
assessing the likelihood that a claim will arise, and to quantify the 
possible range of financial settlement. Because of the inherent 
uncertainty in this evaluation process, actual losses may be 
different from the originally estimated provision.

Note 5. Restatement of comparatives

On 10 October 2019, the Group acquired the novated leasing 
assets of Lease and Asset Finance (L&A) for a total consideration 
of $886,000. At 31 December 2019, the acquisition accounting 
for L&A was provisionally determined and this remained 
provisionally determined at 30 June 2020.

Acquisition accounting is now finalised for L&A, with no changes 
to the $894,000 in goodwill reported in the 2020 Half Year Report.

Details relating to the acquisition accounting are disclosed 
in note 24.

Note 4. Critical accounting judgements, 
estimates and assumptions

The preparation of financial statements requires management 
to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect 
the reported amounts in the financial statements. Management 
continually evaluates its judgements and estimates in relation to 
assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses. Management bases its 
judgements, estimates and assumptions on historical experience 
and on other factors that management believes to be reasonable 
under the circumstances, including expectations of future events. 
The resulting accounting judgements and estimates will seldom 
equal the eventual actual results. The judgements, estimates 
and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material 
adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within 
the next financial year are discussed below.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) impact

The Group has formed estimates based on its own direct 
experience and external reports about household consumption 
and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) performance in the medium 
term, from credible sources such as the Australian Bureau of 
Statistics, the Reserve Bank of Australia and BIS Oxford 
Economics. Areas of uncertainty include the extent and duration 
of disruption based on consumer, business, and government 
actions and incentives, to contain the spread of COVID-19, and 
mitigate the economic downturn. Furthermore, actual economic 
conditions may vary from the estimates used. This could result in 
material differences between the accounting estimates applied 
and the actual results of the Group for future periods.

Goodwill and other indefinite life intangible assets

Goodwill and other intangible assets that have an indefinite 
useful life are not subject to amortisation and are tested 
annually for impairment, or more frequently if events or changes 
in circumstances indicate that they might be impaired, in 
accordance with the accounting policy stated in note 7 and 
note 41. The recoverable amounts of cash-generating units 
have been determined based on value-in-use calculations. 
These calculations require the use of assumptions, including 
estimated discount rates based on the current cost of capital 
and growth rates of the estimated future cash flows.

Due to the effects of COVID-19, the carrying values of goodwill, 
intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, right-of-use 
assets, and working capital for each cash generating unit (CGU) 
have been reassessed, and no CGU has been impaired as a 
result of stress-testing a range of reasonably expected 
outcomes. Further details are disclosed in note 7. The Group 
has, however, impaired the investment in the joint venture, 
Health-e Workforce Solutions Pty Ltd, by $5,118,000 after 
reviewing the asset carrying value. Further details are disclosed 
in note 25.

The Group has also recognised accelerated amortisation relating 
to the transaction functionality of acquired software no longer 
in use due to the transition of customers. Further details are 
disclosed in note 7.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements76

Note 6. Operating segments

Identification of reportable operating segments

The Group has identified its segments based on the internal reports that are reviewed and used by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief 
Financial Officer, who are identified as the Chief Operating Decision Makers (CODM), in assessing performance and in determining the 
allocation of resources. There is no aggregation of operating segments.

The CODM reviews EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation). The accounting policies adopted for internal 
reporting to the CODM are consistent with those adopted in the financial statements.

Types of products and services

The principal products and services of each of these operating segments are as follows:

Outsourced administration (OA)

This part of the business provides outsourced salary packaging services, novated leasing, share 
plan administration and outsourced payroll services.

Vehicle services (VS)

This part of the business provides end-to-end fleet management services.

Software, distribution and group 
services (SDGS)

This part of the business provides salary packaging software solutions, the marketing of salary 
packaging debit cards, distribution of vehicle insurances and workforce management software 
to the healthcare industry.

Intersegment transactions

Intersegment transactions were made at market rates. Intersegment transactions are eliminated on consolidation.

Intersegment receivables, payables and loans

Intersegment loans are initially recognised at the consideration received. Intersegment loans receivable and loans payable that 
earn or incur non-market interest are not adjusted to fair value based on market interest rates. Intersegment loans are eliminated 
on consolidation.

Operating segment information

Consolidated - 2020

Revenue

Products, services and commissions

Management and administrative fees

Performance fees and rebates

Inter-segment sales

Total revenue

Segment results (EBITDA)

Depreciation

Amortisation

Impairment of joint venture investment

Finance costs

Profit before income tax expense

Income tax expense

Profit after income tax expense

Assets

Total segment assets

Total assets

Liabilities

Total segment liabilities

Total liabilities

OA 
$’000

 116,561

 61,280 

17,064

 228 

VS 
$’000

 – 

 6,821 

 3,403 

 3,912 

 195,133 

 14,136 

97,563

8,669

Intersegment 
eliminations /
Corporate 
$’000

 – 

–

 – 

(30,394)

(30,394)

(23,829)

SDGS 
$’000

 8,211 

2,116

 876 

26,254

37,457

12,634

116,485

11,637

34,865

245,454

75,774

6,247

25,171

30,314

Total 
$’000

 124,772 

70,217

 21,343 

 – 

216,332

95,037

(3,173)

(22,113)

(5,118)

(3,113)

61,520

(20,195)

41,325

408,441

408,441

137,506

137,506

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report 
Note 6. Operating segments (continued)

Operating segment information (continued)

Consolidated - 2019

Revenue

Products, services and commissions

Management and administrative fees

Performance fees and rebates

Inter-segment sales

Total revenue

Segment results (EBITDA)

Depreciation

Amortisation

Finance costs

Profit before income tax expense

Income tax expense

Profit after income tax expense

Assets

Total segment assets

Total assets

Liabilities

Total segment liabilities

Total liabilities

OA 
$’000

VS 
$’000

SDGS 
$’000

Intersegment 
eliminations /
Corporate 
$’000

134,335

67,658

17,674

208

219,875

102,815

–

6,936

3,789

3,600

14,325

8,709

17,217

671

1,555

22,466

41,909

21,162

–

–

–

(26,274)

(26,274)

(15,756)

163,434

163,434

95,175

95,175

19,498

19,498

11,873

11,873

39,821

39,821

16,781

16,781

250,156

250,156

72,367

72,367

77

Total 
$’000

151,552

75,265

23,018

–

249,835

116,930

(3,521)

(21,680)

(3,019)

88,710

(27,261)

61,449

472,909

472,909

196,196

196,196

Accounting policy for operating segments

Operating segments are presented using the ‘management approach’, where the information presented is on the same basis as the 
internal reports provided to the CODM. The CODM is responsible for the allocation of resources to operating segments and assessing 
their performance.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements78

2019 
$’000

274,395

274,395

65,109

(50,081)

15,028

77,915

(60,836)

17,079

4,557

(459)

4,098

1,304

1,304

2020 
$’000

274,395

274,395

65,109

(58,725)

6,384

77,915

(73,281)

4,634

5,168

(1,483)

3,685

1,304

1,304

290,402

311,904

Note 7. Non-current assets — intangible assets

Consolidated

Goodwill - at cost

Goodwill

Customer contracts and relationships - at cost

Less: Accumulated amortisation

Customer contracts and relationships

Software and website - at cost

Less: Accumulated amortisation

Software and websites

Contract rights - at cost

Less: Accumulated amortisation

Contract rights

Brand names and logos - at cost

Brand names and logos

Intangible assets

Reconciliations

Reconciliations of the written down values at the beginning and end of the current and previous financial year are set out below:

Consolidated

Customer 
contracts and 
relationships 
$’000

Goodwill 
$’000

Software 
and website 
$’000

Contract 
rights 
$’000

Brand 
names and 
logos 
$’000

Total 
$’000

Balance at 1 January 2019

266,588

23,110

27,303

Additions

Additions through business 
combinations (note 24)

Amortisation expense

Balance at 31 December 2019

Additions

Amortisation expense

Accelerated amortisation1

–

7,807

–

274,395

–

–

–

Balance at 31 December 2020

274,395

–

680

(8,762)

15,028

–

–

2,235

(12,459)

17,079

–

–

4,557

–

(459)

4,098

611

(8,644)

(11,221)

(1,024)

–

6,384

(1,224)

4,634

–

3,685

1,304

318,305

–

–

–

1,304

–

–

–

4,557

10,722

(21,680)

311,904

611

(20,889)

(1,224)

1,304

290,402

1 The accelerated amortisation in 2020 relates to the transactional functionality of certain acquired software no longer in use after the transition of customers to other systems. 

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report79

Note 7. Non-current assets — intangible assets (continued)

Impairment testing

The Group monitors its business through cash-generating units (CGU), being Outsourced Administration (OA), Vehicle Services (VS),  
Software Distribution and Group Services (SDGS), Autopia, and Public Benevolent Institutions (PBI).

The CGUs identified are consistent with the previous financial year, but for OA, which now includes Selectus, following the completion 
of customer transitions to other CGUs and the redeployment of Group resources.

Goodwill acquired through business combinations has been allocated to the following CGUs:

Goodwill

CGU 1: Outsourced Administration

CGU 2: Vehicle Services

CGU 3: SDGS

CGU 4: Autopia

CGU 5: PBI

CGU 6: Selectus

Goodwill

Brand names and logos have been allocated to the following CGUs:

Brand names and logos

CGU 1: Outsourced Administration

CGU 2: Vehicle Services

CGU 3: SDGS

Brand names and logos

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

149,029

122,482

8,564

5,574

31,318

79,910

–

8,564

5,574

31,318

79,910

26,547

274,395

274,395

2020 
$’000

1,285

15

4

2019 
$’000

1,285

15

4

1,304

1,304

The recoverable amount of a CGU is determined based on value-in-use calculations. These calculations use cash flow projections 
based on financial budgets approved by management covering a five year period. Cash flows beyond the five year period are 
extrapolated using the estimated growth rates stated below. These growth rates do not exceed the long-term average growth 
rates for the industry in which each CGU operates.

In addition to testing the carrying amount of goodwill and intangible assets with an indefinite useful life against the recoverable amount 
of a CGU. Property, plant and equipment, right-of-use assets, and working capital are also included in the carrying value tested.

The following key assumptions were used in the discounted cash flow model for different CGUs:

A projected terminal growth rate of 1.4% (2019: 1.4%) has been used for all CGUs.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsNote 7. Non-current assets — intangible assets (continued)

Pre-tax discount rates

CGU 1: Outsourced Administration

CGU 2: Vehicle Services

CGU 3: SDGS

CGU 4: Autopia

CGU 5: PBI

CGU 6: Selectus

80

2020

17.5%

20.0%

20.4%

23.9%

18.3%

–

2019

16.0%

15.7%

15.5%

21.8%

16.1%

13.6%

In performing the value-in-use calculations for each CGU, the Group has applied post-tax discount rates to discount the estimated future 
post-tax cash flows. The equivalent pre-tax discount rates are disclosed above. The recoverable amount of net assets in each CGU is 
greater than the carrying value of the assets and, therefore, the intangible assets are not considered to be impaired.

Increases in the pre-tax discount rates calculated from 2019 to 2020 are largely the result of the debt repayments that occurred in 
December 2020. 

While the same terminal growth rates as the prior year have been used, due to the volatility and economic disruption arising from the 
COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing uncertainty regarding the impact of the winding down of various government assistance measures, 
an additional COVID-19 risk premium has been applied to pre-tax discount rates.

Sensitivity analysis

Several revenue and earnings scenarios have been modelled in order to estimate the recoverable amount of intangible assets.

Transactional revenue streams primarily relating to novated leasing have been most impacted by COVID-19 and are likely to be most 
impacted by any prolonged economic disruption. The scenarios modelled vary in terms of the duration of the economic downturn and 
strength of the subsequent economic recovery, taking into account economic forecasts from a broad range of sources. For non-
transactional revenue streams, and due to the nature of the Group’s customer base, the Group has assumed that revenue growth will 
be in line with GDP growth estimates as at 31 December 2020, adjusted for known and expected contract re-pricing. Each scenario 
has been probability-weighted, in order to determine a best-estimate recoverable amount of intangible assets. Under all reasonably 
expected scenarios, there is sufficient headroom for all CGUs, such that the carrying amount does not exceed its forecast recoverable 
amount.

Under the probability-weighted revenue and earnings scenario, no reasonably expected change in assumptions would cause the CGUs’ 
carrying amounts to exceed their forecast recoverable amounts, assuming there are no significant changes to salary packaging tax 
concessions or the group’s ability to sell add-on insurance products. Should the relevant legislation change, depending on the nature 
of the changes, there may be a different impairment testing conclusion for CGUs 1, 3, 4 and 5.

Smartgroup has identified CGU1 as the CGU most at risk to changes in pre-tax discount rates and transactional volumes. Applying a 
pre-tax discount rate in excess of 37.5% would result in an impairment to CGU1. Reasonably expected transactional volume reductions 
for this CGU, such as a novated leasing volume reduction of 14%, would not result in an impairment.

For CGUs 2 to 5, applying pre-tax discount rates in excess of 30.0% would result in an impairment however revenue for these CGUs 
is generally less volatile. Reasonably expected revenue reductions for these CGUs would not result in an impairment.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report81

Note 7. Non-current assets — intangible assets (continued)

Accounting policy for intangible assets

Contract rights

Contract rights consist of exclusive rights to distribute services 
to certain customers in accordance with AASB 138 Intangible 
Assets, as well as capitalised incremental costs and fulfilment 
costs arising from contractual obligations over a period 
greater than one year which are recoverable and generate 
revenue in accordance with AASB 15 Revenue. Amortisation 
is on a straight-line basis over the period of their expected 
benefit, the life of the contract, and being up to 5 years.

Accounting policy for impairment of non-financial assets

Goodwill and other intangible assets that have an indefinite 
useful life are not subject to amortisation and are tested annually 
for impairment, or more frequently if events or changes in 
circumstances indicate that they might be impaired. Other 
non-financial assets are reviewed for impairment whenever 
events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying 
amount may not be recoverable.

An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which 
the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount.

Recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less 
costs of disposal and value-in-use. The value-in-use is the 
present value of the estimated future cash flows relating to 
the asset using a pre-tax discount rate specific to the asset 
or cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs. Assets 
that do not have independent cash flows are grouped 
together to form a cash-generating unit.

Intangible assets acquired as part of a business combination, 
other than goodwill, are initially measured at their fair value at 
the date of the acquisition. Intangible assets acquired separately 
are initially recognised at cost. Indefinite life intangible assets 
are not amortised and are subsequently measured at cost less 
any impairment. Finite life intangible assets are subsequently 
measured at cost less amortisation and any impairment. The 
gains or losses recognised in profit or loss arising from the 
derecognition of intangible assets are measured as the difference 
between net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of 
the intangible asset. The method and useful lives of finite life 
intangible assets are reviewed annually. Changes in the expected 
pattern of consumption or useful life are accounted for 
prospectively by changing the amortisation method or period. 
Internally generated intangible assets, excluding capitalised 
development costs, are not capitalised and expenditure is 
recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss 
and Other Comprehensive Income in the year in which the 
expenditure is incurred.

Goodwill

Goodwill arises on the acquisition of a business. Goodwill is not 
amortised. Instead, goodwill is tested annually for impairment, 
or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate 
that it might be impaired, and is carried at cost less accumulated 
impairment losses. Impairment losses on goodwill are taken to 
profit or loss and are not subsequently reversed.

Customer contracts and relationships

Customer contracts and relationships acquired in a business 
combination are amortised on a straight-line basis over the 
period of their expected benefit, being 5 to 6 years.

Software and website

Research costs are expensed in the period in which they are 
incurred. Development costs are capitalised when it is probable 
that the project will be a success considering its commercial 
and technical feasibility; the Group is able to use or sell the 
asset; and when the Group has sufficient resources and intent 
to complete the internal development and the related costs 
can be measured reliably. The software costs are amortised 
on a straight-line basis over the period of their expected benefit, 
being between 2 and 5 years.

Brand names and logos

Brand names and logos acquired in a business combination are 
recognised separately to goodwill and included in other intangible 
assets. They have been assessed as having an indefinite useful 
life on the basis that the asset is allocated to businesses that are 
expected to continue into perpetuity.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsNote 8. Revenue

Consolidated

Products, services and commissions

Management and administration fees

Performance fees and rebates

Revenue

82

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

124,772

151,552

70,217

21,343

75,265

23,018

216,332

249,835

Accounting policy for revenue recognition

The Group recognises revenue when it transfers control over 
a product or a service to a customer. Revenue is measured 
based on the consideration specified in a contract with a 
customer and excludes amounts collected on behalf of third 
parties. Amounts disclosed as revenue are net of returns, 
trade allowances, rebates and amounts collected on behalf 
of third parties.

Nature of goods and services 

The following is a description of the principal activities, separated 
by reportable segments, from which the Group generates its 
revenue. For more detailed information about reportable 
segments, see note 6.

Management and administration fees
The Group generates revenue from arranging and administering 
outsourced salary packaging and fleet management services on 
behalf of employers. Administration fees for salary packaging are 
paid by the employers through amounts deducted from their 
employees’ pre-tax salary. Revenue is recognised over the period 
of administration and includes interest earned from cash held 
on behalf of customers.

Fleet management fees are paid by employers in respect of fleet 
management services and revenue is recognised over the period 
of administration.

Share plan and payroll administration revenue is recognised over 
the period of administration. Revenue on customer contributions 
is recognised when contributions occur.

Revenue from the licensing of in-house salary packaging 
software is recognised monthly based on a monthly fee per user.

Products, services and commissions 
The Group earns upfront commissions and rebates from 
suppliers relating to financing and sourcing of vehicles, sale 
of certain insurance products and fees for the sale of certain 
auxiliary products. Revenue is recognised upon delivery 
of the service or product to the customer.

Performance fees and rebates
The Group generates revenue from arranging and providing 
salary packaging products and services. The Group earns fees 
and rebates from various suppliers relating to maintenance of 
a vehicle finance book, the arrangement of certain insurance 
products, and fees for the arrangement or provision of ancillary 
vehicle consumables. The Group also acts as a distributor of 
salary packaging debit cards for a major financial institution. 
Revenue is recognised in the period the services are rendered.

Contract balances

Contract assets primarily relate to the Group’s rights to 
consideration for products and services provided and not billed 
at the reporting date. Incremental costs and directly attributable 
costs to fulfil a contract over one year that are recoverable 
and generate resources are capitalised, in accordance with 
AASB 15 Revenue, and included within contract rights in note 7.

Contract liabilities primarily relate to consideration 
received in advance from customer contracts for which 
revenue is recognised on satisfaction of outstanding 
performance obligations.

Receivable and contract asset balances at the reporting date are 
disclosed in note 19 as trade receivables and accrued revenue, 
respectively, and contract liability balances are disclosed in 
note 23 as income received in advance.

Significant changes in contract assets and liabilities during 
the period result from satisfaction of performance obligations.

Transaction price allocated to the remaining performance 
obligations 

The Group applies the practical expedients available in AASB 15 
Revenue and does not disclose information about its remaining 
performance obligations, the amount of the transaction price 
allocated to the remaining performance obligations, or an 
explanation of when the Group expects to recognise that 
amount as revenue.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial ReportNote 9. Expenses

Consolidated

Depreciation

Office equipment

Computer equipment

Furniture, fixtures and fittings

Other assets

Leasehold improvements

Right-of-use assets

Total depreciation

Amortisation

Customer contracts and relationships

Software and website

Accelerated software and website amortisation

Total amortisation of acquired intangible assets

Amortisation

Contract rights

Total amortisation of contract rights

Total depreciation and amortisation

Finance costs

Interest and finance charges paid/payable

Interest on lease liabilities

Finance income

Total finance costs

Occupancy costs

Superannuation expense

Defined contribution superannuation expense

Share-based payments expense

Share-based payments expense

Onerous lease costs

Accelerated depreciation

Right-of-use asset write-down

Other lease termination costs

Total onerous lease costs

83

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

188

325

66

5

140

2,449

3,173

8,644

11,221

1,224

21,089

1,024

1,024

25,286

2,530

1,006

(423)

3,113

1,428

199

318

102

6

426

2,470

3,521

8,762

12,459

–

21,221

459

459

25,201

2,334

986

(301)

3,019

1,366

5,702

6,362

466

1,596

–

–

11

11

361

10

67

438

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements84

2020 
$’000

24,255

(4,060)

20,195

2019 
$’000

28,527

(1,266)

27,261

(4,060)

(1,266)

2020 
$’000

61,520

18,456

1,535

124

17

140

(19)

(17)

2019 
$’000

88,710

26,613

–

–

133

479

(4)

–

20,236

27,221

(53)

12

26

14

20,195

27,261

Note

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

(146)

(947)

Note 10. Income tax

Income tax expense

Consolidated

Current tax

Deferred tax - origination and reversal of temporary differences

Aggregate income tax expense

Deferred tax included in income tax expense comprises:

Increase in deferred tax assets

Numerical reconciliation of income tax expense and tax at the statutory rate

Consolidated

Profit before income tax expense

Tax at the statutory tax rate of 30%

Tax effect of amounts which are not deductible/(taxable) in calculating taxable income:

Impairment of joint venture investment

Intangible assets

Non-deductible expenses

Share-based payments

Share of profits — joint venture

Sundry items

Prior year tax claims not recognised now recouped

Prior year temporary differences not recognised now recognised

Income tax expense

Amounts recognised directly in equity

Consolidated

Amounts charged/(credited) directly to equity:

Deferred tax assets

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report85

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

74

2,505

6,838

162

1,677

2,050

981

30

2,412

4,167

(401)

1,396

2,704

1,093

(1,394)

(3,125)

(190)

(717)

14

6

12,006

(2)

243

241

(131)

(180)

3

(22)

7,946

9

378

387

12,247

8,333

2020 
$’000

8,333

4,060

(146)

–

12,247

2020 
$’000

851

2019 
$’000

8,051

1,266

(947)

(37)

8,333

2019 
$’000

1,474

Note

Note 10. Income tax (continued)

Deferred tax assets

Consolidated

Deferred tax assets comprises of temporary differences attributable to:

Impairment of receivables

Employee benefits

Accruals and other provisions

Property and equipment

Revenue received in advance

Acquisition and issuance costs

Leased property and equipment

Intangible assets

Prepayments

Accrued revenue

Derivative financial instruments

Sundry items

Total temporary differences

Amounts recognised in equity:

Derivative financial instruments

Share issue transaction costs

Total recognised in equity

Net deferred tax assets

Movements:

Consolidated

Opening balance

Credited to profit or loss

Credited/(charged) to equity

Additions through business combinations

Closing balance

Income tax payable

Consolidated

Income tax payable

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements86

Note 10. Income tax (continued)

Accounting policy for income tax

Current and deferred tax for the year 

Current and deferred tax is recognised in profit or loss, 
except to the extent that it relates to items recognised in other 
comprehensive income or directly in equity. In this case, the tax 
is also recognised in other comprehensive income or directly 
in equity, respectively.

Tax consolidation group 

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (the head entity) and its wholly 
owned Australian subsidiaries have formed an income tax 
consolidated group under the tax consolidation regime, from 
6 June 2012. The head entity and each subsidiary in the tax 
consolidated group continue to account for their own current 
and deferred tax amounts. The tax consolidated group has 
applied the ‘separate taxpayer within group’ approach in 
determining the appropriate amount of taxes to allocate 
to members of the tax consolidated group.

In addition to its own current and deferred tax amounts, the 
head entity also recognises the current tax liabilities (or assets) 
and the deferred tax assets arising from unused tax losses 
and unused tax credits assumed from each subsidiary in 
the tax consolidated group.

Assets or liabilities arising under tax funding agreements with the 
tax consolidated entities are recognised as amounts receivable 
from or payable to other entities in the tax consolidated group. 
The tax funding arrangement ensures that the intercompany 
charge equals the current tax liability or benefit of each tax 
consolidated group member, resulting in neither a contribution 
by the head entity to the subsidiaries nor a distribution by the 
subsidiaries to the head entity.

The income tax expense for the year is the tax payable on the 
current period’s taxable income based on the applicable income 
tax rate for each jurisdiction, adjusted for changes in deferred 
tax assets and liabilities arising from temporary differences, 
unused tax losses and adjustments recognised in relation 
to prior periods, where applicable. Current tax liabilities are 
measured at the amount expected to be recovered from 
or paid to taxation authorities at the tax rates and tax laws 
enacted or substantively enacted at the reporting date.

Deferred tax 

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognised for temporary 
differences at the tax rates expected to apply when the assets 
are recovered or liabilities are settled, based on those tax rates 
that are enacted or substantively enacted, except for:

•  when the deferred income tax asset or liability arises from 
the initial recognition of goodwill or an asset or liability in 
a transaction that is not a business combination and that, 
at the time of the transaction, affects neither the accounting 
nor taxable profits; or

•  when the taxable temporary difference is associated 

with interests in subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, 
and the timing of the reversal can be controlled and it is 
probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in 
the foreseeable future.

Deferred tax assets are recognised for deductible temporary 
differences and unused tax losses only if it is probable that 
future taxable amounts will be available to utilise those 
temporary differences and losses.

The carrying amount of recognised and unrecognised deferred 
tax assets is reviewed at each reporting date. Deferred tax assets 
recognised are reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable 
that future taxable profits will be available for the carrying amount 
to be recovered. Previously unrecognised deferred tax assets are 
recognised to the extent that it is probable that there are future 
taxable profits available to recover the asset.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset only where there 
is a legally enforceable right to offset current tax assets against 
current tax liabilities and deferred tax assets against deferred tax 
liabilities; and they relate to the same taxable authority on either 
the same taxable entity or different taxable entities which intend 
to settle simultaneously.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report87

Note 11. Current assets — cash and cash equivalents

Consolidated

Cash at bank and in hand

Term deposits

Cash and cash equivalents

2020 
$’000

27,368

–

27,368

2019 
$’000

39,623

16

39,639

Accounting policy for cash and cash equivalents 

Cash and cash equivalents includes cash on hand, term deposits held at call with financial institutions, other short-term, highly liquid 
investments with original maturities of three months or less that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and that are 
subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.

Note 12. Non-current liabilities — borrowings

Consolidated

Bank loan

Borrowing costs and interest at amortised cost

Borrowings

Refer to note 18 for further information on financial instruments.

Total secured liabilities

The total secured liabilities (current and non-current) are as follows:

Consolidated

Bank loan

As at 31 December 2019, the following facilities were available to the Group:

•  A three year facility of $99,000,000;
•  A three year letter of credit facility of $4,000,000; and
•  Ancillary facilities: credit card and electronic pay away facility of $12,500,000

2020 
$’000

24,900

(227)

24,673

2019 
$’000

60,648

(256)

60,392

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

24,900

60,648

On 27 March 2020, $38,000,000 of the three year facility was drawn down, with the banking facilities refinanced on 1 May 2020. 
A loss on revaluation of financial liabilities of $1,283,000 was recognised in the first half of the year.

On 23 December 2020, $73,748,000 of the three year facility was repaid early, and a gain on revaluation of financial liabilities 
of $1,157,000 was recognised.

As a result of the debt repayment on 23 December 2020, the following facilities are now available to the Group as part of an 
arrangement maturing on 1 May 2022:

•  A three year facility of $45,252,000;
•  A three year letter of credit facility of $4,000,000; and
•  Ancillary facilities: credit card and electronic pay away facility of $12,500,000

The banking facilities are guaranteed and secured by the Company and certain of the Company’s subsidiaries. The facilities are 
subject to a variable interest rate, which is based on the BBSY plus a margin. 

The Group is subject to certain financing covenants and meeting these is given priority in all capital risk management decisions. 
These covenants include leverage and interest cover ratios with reference to recurring earnings before interest, tax, depreciation 
and amortisation, and with distribution restrictions on dividends. There have been no events of default on the financing arrangement 
during the year.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsNote 12. Non-current liabilities — borrowings (continued)

Financing arrangements

Unrestricted access was available at the reporting date to the following lines of credit:

Consolidated

Total facilities

Bank loan

Letter of credit facility

Used at the reporting date

Bank loan

Letter of credit facility

Unused at the reporting date

Bank loan

Letter of credit facility

88

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

45,252

4,000

49,252

24,900

3,572

28,472

20,352

428

20,780

99,000

4,000

103,000

60,648

3,572

64,220

38,352

428

38,780

Accounting policy for borrowings

Loans and borrowings are initially recognised at the fair value of the consideration received, net of transaction costs. They are subsequently 
measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Fees paid on the establishment of loan facilities are recognised as 
transaction costs of the loan to the extent that it is probable that some or all of the facility will be drawn down. In this case, the fee is 
deferred until the draw down occurs. To the extent there is no evidence that it is probable that some or all of the facility will be drawn 
down, the fee is capitalised as a prepayment for liquidity services and amortised over the years of the facility to which it relates.

Accounting for finance costs

Finance costs attributable to qualifying assets are capitalised as part of the asset. All other finance costs are expensed in the period 
in which they are incurred, including interest on short-term and long-term borrowings.

Accounting for finance income

Interest income on corporate accounts is recognised as interest accrues using the effective interest method. This is a method of 
calculating the amortised cost of a financial asset and allocating the interest income over the relevant period using the effective interest 
rate, which is the rate that discounts estimated future cash receipts through the expected life of the financial asset to the net carrying 
amount of the financial asset.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial ReportNote 13. Equity — issued capital

Ordinary Shares — fully paid

2020 
Shares

2019 
Shares

132,820,695

131,651,028

Less: Shares associated with the loan funded share plan (LFSP)

(3,303,160)

(2,682,932)

Issued Capital

129,517,535

128,968,096

2020 
$’000

283,516

(20,994)

262,522

Movements in ordinary share capital

Details

Opening balance

Shares issued for LFSP

Buy-back of forfeited LFSP shares

Deferred tax directly recognised in equity

Balance

Shares issued for LFSP

Buy-back of forfeited LFSP shares

Deferred tax directly recognised in equity

Balance

Movements in loan funded share plan

Details

Opening balance

LFSP shares exercised

Shares issued for LFSP 

Buy-back of forfeited LFSP shares 

Balance

LFSP shares exercised

Shares issued for LFSP 

Buy-back of forfeited LFSP shares

89

2019 
$’000

277,799

(18,684)

259,115

Total 
$’000

Date

Shares

1 January 2019

130,891,931

272,114

20 March 2019

13 May 2019

4 February 2019

2 September 2019

830,191

383,648

(210,952)

(243,790)

7,023

3,146

(2,004)

(2,182)

(298)

31 December 2019

131,651,028

277,799

6 March 2020

1,245,905

15 June 2020

27 February 2020

19 March 2020

10 July 2020

835,243

(154,082)

(697,784)

(59,615)

8,308

5,179

(853)

(6,277)

(505)

(135)

31 December 2020

132,820,695

283,516

Date

Shares

Total 
$’000

1 January 2019

(2,513,465)

(15,427)

8 February 2019

20 March 2019

13 May 2019

4 February 2019

2 September 2019

589,630

(830,191)

(383,648)

210,952

243,790

2,726

(7,023)

(3,146)

2,004

2,182

31 December 2019

(2,682,932)

(18,684)

11 February 2020

549,439

6 March 2020

(1,245,905)

15 June 2020

(835,243)

27 February 2020

19 March 2020

10 July 2020

154,082

697,784

59,615

3,542

(8,308)

(5,179)

853

6,277

505

Balance

31 December 2020

(3,303,160)

(20,994)

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements90

Note 13. Equity — issued capital (continued)

Ordinary shares

LFSP shares forfeited

Ordinary shares entitle the holder to participate in dividends and 
the proceeds on the winding up of the Company in proportion 
to the number of and amounts paid on the shares held. The fully 
paid ordinary shares have no par value and the Company does 
not have a limited amount of authorised capital.

On a show of hands, every member present at a meeting in 
person or by proxy shall have one vote and upon a poll each 
share shall have one vote.

Loan funded share plan (LFSP)

On 6 March 2020, loan funded shares were granted to the 
management team under the LFSP based on the closing share 
price on 2 March 2020 (ex-dividend), and at the Annual General 
Meeting on 15 June 2020, the 2020 LFSP grant to the CEO 
and CFO was approved, with shares being granted based 
on the closing share price on 10 June 2020. The shares vest 
on 31 December 2022.

The shares granted as part of the LFSP are eligible for dividends 
and are held by the participant until they vest or are forfeited. 
Should the Company pay dividends or make capital distributions 
in the future, any dividends paid or distributions made to the 
participant will be applied to repay the loan and to meet the 
tax liability on those dividends or distributions.

The vesting of the shares is subject to two performance hurdles, 
being an earnings growth hurdle and a total shareholder return 
hurdle, and a continuous employment condition. The shares 
can only be exercised once the participant has repaid the loan.

Shares issued under the LFSP are accounted for as options. 
As a consequence of this classification, the unvested shares 
issued under the LFSP have been treated as contingently 
issuable, as the vesting conditions have not been satisfied 
at the balance date. Therefore, the shares issued under the 
LFSP are excluded from basic earnings per share and included 
in diluted earnings per share.

For the year ended 31 December 2020, the Group recorded 
$7,635,000 for the buy-back shares issued under the LFSP 
because the vesting conditions on those shares had not 
been met and the shares were forfeited. 911,481 shares 
were bought back and cancelled, resulting in a reduction 
of ordinary shares on issue.

Share buy-back

There is no current on-market share buy-back of the 
Company’s shares.

Capital risk management

The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard 
its ability to continue as a going concern, so that it can provide 
returns for shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders and 
to maintain an optimum capital structure to reduce the cost of 
capital. The Group’s debt and capital includes ordinary share 
capital and financial liabilities, supported by financial assets.

Capital is regarded as total equity, as recognised in the 
statement of financial position, plus net debt. Net debt is 
calculated as total borrowings excluding prepaid borrowing 
costs less cash and cash equivalents, and excludes restricted 
cash and cash equivalents.

In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group 
may adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders, return 
capital to shareholders, issue new shares or sell assets to reduce 
debt. The Group would look to raise capital when an opportunity 
to invest in a business or company was seen as value adding 
relative to the current Company’s share price at the time of the 
investment or to reduce debt.

The capital risk management policy remains unchanged from 
the 31 December 2019 Annual Report.

Accounting policy for issued capital

Ordinary shares are classified as equity.

Incremental costs directly attributable to the issue of new shares 
or options are shown in equity as a deduction, net of tax, from 
the proceeds.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report91

2020 
$’000

5

8,686

85

8,776

2019 
$’000

(21)

8,456

–

8,435

Note 14. Equity — reserves

Cash flow hedge reserve

Share-based payments reserve

Other reserves

Reserves

Hedging reserve – cash flow hedges 

The reserve is used to recognise the effective portion of the gain or loss of cash flow hedge instruments that is determined to be an 
effective hedge.

Share-based payments reserve

The reserve is used to recognise the value of equity benefits provided to the senior management team as part of their remuneration.

Other reserves

Other reserves are used to record increments and decrements to the valuation of non-current assets, and preserve current profits for 
the purpose of paying dividends in future years.

Movements in reserves

Movements in each class of reserve during the current and previous financial year are set out below:

Consolidated

Balance at 1 January 2019

Movements in hedges

Deferred tax

Share-based payments

LFSP exercised

LFSP forfeited

Balance at 31 December 2019 

Movements in hedges

Deferred tax

Transfer from share-based payments reserve to other reserves

Share-based payments

LFSP exercised

LFSP forfeited

Balance at 31 December 2020 

Cash flow 
hedges 
$’000

139

(229)

69

–

–

–

(21)

37

(11)

–

–

–

5

Share- 
based 
payments 
$’000

5,717

–

–

5,698

(2,726)

(233)

8,456

–

–

(85)

5,103

(3,521)

(1,267)

8,686

Other 
Reserves 
$’000

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

85

–

–

–

85

Total 
$’000

5,856

(229)

69

5,698

(2,726)

(233)

8,435

37

(11)

–

5,103

(3,521)

(1,267)

8,776

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements92

Note 15. Share-based payments

Loan funded share plan (LFSP)

The LFSP is a long term incentive plan for the senior management team. Refer to note 13 for the terms of LFSP. The LFSP shares are 
legally held by the employees, however, they cannot trade in the shares until the vesting conditions are satisfied and the loan is fully 
repaid. These have been treated as options in accordance with AASB 2 Share-based payment.

Set out below are summarises of loan funded shares granted under the Company’s LFSP:

Grant date

Vesting date

2020

17 March 2017

31 December 2019

5 May 2017

31 December 2019

28 March 2018

31 December 2020

4 May 2018

31 December 2020

20 March 2019

31 December 2021

13 May 2019

31 December 2021

3 March 2020

31 December 2022

10 June 2020

31 December 2022

Exercise 
price

Balance  
at start of 
the year

Granted 
during 
the year

Exercised 
during 
the year

Forfeited 
during 
the year

Balance  
at end of 
the year

$6.39

$6.50

$10.89

$10.84

$8.55

$8.20

$6.95

$6.20

543,165

338,628

333,247

382,984

701,260

383,648

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

1,245,905

835,243

(446,658)

(281,053)

–

–

–

–

–

–

(96,507)

(57,575)

(333,247)

(382,984)

–

–

–

–

(45,594)

655,666

(383,648)

–

–

–

1,245,905

835,243

Vested and 
exercisable 
at end of 
the year

178,272

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Weighted average exercise price

$8.42

$6.65

$6.43

$9.47

$7.10

$6.39

2,682,932

2,081,148

(727,711)

(1,299,555)

2,736,814

178,272

2019

18 March 2016

31 December 2018

9 May 2016

31 December 2018

17 March 2017

31 December 2019

5 May 2017

31 December 2019

28 March 2018

31 December 2020

4 May 2018

31 December 2020

20 March 2019

31 December 2021

13 May 2019

31 December 2021

$4.42

$4.76

$6.39

$6.50

$10.89

$10.84

$8.55

$8.20

235,978

353,652

672,641

338,628

529,582

382,984

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

830,191

383,648

(235,978)

(353,652)

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(129,476)

543,165

–

338,628

(196,335)

333,247

–

382,984

(128,931)

701,260

–

383,648

2,513,465

1,213,839

(589,630)

(454,742)

2,682,932

Weighted average exercise price

$7.62

$8.44

$4.62

$8.95

$8.42

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

The weighted average share price during the financial year was $5.91 (2019: $9.54).

The loan funded shares have an expiry date of 5 years from the date of issue and their weighted average remaining contractual life 
outstanding at the end of the financial year was 3.9 years (2019: 3.4 years).

For the loan funded shares granted during the current financial year, the valuation model inputs used to determine the fair value at the 
grant date, are as follows:

Grant date

Vesting date

Share price at 
grant date

Exercise 
price

Expected 
volatility

Dividend 
yield

Risk-free 
interest rate

Fair value at 
grant date

3 March 2020

31 December 2022

10 June 2020

31 December 2022

$6.14

$6.65

$6.67

$6.20

40%

40%

6.49%

6.17%

0.58%

0.28%

$1.25

$1.40

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report93

Note 16. Equity – dividends

Dividends

Dividends paid during the financial year were as follows:

Consolidated

Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019 of 21.5 cents (2018: 21.0 cents)  
per ordinary share

Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2020 of 17.0 cents (2019: 21.5 cents)  
per ordinary share

Special dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019 of 20.0 cents per ordinary share

Dividends paid

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

28,272

27,446

22,579

–

50,851

28,305

26,300

82,051

On 24 February 2021, the Directors declared a fully franked final dividend of 17.5 cents per ordinary share. The final dividend will be 
paid on 23 March 2021 to shareholders registered on 9 March 2021 with an expected total distribution of $23,240,000. 

On 24 February 2021, the Directors also declared a total special dividend of 14.5 cents per share, comprising of a final special 
dividend of 9.0 cents per share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2020, and an interim special dividend of 5.5 cents per share 
in respect of the current year. The special dividend will be paid on 23 March 2021 to shareholders registered on 9 March 2021 with an 
expected total distribution of $19,259,000.

The financial effect of dividends declared after the reporting date is not reflected in the 31 December 2020 financial statements and will 
be recognised in subsequent financial reports.

Franking credits

Consolidated

Franking credits available at the reporting date based on a tax rate of 30%

Franking credits that will arise from the payment of the amount of the provision for income tax at the 
reporting date based on a tax rate of 30%

Franking credits available for subsequent financial years based on a tax rate of 30%

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

30,074

49,628

260

30,334

1,474

51,102

Accounting policy for dividends

Dividends are recognised when declared during the financial year and no longer at the discretion of the Company.

Note 17. Earnings per share

Consolidated

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

Profit after income tax attributable to the owners of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd

41,325

61,449

Consolidated

2020 
Number

2019 
Number

Weighted average ordinary shares used in calculating basic earnings per share

129,612,299

128,905,095

Adjustments for calculation of diluted earnings per share:

Options over ordinary shares

–

219,444

Weighted average number of ordinary and potential ordinary shares used as the 
denominator in calculating diluted earnings per share

129,612,299

129,124,539

Consolidated

Basic earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

2020 
Cents

31.9

31.9

2019 
Cents

47.7

47.6

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements94

Note 17. Earnings per share (continued)

Note 18. Financial instruments

Accounting policy for earnings per share

Financial risk management objectives

(i) Basic earnings per share
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit 
attributable to the owners of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd, 
excluding any costs of servicing equity other than ordinary 
shares, by the weighted average number of ordinary shares 
outstanding, excluding shares issued under the LFSP, 
during the financial year.

(ii) Diluted earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share adjusts the figures used in the 
determination of basic earnings per share to take into account 
the after income tax effect of interest and other financing costs 
associated with dilutive potential ordinary shares and the 
weighted average number of shares, including shares issued 
under the LFSP, which are treated as options in the calculation 
of diluted earnings per share, as they may not vest. Shares 
issued under LFSP are only included where the average market 
price of ordinary shares during the period exceeds the exercise 
price of the LFSP shares.

The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: 
market risk (including foreign currency risk, price risk and 
interest rate risk), credit risk and liquidity risk. The Group’s 
overall financial risk management program focuses on the 
unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimise 
potential adverse effects on the financial performance of the 
Group. The Group may use derivative financial instruments such 
as interest rate swap contracts to hedge certain risk exposures. 
Derivatives are exclusively used for risk management purposes, 
i.e. not as trading or other speculative instruments. The Group 
uses different methods to measure different types of risk to which 
it is exposed. These methods include sensitivity analysis in the 
case of interest rate, foreign exchange and other price risks, 
ageing analysis for credit risk and rolling cash flow forecasts for 
analysis of liquidity risk.

Risk management is carried out centrally by the management 
team under oversight from the Board. These policies include 
identification and analysis of the risk exposure of the Group 
and appropriate procedures, controls and risk limits. The 
management team identifies, evaluates and may hedge 
financial risks within the Group’s operating units.

Market risk

Foreign exchange risk
The Group operates primarily in Australia and is not exposed 
to any significant foreign currency risk.

Price risk 
The Group is not exposed to any significant price risk.

Interest rate risk
The Group’s main interest rate risk arises from long-term 
borrowings, cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash 
and cash equivalents, which are subject to variable interest rates. 
The exposure to interest rate risk on long-term borrowings is 
managed through the use of interest rate swaps.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report95

Note 18. Financial instruments (continued)

Market risk (continued)

Interest rate risk (continued)

As at the reporting date, the Group had the following variable rate borrowings, cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and 
cash equivalents and interest rate swap contracts outstanding:

2020

2019

Weighted 
average 
interest rate 
%

2.07%

0.49%

0.60%

0.31%

Weighted 
average 
interest rate 
%

2.17%

0.91%

0.69%

0.96%

Balance 
$’000

24,900

(27,368)

(48,111)

(15,500)

(66,079)

Balance 
$’000

60,648

(39,639)

(65,402)

(31,000)

(75,393)

Expected credit loss assessment for customers
The Group allocates each exposure to a credit risk grade 
based on data that is determined to be predictive of the risk 
of loss and applying experienced credit judgement. Credit risk 
grades are defined using qualitative and quantitative factors 
that are indicative of the risk of default. Exposures within each 
credit risk grade are generally based on actual historical credit 
loss experience.

The Group has historically based the expected credit loss (ECL) 
on actual historical credit loss experience, however, due to the 
disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, additional information 
has also been considered in reassessing the expected credit 
loss rate, with specific provisions totalling $235,000 raised for 
at-risk customer groups.

The Group has identified motor vehicle dealers and small-
medium corporates as the most at-risk groups of credit loss. 
Using counterparty-specific information and historical data from 
previous recessions and economic projections, the credit loss 
rates based on a 3-year rolling average have been revised and 
increased between 0.2% - 3.5%. 

The Group has additionally provided $977,000 in relation to 
counterparty arrangements with motor vehicle dealerships, 
given that the economic downturn has seen significant volatility 
in motor vehicle values. This provision is reflected in Current 
Liabilities – Provisions within the Consolidated Statement of 
Financial Position.

Consolidated

Bank loans

Cash and cash equivalents

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Interest rate swaps (notional principal amount)

Net exposure to cash flow interest rate risk

Sensitivity
An increase in interest rates of 100 (2019: 100) basis points 
would have a favourable effect on profit before tax and equity 
of $630,000 (2019: $760,000) per annum while a decrease in 
interest rates to the interest rate floor of certain financial assets 
would have an adverse impact on profit before tax and equity 
of $228,000 (2019: $760,000). The percentage change is based 
on the expected volatility of interest rates using market data and 
analysts’ forecasts.

Derivatives interest rate swap
The Group has entered into interest rate swap contracts 
with notional/principal value as at 31 December 2020 of 
$15,500,000 (2019: $51,250,000). The interest rate contracts 
hedge the Group’s risk against an increase in variable interest 
rates. The weighted average fixed rate is 0.96% (2019: 0.96%).

Sensitivity – derivative valuation 
An increase in interest rates of 100 (2019:100) basis points 
would have a favourable effect on derivative financial instruments 
value and total equity by $257,000 (2019: $488,100) while a 
decrease in interest rates to nil would have an adverse effect 
on derivative financial instruments value and total equity by 
$10,000 (2019: $488,100).

Credit risk

Credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on 
its contractual obligations resulting in financial loss to the Group. 
The Group has procedures in place to monitor credit risk, which 
include obtaining references and setting appropriate credit limits. 
The Group obtains guarantees where appropriate to mitigate 
credit risk. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting 
date to recognised financial assets is the carrying amount, 
net of any provisions for impairment of those assets, as 
disclosed  in the statement of financial position and notes 
to the financial statements. The Group does not hold any 
collateral, and nor does the group utilise supplier financing.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements96

Note 18. Financial instruments (continued)

Credit risk (continued)

Expected credit loss assessment for customers (continued)

The following table provides information about the exposure to credit risk and ECL for trade receivables as at 31 December 2020:

31 December 2020

Grade 1 (Financiers/Insurers)

Grade 2 (Employer/Corporate)

Grade 3 (Dealers)

Liquidity risk

Gross  
carrying 
amount 
($'000)

563

5,869

1,169

Expected 
credit loss 
allowance 
($'000)

Specific loss  
allowance 
($'000)

Total 
impairment 
loss allowance 
($'000)

–

(12)

–

(23)

(165)

(47)

(23)

(177)

(48)

Weighted-
average  
loss rate

4.09%

3.02%

4.08%

Prudent liquidity risk management requires the Group to maintain sufficient liquid assets (mainly cash and cash equivalents) and 
available borrowing facilities to be able to pay debts as and when they become due and payable.

The Group manages liquidity risk by maintaining adequate cash reserves and available borrowing facilities by continuously monitoring 
actual and forecast cash flows and matching the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities.

Remaining contractual maturities

The following tables detail the Group’s remaining contractual maturities for its financial instrument liabilities. The tables reflect the 
undiscounted cash flows of financial liabilities based on the earliest date on which the financial liabilities are required to be paid. 
The tables include both interest and principal cash flows disclosed as remaining contractual maturities and therefore these totals 
may differ from their carrying amount in the consolidated statement of financial position.

Contractual maturities of financial liabilities

1 year or 
less
$’000

>1 to 2 
years
$’000

>2 to 5 
years
$’000

Over  
5 years
$’000

Remaining 
contractual 
maturities
$’000

At 31 December 2020

Non-interest bearing

Trade payables

Customer salary packaging liability

Interest bearing - variable

Bank loans

Lease liabilities

Total non-derivatives

At 31 December 2019

Non-interest bearing

Trade payables

Customer salary packaging liability

Interest bearing - variable

Bank loans

Lease liabilities

Total non-derivatives

4,416

48,111

499

3,738

56,764

10,860

65,402

1,321

3,629

81,212

–

–

25,076

3,541

28,617

–

–

61,965

3,738

65,703

–

–

–

7,792

7,792

–

–

–

11,330

11,330

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

4,416

48,111

25,575

15,071

93,173

10,860

65,402

63,286

18,697

158,245

The cash flows in the maturity analysis above are not expected to occur significantly earlier than disclosed above.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report97

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

20,352

428

20,780

2020 
$’000

7,601

(248)

7,353

7,346

1,182

8,528

15,881

38,352

428

38,780

2019 
$’000

11,123

(99)

11,024

10,559

4,066

14,625

25,649

Note 18. Financial instruments (continued)

Credit risk (continued)

Financing arrangements

The Group had access to the following undrawn borrowing facilities at the reporting date:

Consolidated

Unused at the reporting date

Bank loan

Letter of credit facility

Note 19. Current assets – trade and other receivables

Consolidated

Trade receivables

Less: Provision for impairment of receivables

Contract assets

Other receivables

Total trade and other receivables

Past due but not impaired

Customers with balances past due but without provision for impairment of receivables amount to $2,435,000 as at 31 December 2020 
($4,299,000 as at 31 December 2019). The Group did not consider a credit risk on the aggregate balances after reviewing the credit 
terms of customers based on recent collection practices.

The ageing of the past due but not impaired receivables are as follows:

Consolidated

0 to 3 months overdue

> 3 to 6 months overdue

> 6 months overdue

Past due and not impaired

2020 
$’000

2,431

2

2

2,435

2019 
$’000

4,168

117

14

4,299

Accounting policy for trade and other receivables

Trade receivables are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, 
less any provision for impairment. Trade receivables are generally due for settlement within 14 days.

Collectability of trade receivables is reviewed on an ongoing basis. Debts which are known to be uncollectible are written off by reducing 
the carrying amount directly. Trade receivables have been grouped based on shared credit risk characteristics and the days past due. 
Contract assets represent unbilled receivables for commission-based revenue with a lower expected credit loss as funds have been 
collected and are held within the restricted cash accounts. 

Expected credit loss rates are adjusted to reflect current and forward-looking information on macroeconomic factors that may affect 
the ability of the customers to settle the receivables, such as GDP rates. They are also adjusted to reflect historical and current debtor-
based information impacting the probability that certain debtors will enter bankruptcy or financial reorganisation, or default on payments 
(more than 60 days overdue). The amount of the impairment allowance is the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the 
present value of management’s estimate of future cash flows, discounted at the original effective interest rate. Cash flows relating to 
short-term receivables are not discounted if the effect of discounting is immaterial.

Other receivables are recognised at amortised cost, less any provision for impairment.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements98

Note 20. Fair value measurement

Fair value hierarchy

The following tables detail the Group’s assets and liabilities, measured or disclosed at fair value, using a three level hierarchy, 
based on the lowest level of input significant to fair value measurement, being:

Level 1:  Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity can access at the 

measurement date.

Level 2: 

Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. 

Level 3:  Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.

Consolidated

2020

Liabilities

Interest rate swap contracts - cash flow hedges

Total liabilities

2019

Liabilities

Interest rate swap contracts - cash flow hedges

Total liabilities

There were no transfers between levels during the financial year.

Level 1 
$’000

Level 2 
$’000

Level 3 
$’000

Total 
$’000

–

–

–

–

(47)

(47)

(10)

(10)

–

–

–

–

(47)

(47)

(10)

(10)

The carrying amounts of trade and other receivables and trade and other payables approximate their fair values due to their short-term 
nature. The fair value of financial liabilities is estimated by discounting the remaining contractual maturities at the current market interest 
rate that is available for similar financial liabilities.

Valuation techniques for fair value measurements categorised within level 2 and level 3

Derivatives - interest rate swap contracts
Derivative financial instruments have been valued using quoted market rates. This valuation technique maximises the use of observable 
market data where it is available and relies as little as possible on entity specific estimates.

Accounting policy for fair value measurement
When an asset or liability, financial or non-financial, is measured at fair value for recognition or disclosure purposes, the fair value 
is based on the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market 
participants at the measurement date and assumes that the transaction will take place either in the principal market or, in the absence 
of a principal market, in the most advantageous market.

Fair value is measured using the assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset, or liability, assuming they act 
in their economic best interests. Valuation techniques that are appropriate in the circumstances, and for which sufficient data is available 
to measure fair value, are used maximising the use of relevant observable inputs and minimising the use of unobservable inputs.

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are classified into three levels, using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance 
of the inputs used in making the measurements. Classifications are reviewed at each reporting date and transfers between levels 
are determined based on a reassessment of the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

For recurring and non-recurring fair value measurements, external valuers may be used either when internal expertise is not available 
or when the valuation is deemed to be significant. External valuers are selected based on market knowledge and reputation. Where 
there is a significant change in fair value of an asset or liability from one period to another, an analysis is undertaken, which includes 
a verification of the major inputs applied in the latest valuation and a comparison, where applicable, with external sources of data.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report99

2019 
$’000

1,943

96

582

2,621

2019 
$’000

(10)

2020 
$’000

1,815

54

–

1,869

2020 
$’000

(47)

Note 21. Current assets — other current assets

Consolidated

Prepayments

Other current assets

Back-to-back leased vehicles

Other current assets

Note 22. Derivative financial instruments

Consolidated

Interest rate swap contracts - cash flow hedges

Refer to note 20 for further information on fair value measurement.

Accounting policy for derivative financial instruments

Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and subsequently remeasured to 
their fair value at each reporting date. The accounting for subsequent changes in fair value depending on whether the derivative 
is designated as a hedging instrument, and if so, the nature of the item being hedged.

Cash flow hedges

Cash flow hedges are used to cover the Group’s exposure to variability in cash flows that is attributable to particular risks associated 
with a recognised asset or liability or a firm commitment which could affect profit or loss. The effective portion of the gain or loss on the 
hedging instrument is recognised in other comprehensive income through the cash flow hedges reserve in equity, whilst the ineffective 
portion is recognised in profit or loss. Amounts taken to equity are transferred out of equity and included in the measurement of the 
hedged transaction when the forecast transaction occurs.

Cash flow hedges are tested for effectiveness on a regular basis both retrospectively and prospectively to ensure that each hedge 
is highly effective and continues to be designated as a cash flow hedge. If the forecast transaction is no longer expected to occur, 
the amounts recognised in equity are transferred to profit or loss.

If the hedging instrument is sold, terminated, expires, is exercised without replacement or rollover, or if the hedge becomes ineffective 
and is no longer a designated hedge, the amounts previously recognised in equity remain in equity until the forecast transaction occurs.

Note 23. Current liabilities — other current liabilities

Consolidated

Leased vehicle borrowings

Contract liabilities 

Other current liabilities

2020 
$’000

–

5,782

5,782

2019 
$’000

1,081

4,652

5,733

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements100

Note 24. Business combinations

(a) Prior period acquisitions

Lease & Asset Finance (L&A)
On 10 October 2019, the Group acquired the novated leasing assets of Lease and Asset Finance (L&A) for a total cash consideration 
of $886,000. The goodwill of $894,000 reflects the synergies expected to be obtained by the Group from this acquisition.

Excluding integration costs, L&A contributed revenues of $121,000 and net profit after tax of $47,000 to the Group for the period from 
10 October 2019 to 31 December 2019. If the acquisitions had occurred on 1 January 2019, the full year contribution would have been 
revenue of $552,000, and profit after tax of $239,000, subject to adjustments arising as a result of purchase price allocation.

No revisions were made and the business combination has been finalised in the current reporting period, for the year ended 
31 December 2019.

Details of the purchase consideration, the net assets acquired and goodwill are summarised as follows:

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Other intangibles

Net deferred tax liabilities

Customer salary packaging liability

Employee provisions

Other provisions

Net assets acquired

Goodwill

Acquisition date fair value of consideration transferred

Representing:

Cash paid to vendor/into escrow

Acquisition costs

Cash used to acquire business, net of cash acquired:

Cash paid to vendor/into escrow

Less: Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Net consideration

L&A 
Fair Value 
$’000

1,680

106

3

(1,680)

(20)

(97)

(8)

894

886

886

88

886

(1,680)

(794)

Note 25. Non-current assets — investments accounted for using the equity method

Consolidated

Investment in joint venture - Health-e Workforce Solutions Pty Ltd

2020 
$’000

827

2019 
$’000

6,400

Smartgroup holds an investment in the joint venture, Health-e Workforce Solutions Pty Ltd. Expected future cashflows were evaluated 
to determine the value-in-use following indicators of impairment that arose in relation to this investment. Based on historical 
performance, an impairment charge of $5,118,000 has been recognised during the year in relation to the Group’s investment.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report101

Note 25. Non-current assets — investments accounted for using the equity method (continued)

Interests in joint ventures

Interests in joint ventures are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Information relating to joint ventures that are material 
to the Group are set out below:

Name of entity

Place of business/ country 
of incorporation

Health-e Workforce Solutions Pty Ltd

Australia

Consolidated

Summarised statement of financial position

Current assets

Non-current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

Summarised statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income

Revenue

Amortisation expense

Other expenses

Profit before income tax

Income tax expense

Profit after income tax

Other comprehensive income

Total comprehensive income

Reconciliation of the Group’s carrying amount

Opening carrying amount

Dividends received

Share of profit after income tax expense

Impairment of joint venture investment

Closing carrying amount

Contingent liabilities

2020 
%

50

2020 
$’000

2,587

54

2,641

656

656

1,985

2,720

(572)

(2,021)

127

(38)

89

–

89

6,400

(500)

45

(5,118)

827

2019 
%

50

2019 
$’000

2,447

1,204

3,651

125

125

3,526

2,723

(572)

(2,127)

24

(7)

17

–

17

6,392

–

8

–

6,400

Share of contingent liabilities relating to joint venture as at 31 December 2020 was $nil (2019: $nil).

Commitments

Share of commitments relating to joint venture as at 31 December 2020 was $nil (2019: $nil).

Accounting policy for joint venture

A joint venture is a joint arrangement whereby the parties that have joint control of the arrangement have rights to the net assets of the 
arrangement. Investments in joint ventures are accounted for using the equity method. Under the equity method, the share of the after 
tax profits or losses of the joint venture is recognised in the statement of profit or loss and the share of the movements in equity is 
recognised in other comprehensive income. Investments in joint ventures are carried in the statement of financial position at cost plus 
post-acquisition changes in the Group’s share of net assets of the joint venture. Goodwill relating to the joint venture is included in the 
carrying amount of the investment and is neither amortised nor individually tested for impairment. Income earned from joint venture 
entities increase the carrying amount of the investment.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements102

Note 26. Related party transactions

Parent entities

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd is the parent entity.

Subsidiaries

Interests in subsidiaries are set out in note 28.

Joint ventures

Interests in joint ventures are set out in note 25.

Key management personnel compensation

Disclosures relating to key management personnel are set out in note 29 and the Remuneration Report included in the 
Directors’ Report.

Receivable from/payable to related parties

There were no trade receivables from or trade payables to related parties at the current and previous reporting date.

Transactions with other related parties

There were no transactions with related parties during the current and previous financial year.

Loans to/from related parties

There were no loans to or from related parties at the current and previous reporting date.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial ReportNote 27. Parent entity financial information

Summary financial information

Set out below is the supplementary information about the parent entity.

Statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income 

Profit after income tax expense

Total comprehensive income

Statement of financial position

Current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Total liabilities

Issued capital

Reserves

Hedging reserve - cash flow hedges

Share-based payments reserve

Other reserves

Retained earnings

Total equity

103

2019 
$’000

87,981

87,981

2019 
$’000

581,130

669,422

304,951

365,404

258,115

(21)

8,082

–

37,842

304,018

2020 
$’000

48,371

48,371

2020 
$’000

415,287

504,316

174,257

199,030

261,522

5

8,312

85

35,362

305,286

Guarantees entered into by the parent entity
The parent entity and certain of its subsidiaries are party to a deed of cross guarantee under which each company guarantees 
the debts of the others. No deficiencies of assets exist in any of these subsidiaries. Refer to note 32 for further details.

The parent entity has also provided guarantees in respect of banking facilities provided to the Group.

Contingent liabilities of the parent entity
The parent entity has given bank guarantees as at 31 December 2020 of $1,409,000 (2019: $1,409,000).

Capital commitments - Property and equipment
The parent entity had no capital commitments for property and equipment as at 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2019.

Significant accounting policies
The accounting policies of the parent entity are consistent with those of the Group, as disclosed in note 3 and note 41, except for 
the following:

Investments in subsidiaries are accounted for at cost, less any impairment, in the parent entity.

• 
•  Dividends received from subsidiaries are recognised as other income by the parent entity.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements104

Note 28. Interests in subsidiaries

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the assets, liabilities and results of the following subsidiaries in accordance with the 
accounting policy described throughout the financial statements:

Name

Principal place of 
business/ corporation

2020 
%

2019 
%

ABM Corporation Pty Limited

AccessPay Pty Ltd

Australian Vehicle Consultants Pty Ltd

Autopia Group Pty Limited

Autopia Management Pty Limited

Fleet West Pty Ltd

Pay-Plan Pty Ltd

PBI Benefit Solutions Pty Limited

Salary Packaging Solutions Pty Ltd

Salary Solutions Australia Pty Ltd

Selectus Pty Ltd

SET Leasing Pty Ltd

Smartsalary Software Solutions Pty Ltd

Smartequity EIS Pty Ltd

Smartequity Pty Ltd

Smartfleet Management Pty Ltd

Smartgroup Benefits Pty Ltd

Smartsalary Pty Limited

Smartsalary Payroll Solutions Pty Ltd

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Note 29. Key management personnel disclosures 

Compensation

The aggregate compensation made to Directors and other members of key management personnel of the Group is set out below:

Consolidated

Short-term employee benefits

Post-employment benefits

Long-term benefits

Termination benefits

Share-based payments

Compensation

2020 
$

2019 
$

3,183,677

3,032,552

191,324

192,986

618,998

193,834

183,665

124,823

91,413

1,471,898

4,278,398

5,006,772

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report105

Note 30. Contingent liabilities

The Group had contingent liabilities at 31 December 2020 of $3,572,000 (2019: $3,572,000) which primarily relate to guarantees 
on property leases. The Group has given guarantees for performance of contracts to its customers as at 31 December 2020 of 
$500,000 (2019: $500,000).

Note 31. Events occurring after the reporting period

In December 2020, the final legislation regarding the Deferred Sales Model for the sale of Add On Insurance Products passed through 
Parliament. Full compliance with this model is required by 5 October 2021.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has confirmed its intention to move ahead with a revised version of the 
draft Product Intervention Order - Add-on Motor Vehicle Financial Risk Products released in August 2020 (PIO). ASIC has confirmed 
that the revised PIO:

1. will not apply to motor vehicle add-on insurance. Rather it will apply only to motor vehicle extended warranty products; and

2. will be designed to mirror the structure and operation of the industry-wide DSM.

Smartgroup has commenced the work for compliance with the legislated Deferred Sales Model to ensure that the necessary changes 
are made to its processes and systems before 5 October 2021. 

Based on 2020 volumes and following the repricing of add-on insurance products by Smartgroup’s insurance partner effective 1 July 
2020, Smartgroup estimates that it generates approximately $5.4m revenue per annum from the sale of add-on insurance products 
covered by the ASIC review and Treasury legislation. Given the range of possible outcomes and potential steps Smartgroup might take 
to mitigate any impact from these changes, Smartgroup is not yet able to provide specific detail on the quantum and timing of any such 
impacts, and whether or not they will be material.

As of the date of issue, the future impact of COVID-19 on the Australian economy and the flow-on effects on the Group remain 
uncertain, and Smartgroup will continue monitor the situation.

No other matter or circumstance has occurred subsequent to year end that has significantly affected, or may significantly affect, 
the operations of the Group, the results of those operations or the state of affairs of the Group in subsequent financial years.

Note 32. Deed of cross guarantee 

The following entities are parties to a deed of cross guarantee under which each company guarantees the debts of the others:

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd 
AccessPay Pty Ltd 
Autopia Group Pty Limited 
Autopia Management Pty Limited 
Salary Packaging Solutions Pty Ltd 

Salary Solutions Australia Pty Ltd
Selectus Pty Ltd
Smartfleet Management Pty Ltd
Smartgroup Benefits Pty Ltd
Smartsalary Pty Limited

By entering into the deed, the wholly-owned entities have been relieved from the requirement to prepare financial statements 
and Directors’ report under Corporations Instrument 2016/785 issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The above companies represent a ‘Closed Group’ for the purposes of the Corporations Instrument, and as there are no other parties 
to the deed of cross guarantee that are controlled by Smartgroup Corporation Ltd, they also represent the ‘Extended Closed Group’.

Set out below is a consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income and statement of financial position 
of the ‘Closed Group’.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements106

Note 32. Deed of cross guarantee (continued)

Consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income and summary of movements in consolidated 
retained earnings

Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income

Revenue

Product costs

Employee benefits expense

Administration and corporate expenses

Occupancy expenses

Advertising and marketing expenses

Amortisation of acquired intangibles

Depreciation expense

Other expenses

Operating profit before income tax expense

Finance costs

Impairment of joint venture investment

Profit before income tax expense

Income tax expense

Profit after income tax expense

Other comprehensive income

Net change in the fair value of cash flow hedges taken to equity, net of tax

Total comprehensive income for the year 

Summary of movements in consolidated retained earnings

Retained earnings at the beginning of the financial year

Profit after income tax expense

Dividends paid

Retained earnings at the end of the financial year

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

212,460

(5,970)

(77,573)

(28,798)

(1,428)

(1,843)

251,431

(8,059)

(86,043)

(27,630)

(1,332)

(3,389)

(20,097)

(21,859)

(3,162)

(1,825)

71,764

(3,113)

(5,118)

63,533

(20,857)

42,676

26

42,702

(3,422)

(2,556)

97,141

(3,052)

–

94,089

(25,704)

68,385

(160)

68,225

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

1,159

42,676

(50,851)

(7,016)

14,825

68,385

(82,051)

1,159

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial ReportNote 32. Deed of cross guarantee (continued)

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Income tax receivable

Other current assets

Total current assets

Non-current assets

Investments accounted for using the equity method

Deferred tax assets

Property and equipment

Intangible assets

Right-of-use assets

Total-non-current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Customer salary packaging liability

Lease liabilities

Income tax payable

Provisions

Other current liabilities

Total current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Provisions

Derivative financial instruments

Borrowings

Lease liabilities

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity

Share capital

Reserves

Retained earnings

Total equity

107

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

26,148

47,776

20,217

2,071

1,869

38,057

65,085

32,319

–

2,022

98,081

137,483

28,546

11,548

1,739

260,692

9,143

311,668

409,749

40,678

47,776

3,738

–

12,774

5,136

34,119

8,351

1,356

281,633

11,592

337,051

474,534

48,972

65,085

3,629

160

10,670

4,363

110,102

132,879

2,596

47

24,673

8,678

35,994

146,096

263,653

1,630

10

60,392

11,543

73,575

206,454

268,080

261,893

258,486

8,776

(7,016)

8,435

1,159

263,653

268,080

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements108

Note 33. Reconciliation of profit after income tax to net cash from operating activities

Reconciliation of profit after income tax to net cash inflow from operating activities

Consolidated

Profit for the year

Adjustments for

Share of profits — joint ventures

Share-based payments

Fair value change to derivative financial instruments

Interest received — disclosed under investing activities

Amortisation of interest and borrowing costs

Loss on sale of non-current assets

Depreciation

Amortisation

Impairment of joint venture investment

Net (gain)/loss on revaluation of financial liabilities

Onerous lease costs

Change in operating assets and liabilities:

Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables

Decrease/(increase) in net deferred tax assets

Decrease/(increase) in other current assets

Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables

Increase/(decrease) in provision for income tax

Increase/(decrease) in provisions and other liabilities

Increase/(decrease) in customer salary packaging liability

Net cash from operating activities

Changes in liabilities arising from financing activities

This section sets out an analysis of net debt and the movements in net debt for each of the years presented.

Consolidated

Balance as at 1 January 2019

Proceeds from borrowings

Amortisation of interest and borrowing costs (non-cash)

Balance as at 31 December 2019

Proceeds from borrowings

Borrowing costs

Repayment of borrowings

Net gain on revaluation of financial liabilities (non-cash)

Amortisation of interest and borrowing costs (non-cash)

Balance as at 31 December 2020

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

41,325

61,449

(45)

466

(69)

(423)

150

48

3,173

22,113

5,118

127

11

9,492

(4,195)

1,282

(5,384)

(2,325)

3,669

74,533

(17,291)

57,242

(8)

1,596

(21)

(301)

481

12

3,521

21,680

–

–

438

(1,274)

(548)

8,977

3,626

(4,069)

(6,574)

88,985

13,728

102,713

Borrowings 
$’000

53,011

6,900

481

60,392

38,000

(248)

(73,748)

127

150

24,673

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial ReportNote 34. Non-current assets — property and equipment

Consolidated

Computer equipment

At cost

Accumulated depreciation

Computer equipment

Furniture, fixtures and fittings

At cost

Accumulated depreciation

Furniture, fixtures and fittings

Office equipment

At cost

Accumulated depreciation

Office equipment

Leasehold improvements

At cost

Accumulated depreciation

Leasehold improvements

Other assets

At cost

Accumulated depreciation

Other assets

Property and equipment

109

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

7,055

(6,313)

742

1,265

(1,093)

172

1,707

(1,478)

229

5,066

(4,478)

588

22

(11)

11

6,383

(6,033)

350

1,455

(1,226)

229

1,643

(1,288)

355

4,757

(4,338)

419

22

(6)

16

1,742

1,369

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsNote 34. Non-current assets — property and equipment (continued)

Reconciliations

Reconciliations of the written down values at the beginning and end of the current and previous financial year are set out below:

Consolidated

Year ended 31 December 2020

Opening net book amount

Additions

Assets written off

Depreciation expense (note 9)

Closing net book amount

Year ended 31 December 2019

Opening net book amount

Additions

Transfers

Assets written off

Depreciation expense (note 9)

Accelerated depreciation (note 9)

Closing net book amount

Computer 
equipment 
$’000

Furniture, 
fittings and 
equipment 
$’000

Office 
equipment 
$’000

Leasehold 
improvements 
$’000

Other 
assets 
$’000

350

766

(49)

(325)

742

407

258

28

(2)

(318)

(23)

350

229

9

–

(66)

172

303

72

–

–

(102)

(44)

229

355

69

(7)

(188)

229

311

297

(28)

–

(199)

(26)

355

419

309

–

(140)

588

834

279

–

–

(426)

(268)

419

16

–

–

(5)

11

56

–

–

(34)

(6)

–

16

110

Total 
$’000

1,369

1,153

(56)

(724)

1,742

1,911

906

–

(36)

(1,051)

(361)

1,369

Accounting policy for property and equipment

Property and equipment is stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment. Historical cost includes expenditure 
that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items.

Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method to allocate their cost or revalued amounts, net of their residual values, over their 
estimated useful lives or lease term as follows:

•  Leasehold improvements 
•  Furniture, fixtures and fittings 
•  Computer equipment 
•  Office equipment 
•  Other assets 

Period of lease

3 - 7 years

2 - 5 years

3 - 6 years

1 - 5 years 

The residual values, useful lives and depreciation methods are reviewed annually and adjusted if appropriate.

Property and equipment under lease are depreciated over the unexpired period of the lease or the estimated useful life of the 
assets, whichever is shorter.

An item of property and equipment is de-recognised upon disposal or when there is no future economic benefit to the Group. 
Gains and losses between the carrying amount and the disposal proceeds are taken to profit or loss.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial ReportNote 35. Current liabilities — trade and other payables

Consolidated

Trade payables

Accrued expenses

Other payables and accruals

Trade and other payables

111

2020 
$’000

4,416

16,821

8,655

29,892

2019 
$’000

10,860

18,842

5,571

35,273

Refer to note 18 for further information on financial instruments.

Accounting policy for trade and other payables

These amounts represent liabilities for goods and services provided to the Group prior to the end of the financial year and that are 
unpaid. Due to their short-term nature they are measured at amortised cost and are not discounted. The amounts are unsecured and 
are usually paid within 30 days of recognition.

Note 36. Current liabilities — provisions

Consolidated

Employee benefits

Operations provision

Provisions – current

Employee benefits 

2020 
$’000

6,714

7,275

2019 
$’000

7,004

4,052

13,989

11,056

The provision for employee benefits relates to the Group’s liability for annual leave and long service leave. Refer to note 41 for the 
accounting policy relating to employee benefits.

Operations provision 

The provision relates to negative employee salary packaging account balances which may be uncollectible, customer and supplier 
disputes as well as provisions relating to indirect tax obligations.

Amounts not expected to be settled within the next 12 months

The current provision for employee benefits includes all unconditional entitlements where employees have completed the required 
period of service and also those where employees are entitled to pro-rata payments in certain circumstances. The entire amount is 
presented as current, since the Group does not have an unconditional right to defer settlement. However, based on past experience, 
the Group does not expect all employees to take the full amount of accrued leave or require payment within the next 12 months.

The following amounts reflect leave that is not expected to be taken within the next 12 months:

Consolidated

Employee benefits obligation expected to be settled after 12 months

Accounting policy for provisions

2020 
$’000

1,136

2019 
$’000

973

Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events, it is probable 
that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount can be reliably estimated. The amount recognised 
as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting date, taking into account 
the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. If the time value of money is material, provisions are discounted using a current 
pre-tax rate specific to the liability. The increase in the provision resulting from the passage of time is recognised as a finance cost.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements112

2019 
$’000

1,221

–

463

1,684

2020 
$’000

1,092

1,041

463

2,596

Note 37. Non-current liabilities — provisions

Consolidated

Employee benefits

Operations provision

Make good provision

Provisions – non-current

Make good provision

The provision represents the present value of the estimated costs to make good the premises leased by the Group at the end of the 
respective lease terms.

Movements in provisions 

Movements in each class of provision (current (note 36) and non-current) during the financial year, other than employee benefits, are set 
out below:

Consolidated 
2020

Carrying amount at start of year

Charged/(credited) to profit or loss

– additional provisions recognised/(de-recognised)

Carrying amount at end of year

Note 38. Cash held on behalf of customers and associated liabilities 

The Group administers funds on behalf of customers and this can take one of two forms:

•  Restricted cash and cash equivalents (pooled customer funds)
•  Cash held on behalf of customers (segregated bank accounts in a customer’s name).

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Consolidated

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Customer salary packaging liability

Make good 
provision 
$’000

Operations 
provision 
$’000

463

–

–

463

4,052

–

4,264

8,316

31 December 
2020 
$’000

31 December 
2019 
$’000

48,111

(48,111)

65,402

(65,402)

The restricted cash and cash equivalents in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position and in the Consolidated Statement 
of Cash Flows represents funds held by the Group on behalf of certain customers. The use of these funds is restricted to the making 
of salary packaging payments on behalf of those customers only and therefore not available for general use. The Group recognises 
a liability for all restricted cash balances to reflect the amounts owing to its customers.

The restricted cash accounts are held with Australia’s major financial institutions. Depending on commercial arrangements, the Group 
may earn interest income from these accounts. For the year ended 31 December 2020, the Group has recognised finance revenue of 
$231,000 (31 December 2019: $468,000) from restricted cash.

Refer to note 18 for interest rate sensitivity analysis on restricted cash balances.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report113

Note 38. Cash held on behalf of customers and associated liabilities (continued)

Cash held on behalf of customers not recognised in the statement of financial position:

Accounts established by the Group as cash held on behalf of 
customers

Accounts established by customers directly

Cash held on behalf of customers

2020

2019

Weighted 
average 
interest rate

0.56%

0.01%

Weighted 
average 
interest rate

0.88%

0.03%

$’000

131,817

87,863

219,680

$’000

113,925

96,837

210,762

Cash held on behalf of salary packaging and share plan administration customers is deposited by customers into segregated bank 
accounts, to be used only to settle their employees’ salary packaging obligations to suppliers or for contributions into share plans. 
The Group cannot use these funds for any other purpose than as directed by its customers. Customers are liable to ensure adequate 
funds are kept in the segregated bank accounts for salary packaging and share plan payments. The Group has assessed that these 
assets are held in a fiduciary capacity rather than being assets of the Group and as such, have excluded them from the Consolidated 
Statement of Financial Position.

The segregated bank accounts used for cash held on behalf of customers are with Australia’s major financial institutions. Depending 
on commercial arrangements, the Group may earn interest income from these accounts. For the year ended 31 December 2020, 
the Group has recognised interest revenue of $648,000 (31 December 2019: $1,683,000) from those accounts established by the 
Group as cash held on behalf of customers, and $5,000 (31 December 2019: $29,000) from those accounts established by the 
customers directly. These amounts are recognised within management and administration revenue.

Note 39. Remuneration of auditors 

During the year the following fees were paid or payable for services provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditor of the Company:

Consolidated

Audit and review of financial statements

Total remuneration for audit and other assurance services

Other assurance services

Risk and governance

Total remuneration for other services

PricewaterhouseCoopers

2020 
$

550,000

550,000

2019 
$

554,720

554,720

22,683

22,683

46,376

46,376

572,683

601,096

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements114

Total 
$’000

11,543

2,741

(2,470)

(10)

(212)

11,592

(2,449)

9,143

2019 
$’000

15,582

986

(986)

(2,846)

2,853

(417)

15,172

Property 
$’000

Equipment 
$’000

11,108

2,741

(2,371)

(10)

(212)

11,256

(2,351)

8,905

435

–

(99)

–

–

336

(98)

238

2020 
$’000

15,172

1,006

(1,006)

(2,756)

–

–

12,416

Note 40. Leases

Amounts recognised in the balance sheet

The balance sheet shows the following amounts relating to leases:

Right-of-use assets

Balance at 1 January 2019

Additions

Depreciation charge for the year

Impairment charge for the year

Remeasurement of leases on lease renewal

Balance at 31 December 2019

Depreciation charge for the year

Balance at 31 December 2020

Lease liabilities (current and non-current)

Consolidated

Balance at 1 January

Interest incurred

Interest paid on lease liabilities

Payments of lease liabilities

Additions

Lease surrender costs

Balance at 31 December

Maturity analysis - contractual undiscounted cashflows

At 31 December 2020

Lease liabilities

1 year  
or less
$’000

3,738

>1 to 2 
years
$’000

3,541

>2 to 5 
years
$’000

7,792

Over 5  
years
$’000

Remaining 
contractual 
maturities
$’000

–

15,071

Amounts recognised in the statement of profit or loss
The Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income shows the following amounts relating to leases:

Consolidated

Interest on lease liabilities (included in finance costs)

Expense relating to short-term leases (included in other expenses)

Amounts recognised in the statement of cash flows

Consolidated

Total cash outflow for leases

2020 
$’000

(1,006)

–

2019 
$’000

(986)

(46)

2020 
$’000

2019 
$’000

(3,762)

(3,832)

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report115

The lease liability is measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method. It is re-measured when there is 
a change in future lease payments arising from a change in 
an index or rate, if there is a change in the Group’s estimate 
of the amount expected to be payable under a residual value 
guarantee, or if the Group changes its assessment of whether 
it will exercise a purchase, extension or termination option.

When the lease liability is re-measured in this way, a corresponding 
adjustment is made to the carrying amount of the right-of-use 
asset, or is recorded in profit or loss if the carrying amount of 
the right-of-use asset has been reduced to zero.

Short-term leases and leases of low-value assets
The Group has elected not to recognise right-of-use assets 
and lease liabilities for short-term leases of 12 months or less 
and leases of low-value assets. The Group recognises the 
lease payments associated with these leases as an expense 
on a straight-line basis over the lease term. 

Note 40. Leases (continued)

Accounting policy for leases

As a lessee
The Group recognises a right-of-use asset and a lease liability at 
the lease commencement date. The right-of-use asset is initially 
measured at cost, which comprises the initial amount of the 
lease liability, adjusted for any lease payments made at or before 
the commencement date, plus any initial direct costs incurred 
and an estimate of costs to restore the underlying asset, less any 
lease incentives received.

The right-of-use asset is subsequently depreciated using 
the straight-line method from the commencement date to 
the end of the lease term. In addition, the right-of-use asset 
is periodically reduced by impairment losses, if any, and 
adjusted for certain re-measurements of the lease liability.

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the 
lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date, 
discounted using the Group’s incremental borrowing rate.

Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease 
liability comprise the following:

•  fixed payments, including in-substance fixed payments;
•  variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate, 

initially measured using the index or rate as at the 
commencement date;

•  amounts expected to be payable under a residual value 

guarantee; and

• 

the exercise price under a purchase option that the Group 
is reasonably certain to exercise, lease payments in an 
optional renewal period if the Group is reasonably certain 
to exercise an extension option, and penalties for early 
termination of a lease unless the Group is reasonably 
certain not to terminate early.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements116

Note 41. Additional significant accounting policies

(a) Principles of consolidation 

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the assets and 
liabilities of all subsidiaries of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd as at 
31 December 2020 and the results of all subsidiaries for the year 
then ended.

Subsidiaries are all those entities over which the Group has 
control. The Group controls an entity when the Group is exposed 
to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with 
the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its 
power to direct the activities of the entity. Subsidiaries are fully 
consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to 
the Group. They are de-consolidated from the date that 
control ceases.

Intercompany transactions, balances and unrealised gains 
on transactions between entities in the Group are eliminated. 
Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction 
provides evidence of the impairment of the asset transferred. 
Accounting policies of subsidiaries have been changed where 
necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted 
by the Group.

The acquisition of subsidiaries is accounted for using the 
acquisition method of accounting. A change in ownership 
interest, without the loss of control, is accounted for as 
an equity transaction, where the difference between the 
consideration transferred and the book value of the share 
of the non-controlling interest acquired is recognised 
directly in equity attributable to the parent.

Non-controlling interests in the results and equity of subsidiaries 
are shown separately in the statement of profit or loss and other 
comprehensive income, statement of financial position and 
statement of changes in equity of the Group. Losses incurred 
by the Group are attributed to the non-controlling interest in full, 
even if that results in a deficit balance.

Where the Group loses control over a subsidiary, it derecognises 
the assets including goodwill, liabilities and non-controlling 
interest in the subsidiary together with any cumulative translation 
differences recognised in equity. The Group recognises the fair 
value of the consideration received and the fair value of any 
investment retained, together with any gain or loss in profit 
or loss.

(b) Current and non-current classification

Assets and liabilities are presented in the statement of financial 
position based on current and non-current classification.

An asset is current when: it is expected to be realised or intended 
to be sold or consumed in the entity’s normal operating cycle; 
it is held primarily for the purpose of trading; it is expected to 
be realised within 12 months after the reporting period; or the 
asset is cash or cash equivalent unless restricted from being 
exchanged or used to settle a liability for at least 12 months 
after the reporting period. All other assets are classified as 
non-current.

A liability is current when: it is expected to be settled in the 
entity’s normal operating cycle; it is held primarily for the purpose 
of trading; it is due to be settled within 12 months after the 
reporting period; or there is no unconditional right to defer the 
settlement of the liability for at least 12 months after the reporting 
period. All other liabilities are classified as non-current.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are always classified as 
non-current.

(c) Financial instruments (Note 18) 

Recognition and measurement
Trade receivables are initially recognised when they are 
originated. All other financial assets and financial liabilities 
are initially recognised when the Group becomes a party 
to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Classification and subsequent measurement

Financial assets
On initial recognition, a financial asset is classified as 
measured at:

•  Amortised cost;
•  Fair value through profit & loss (FVTPL); or
•  Fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI)

Financial assets are not reclassified subsequently unless the 
Group changes its business model for managing financial assets.

A financial asset is measured at amortised cost if it meets both 
of  the following conditions and is not designated as at FVTPL:

• 

• 

it is held within a business model whose objective is 
to hold assets to collect contractual cash flows; and

its contractual terms give rise on specified dates to 
cash flows that are solely payments of principal and 
interest on the principal amount outstanding.

All financial assets not classified as measured at amortised cost 
or FVOCI are measured at FVTPL. On initial recognition, the 
Group may irrevocably designate a financial asset that otherwise 
meets the requirements to be measured at amortised cost or at 
FVOCI as at FVTPL if doing so eliminates or significantly reduces 
an accounting mismatch that would otherwise arise.

The Group classified its financial assets into one of the 
following categories:

loans and receivables;

• 
•  held to maturity;
•  available for sale; and
•  at FVTPL, and within these categories as:

 –

held for trading;

 – derivative hedging instruments; or

 – designated as at FVTPL.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial Report117

Note 41. Additional significant accounting policies (continued)

(c) Financial instruments (Note 18) (continued)

(d) Employee benefits

Classification and subsequent measurement (continued)

Financial assets (continued)

Financial assets at FVTPL: Measured at fair value and 
changes therein were recognised in profit or loss. 

Held-to-maturity financial asset: Measured at amortised cost 
using the effective interest method.

Loans and receivables: Measured at amortised cost using the 
effective interest method.

Available-for-sale financial assets: Measured at fair value 
and changes therein, other than impairment losses and interest 
income, were recognised in OCI and accumulated in reserves. 
When these assets were derecognised, the gain or loss 
accumulated in equity was reclassified to profit or loss.

Financial liabilities - classification, subsequent 
measurement and gains and losses: Financial liabilities are 
classified as measured at amortised cost or FVTPL. A financial 
liability is classified as at FVTPL if it is classified as held-for-
trading, it is a derivative or it is designated as such on initial 
recognition. Financial liabilities at FVTPL are measured at fair 
value and net gains and losses, including any interest expense, 
are recognised in profit or loss. Other financial liabilities are 
subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method. Interest expense is recognised in profit or loss. 
Any gain or loss on derecognition is also recognised in profit 
or loss.

Derecognition

Financial assets
The Group derecognises a financial asset when the contractual 
rights to the cash flows from the financial asset expire, or it 
transfers the rights to receive the contractual cash flows in a 
transaction in which substantially all of the risks and rewards 
of ownership of the financial asset are transferred or in which 
the Group neither transfers nor retains substantially all of the 
risks and rewards of ownership and it does not retain control 
of the financial asset.

Financial Liabilities
The Group derecognises a financial liability when its contractual 
obligations are discharged or cancelled, or expire. The Group 
also derecognises a financial liability when its terms are modified 
and the cash flows of the modified liability are substantially 
different, in which case a new financial liability based on the 
modified terms is recognised at fair value.

On derecognition of a financial liability, the difference between 
the carrying amount extinguished and the consideration paid 
is recognised in profit or loss.

Short-term employee benefits (Note 36)
Liabilities for wages and salaries, including non-monetary 
benefits, annual leave and long service leave expected to be 
settled within 12 months of the reporting date are recognised 
in current liabilities in respect of employees’ services up to 
the reporting date and are measured at the amounts expected 
to be paid when the liabilities are settled.

Other long-term employee obligations (Notes 36 and 37)
The liability for long term employee benefits is measured as the 
present value of expected future payments to be made in respect 
of services provided by employees up to the reporting date 
using the projected unit credit method. Consideration is given to 
expected future wage and salary levels, experience of employee 
departures and periods of service. Expected future payments 
are discounted using market yields at the reporting date on 
corporate bonds with terms to maturity and currency that match, 
as closely as possible, the estimated future cash outflows.

Defined contribution superannuation expense (Note 9)
Contributions to defined contribution superannuation plans 
are expensed in the period in which they are incurred.

Share-based payments (Note 15)
Equity-settled share-based compensation benefits are provided 
to employees.

Equity-settled transactions are awards of shares, or options 
over shares, that are provided to employees in exchange for 
the rendering of services.

The cost of equity-settled transactions is measured at fair value 
on grant date. Fair value is independently determined using 
the Black-Scholes option pricing model that takes into account 
the exercise price, the term of the option, the impact of dilution, 
the share price at grant date, expected price volatility of the 
underlying share, the expected dividend yield and the risk free 
interest rate for the term of the option, together with non-vesting 
conditions that do not determine whether the Group receives 
the services that entitle the employees to receive payment. 
No account is taken of any other vesting conditions.

The cost of equity-settled transactions is recognised as an 
expense with a corresponding increase in equity over the 
vesting period. The cumulative charge to profit or loss is 
calculated based on the grant date fair value of the award, 
the best estimate of the number of awards that are likely to 
vest and the expired portion of the vesting period. The amount 
recognised in profit or loss for the period is the cumulative 
amount calculated at each reporting date, less amounts 
already recognised in previous periods. 

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements118

Note 41. Additional significant accounting policies (continued)

(d) Employee benefits (continued)

Share-based payments (Note 15) (continued)

Market conditions are taken into consideration in determining 
fair value. Therefore, any awards subject to market conditions are 
considered to vest irrespective of whether that market condition 
has been met, provided all other conditions are satisfied.

If equity-settled awards are modified, as a minimum an 
expense is recognised as if the modification has not been 
made. An additional expense is recognised, over the remaining 
vesting period, for any modification that increases the total fair 
value of the share-based compensation benefit as at the date 
of modification.

If the non-vesting condition is within the control of the Group 
or employee, the failure to satisfy the condition is treated as 
a cancellation. If the condition is not within the control of the 
Group or employee and is not satisfied during the vesting period, 
any remaining expense for the award is recognised over the 
remaining vesting period, unless the award is forfeited.

If equity-settled awards are cancelled they are treated as if 
they have vested on the date of cancellation, and any remaining 
expense is recognised immediately. If new replacement awards 
are substituted for the cancelled awards, the cancelled and 
new awards are treated as if they were a modification.

(e) Business combinations (Note 24)

The acquisition method of accounting is used to account 
for business combinations regardless of whether equity 
instruments or other assets are acquired.

The consideration transferred is the sum of the acquisition-date 
fair values of the assets transferred, equity instruments issued 
or liabilities incurred by the acquirer to former owners of the 
acquiree and the amount of any non-controlling interest in the 
acquiree. For each business combination, the non-controlling 
interest in the acquiree is measured at either fair value or at the 
proportionate share of the acquiree’s identifiable net assets. 
All acquisition costs are expensed as incurred to profit or loss.

On the acquisition of a business, the Group assesses the 
financial assets acquired and liabilities assumed for appropriate 
classification and designation in accordance with the contractual 
terms, economic conditions, the Group’s operating or accounting 
policies and other pertinent conditions in existence at the 
acquisition-date.

Where the business combination is achieved in stages, 
the Group remeasures its previously held equity interest 
in the acquiree at the acquisition-date fair value and the 
difference between the fair value and the previous carrying 
amount is recognised in profit or loss.

Contingent consideration to be transferred by the acquirer 
is recognised at the acquisition-date fair value. Subsequent 
changes in the fair value of contingent consideration classified 
as an asset or liability is recognised in profit or loss. Contingent 
consideration classified as equity is not remeasured and its 
subsequent settlement is accounted for within equity.

The difference between the acquisition-date fair value of assets 
acquired, liabilities assumed and any non-controlling interest in 
the acquiree and the fair value of the consideration transferred 
and the fair value of any pre-existing investment in the acquiree 
is recognised as goodwill. If the consideration transferred and the 
pre-existing fair value is less than the fair value of the identifiable 
net assets acquired, being a bargain purchase to the acquirer, 
the difference is recognised as a gain directly in profit or loss 
by the acquirer on the acquisition-date, but only after a 
reassessment of the identification and measurement of the 
net assets acquired, the non-controlling interest in the acquiree, 
if any, the consideration transferred and the acquirer’s previously 
held equity interest in the acquirer.

Business combinations are initially accounted for on a provisional 
basis. The acquirer retrospectively adjusts the provisional 
amounts recognised and also recognises additional assets 
or liabilities during the measurement period, based on new 
information obtained about the facts and circumstances that 
existed at the acquisition-date. The measurement period 
ends on either the earlier of (i) 12 months from the date of the 
acquisition or (ii) when the acquirer receives all the information 
possible to determine fair value.

(f) Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the 
amount of associated GST, unless the GST incurred is not 
recoverable from the taxation authority. In this case it is 
recognised as part of the cost of acquisition of the asset 
or as part of the expense.

Receivables and payables are stated inclusive of the amount of 
GST receivable or payable. The net amount of GST recoverable 
from, or payable to, the taxation authority is included with other 
receivables or payables in the balance sheet.

Cash flows are presented on a gross basis. The GST 
components of cash flows arising from investing or financing 
activities which are recoverable from, or payable to the taxation 
authority, are presented as operating cash flows.

Commitments and contingencies are disclosed net of the amount 
of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the tax authority.

Notes to the Consolidated  Financial StatementsFor the year ended 31 December 2020Financial ReportDirectors’ 
Declaration

119

Directors’ Declaration
For the year ended 31 December 2020

In the Directors’ opinion:

(a)  the financial statements and notes set out on pages 70 to 118 are in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, including: 

(i)  complying with Accounting Standards, the Corporations Regulations 2001 and other mandatory professional reporting 

requirements, and

(ii)  complying with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, and

(iii)  giving a true and fair view of the consolidated entity’s financial position as at 31 December 2020 and of its performance for 

the financial year ended on that date, and

(b)  there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Company will be able to pay its debts as and when they become due and 

payable, and 

(c)  at the date of this declaration, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the members of the extended closed Group 

identified in note 32 will be able to meet any obligations or liabilities to which they are, or may become, subject by virtue of the 
deed of cross guarantee described in note 32. 

The Directors have been given the declarations required by section 295A of the Corporations Act 2001.

Signed in accordance with a resolution of Directors made pursuant to section 295(5)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001.

On behalf of the Directors

Michael Carapiet
Chairman
24 February 2021
Sydney

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamIndependent 
auditor’s 
report

120

Independent auditor’s report 
To the members of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd 

Report on the audit of the financial report 

Our opinion 

In our opinion: 

The accompanying financial report of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (the Company) and its controlled 
entities (together the Group) is in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, including: 

(a) 

giving a true and fair view of the Group's financial position as at 31 December 2020 and of its 
financial performance for the year then ended  

(b) 

complying with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Regulations 2001. 

What we have audited 
The Group financial report comprises: 

(cid:120) 
(cid:120) 
(cid:120) 
(cid:120) 

(cid:120) 

(cid:120) 

the consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December 2020 

the consolidated statement of changes in equity for the year then ended 

the consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended 

the consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the year then 
ended 

the notes to the consolidated financial statements, which include a summary of significant 
accounting policies 

the directors’ declaration. 

Basis for opinion 

We conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. Our responsibilities under 
those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial 
report section of our report. 

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for 
our opinion. 

Independence 
We are independent of the Group in accordance with the auditor independence requirements of the 
Corporations Act 2001 and the ethical requirements of the Accounting Professional & Ethical 
Standards Board’s APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including Independence 
Standards) (the Code) that are relevant to our audit of the financial report in Australia. We have also 
fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the Code. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers, ABN 52 780 433 757 
One International Towers Sydney, Watermans Quay, Barangaroo, GPO BOX 2650, SYDNEY  NSW  2001 
T: +61 2 8266 0000, F: +61 2 8266 9999, www.pwc.com.au 
Level 11, 1PSQ, 169 Macquarie Street, Parramatta NSW 2150, PO Box 1155 Parramatta NSW 2124 
T: +61 2 9659 2476, F: +61 2 8266 9999, www.pwc.com.au 

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. 

 
  
  
Independent 
auditor’s 
report

121

Our audit approach 

An audit is designed to provide reasonable assurance about whether the financial report is free from 
material misstatement. Misstatements may arise due to fraud or error. They are considered material if 
individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of 
users taken on the basis of the financial report. 

We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an 
opinion on the financial report as a whole, taking into account the geographic and management 
structure of the Group, its accounting processes and controls and the industry in which it operates. 

Materiality 

(cid:120) 

For the purpose of our audit we used overall Group materiality of $3.1 million, which represents 
approximately 5% of the Group’s profit before tax. 

(cid:120)  We applied this threshold, together with qualitative considerations, to determine the scope of our audit and 
the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures and to evaluate the effect of misstatements on the 
financial report as a whole. 

(cid:120)  We chose Group profit before tax because, in our view, profit before tax (which is a generally accepted 
benchmark for profit-orientated entities) is a key metric against which the performance of the Group is 
measured.  

(cid:120)  We selected 5% based on our professional judgement, noting that it is within the range of commonly 

acceptable profit related materiality thresholds. 

Audit Scope 

(cid:120)  Our audit focused on where the Group made subjective judgements; for example, significant accounting 

estimates involving assumptions and inherently uncertain future events. 

(cid:120)  An audit is designed to provide reasonable assurance about whether the financial report is free from material 
misstatement. Misstatements may arise due to fraud or error. They are considered material if individually or 
in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the 
basis of the financial report. 

(cid:120)  We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on 
the financial report as a whole, taking into account the geographic and management structure of the Group, 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  Team 
 
 
 
Independent 
auditor’s 
report

122

its accounting processes and controls and the industry in which it operates. 

(cid:120) 

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd’s financial report consolidates the businesses of various controlled entities and 
the Group has a substantially centralised finance function.  

Key audit matters 

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in 
our audit of the financial report for the current period. The key audit matters were addressed in the 
context of our audit of the financial report as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do 
not provide a separate opinion on these matters. Further, any commentary on the outcomes of a 
particular audit procedure is made in that context. We communicated the key audit matters to the 
Audit and Risk Committee. 

Key audit matter 

How our audit addressed the key audit matter 

Goodwill and indefinite life assets impairment 

Refer to note 7 - $275.7 million 

The Group’s goodwill and brand names and logos are 
required by Australian Accounting Standards to be 
tested annually for impairment at the cash 
generating unit (CGU) level.  

The impairment assessment was a key audit matter due 
to: 
(cid:120) 

the size of the goodwill and other indefinite life 
intangible assets balances 
the judgement involved in assessing whether an 
impairment was required and; 
the volatility and disruption arising from the 
COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing uncertainty 
regarding the impact of the winding down of 
government assistance measures. 

(cid:120) 

(cid:120) 

The Group performed an impairment assessment over 
goodwill and other indefinite life intangible assets by 
calculating the value in use for each CGU, using 
discounted cash flow models (the models). Key 
judgements in the models included the determination 
of CGUs, discount rates, annual revenue and terminal 
growth rates and the assumption that there will be no 
significant changes to the legislation governing the 
provision of products and services within the salary 
packaging administration and novated leasing 
industries in the forecast periods. 

We performed the following audit procedures, amongst 
others: 
(cid:120)  we assessed whether the Group’s identification of 
CGUs was consistent with our knowledge of the 
operations, internal reporting lines and the level of 
integration of the previously acquired businesses 
(cid:120)  we evaluated the process by which the cash flow 
forecasts were developed including the review of 
significant assumptions and judgements by the 
Audit and Risk Committee 

(cid:120)  we compared the cash flow forecasts to Board 
approved budgets and inspected evidence of 
oversight over key assumptions in the forecasts by 
the directors 

(cid:120)  we assessed the Group’s ability to accurately 

(cid:120) 

(cid:120) 

(cid:120) 

forecast by comparing previous forecasts with 
actual results 
for significant inputs and assumptions, we 
considered and evaluated management’s evaluation 
and response to estimation uncertainty 
together with PwC valuation experts, we tested the 
method used by management to determine the 
recoverable amount of the CGUs and confirmed 
that this was in compliance with the requirements 
of the Australian Accounting Standards 
together with PwC valuation experts, we tested the 
inputs and assumptions used by management in 
determining the discount rates by comparing to 
observable and comparable data 

(cid:120)  we tested the integrity of the data (including 

revenue and expense forecasts and growth rates) 
and assumptions used by management in 
developing the cashflow forecasts by agreeing to 
observable data  

 
 
 
 
 
 
Independent 
auditor’s 
report

123

Key audit matter 

How our audit addressed the key audit matter 

(cid:120)  we tested the mathematical accuracy of the 

impairment model 

(cid:120)  we considered whether there had been any 

published plans from mainstream Australian 
political parties relating to any potential changes to 
legislation governing the provision of products and 
services within the salary packaging administration 
and novated leasing industries to assess the 
appropriateness of management’s assumptions 
about the future of the salary packaging industry is 
reasonable 

(cid:120)  we compared the Group’s net assets of $270.9 
million as at 31 December 2020 to its market 
capitalisation of $932 million on the same date 
(cid:120)  we evaluated the reasonableness of the Group’s 
disclosures on goodwill and other infinite life 
intangible assets impairment in light of the 
requirements of Australian Accounting Standards. 

Restricted cash and cash equivalents held on 
behalf of customers 

Refer to note 38 – $48.1 million  

The provision of salary packaging services involves the 
Group holding funds on behalf of certain customers, 
either as restricted cash or cash equivalents held on 
behalf of customers. 

This was a key audit matter as the Group may be 
responsible for any shortfall in these accounts, there is 
a significant volume of transactions impacting 
restricted cash and cash held on behalf of customers’ 
accounts throughout the year and due to the large 
volume of accounts and employees under management 
(EUM). 

We performed the following audit procedures, amongst 
others: 
(cid:120) 

tests of the operating effectiveness of the Group’s 
relevant key controls over the EUM cash 
transaction process, which include reconciliation of 
trust bank accounts to bank statements, 
reconciliation of employer deductions to bank 
statements and authorisation of payments from 
trust accounts 
for bank balances relating to restricted cash and 
cash held on behalf of customers, we examined 
evidence of reconciliations between the bank 
statements and the cashbook balances for a sample 
of bank accounts and obtained confirmations 
directly from banks of the balances at year end 
(cid:120)  we read board minutes, enquired with management 

(cid:120) 

and obtained a written description from the 
Group’s lawyers of current legal matters to identify 
whether there were any material claims from EUMs 
or employers 

(cid:120)  we considered the adequacy and accuracy of the 
Group’s disclosures in relation to restricted cash 
and cash held on behalf of customers’ accounts in 
the light of the requirements of Australian 
Accounting Standards. 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  Team 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
Independent 
auditor’s 
report

124

Other information 

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the 
information included in the annual report for the year ended 31 December 2020 but does not include 
the financial report and our auditor’s report thereon. 

Our opinion on the financial report does not cover the other information and accordingly we do not 
express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. 

In connection with our audit of the financial report, our responsibility is to read the other information 
and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial 
report or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. 

If, based on the work we have performed on the other information that we obtained prior to the date of 
this auditor’s report, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we 
are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. 

Responsibilities of the directors for the financial report 

The directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of the financial report that gives a 
true and fair view in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Act 2001 
and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of the 
financial report that gives a true and fair view and is free from material misstatement, whether due to 
fraud or error. 

In preparing the financial report, the directors are responsible for assessing the ability of the Group to 
continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the 
going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the Group or to cease 
operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial report 

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial report as a whole is free 
from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that 
includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an 
audit conducted in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards will always detect a material 
misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material 
if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic 
decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial report. 

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial report is located at the 
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board website at: 
https://www.auasb.gov.au/admin/file/content102/c3/ar1_2020.pdf. This description forms part of 
our auditor's report. 

 
 
Independent 
auditor’s 
report

125

Report on the remuneration report 

Our opinion on the remuneration report 

We have audited the remuneration report included in pages 51 to 65 of the directors’ report for the 
year ended 31 December 2020. 

In our opinion, the remuneration report of Smartgroup Corporation Ltd for the year ended 31 
December 2020 complies with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001. 

Responsibilities 

The directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation and presentation of the 
remuneration report in accordance with section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001. Our responsibility 
is to express an opinion on the remuneration report, based on our audit conducted in accordance with 
Australian Auditing Standards.  

PricewaterhouseCoopers 

Joe Sheeran 
Partner 

Sydney 
24 February 2021 

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamShareholder 
information

Shareholder Information

126

This section contains additional information required by the ASX Listing Rules not disclosed anywhere else in this report. The information 
in this section is current as at 29 January 2021.

Substantial Shareholders

As at 29 January 2021, the following persons were disclosed as substantial holders in substantial holding notices given to the 
Company under the Corporations Act:

Name

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Class of shares and voting rights

Number of shares in which 
relevant interests held

9,053,344

6,800,125

Voting power

6.82%

5.12%

At 29 January 2021, there were 8,721 holders of ordinary shares in the Company.

The voting rights attached to the ordinary shares set out in the Company’s Constitution are that on a show of hands every member 
present at a meeting in person or by proxy shall have one vote and upon a poll each share shall have one vote.

Distribution of shareholders as at 29 January 2021:

Size of holding

1 – 1,000

1,001 – 5,000

5,001 – 10,000

10,001 – 100,000

100,001 and over

Total shareholders

Number of holders

Total shares held

4,315

3,133

760

455

58

8,721

1,961,340

8,172,246

5,620,115

10,919,538

106,147,456

132,820,695

Percentage of  
total shares 

1.48%

6.15%

4.23%

8.22%

79.92%

100.00%

Shareholder 
information

127

Number of  
ordinary shares

Percentage of  
ordinary shares

 37,681,180 

 17,874,742 

 13,230,647 

 9,195,955 

 5,517,475 

 5,185,023 

 1,935,435 

 1,729,223 

 1,606,897 

 1,460,836 

 1,246,001 

 1,195,358 

 625,000 

 563,607 

 519,979 

 496,965 

 410,563 

 405,949 

 405,520 

 342,767 

28.37%

13.46%

9.96%

6.92%

4.15%

3.90%

1.46%

1.30%

1.21%

1.10%

0.94%

0.90%

0.47%

0.42%

0.39%

0.37%

0.31%

0.31%

0.31%

0.26%

 101,629,122 

76.52%

Twenty largest shareholders of ordinary shares as at 29 January 2021:

Name

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited 

J P Morgan Nominees Australia Pty Limited 

Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited 

National Nominees Limited 

BNP Paribas Noms Pty Ltd 

BNP Paribas Nominees Pty Ltd 

Anacacia Pty Limited 

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited - A/C 2 

Gentilly Holdings 2 Pty Limited 

Equitas Nominees Pty Limited 

Heatherwood Court Pty Ltd 

Timothy Looi 

Point Capital Pty Ltd 

AMP Life Limited 

BNP Paribas Nominees Pty Ltd Hub24 Custodial Serv Ltd 

Netwealth Investments Limited 

Mr Haining Yu & Ms Weihua Han 

Sophie MacIntosh 

Sarah Haas 

Mutual Trust Pty Ltd 

Total

Restricted securities or securities subject to voluntary escrow
There are no securities or securities subject to voluntary escrow as at 29 January 2021. 

Note: in accordance with the ASX Listing Rules, securities issued under the Company’s LTIP that have restrictions on their transfer 
under the terms of the LTIP are not regarded as being subject to voluntary escrow.

On-market buy-back

There is no current on-market buy-back.

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamFive Year 
Summary

Five Year Summary

Index

Income statement ($m)

Revenue

EBITDA

NPAT (statutory)

NPATA

Statement of financial position ($m)

Assets

Liabilities

Net assets

Net cash/(debt)

Share information

128

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

216.3

95.4

41.3

65.2

408.4

137.5

270.9

2.5

249.8

118.2

61.4

81.0

472.9

196.2

276.7

(21.0)

241.8

115.0

59.3

77.8

464.0

171.7

292.3

(14.6)

205.4 

147.1 

93.6

41.2 

64.1 

466.7

262.0 

204.7

(111.1)

63.3 

32.8 

44.0 

438.6 

244.3 

194.3 

(72.0)

Ordinary shares (million shares)

132.8

131.7

130.9

123.2 

121.5 

Dividends per share (cents per share)

Interim

Special

Final

Total dividends

Share price at 31 December ($)

NPATA/ordinary shares (cents per share)

Ratios

Ordinary dividend payout ratio

Operating cashflow/NPATA

Net debt/EBITDA

Operational metrics

FTEs

Packages

17.0

9.0

17.5

43.5

6.83

49.1

70%

115%

(0.0)

21.5

20.0

21.5

63.0

6.94

61.5

70%

110%

0.2

20.5

–

21.0

41.5

8.88

59.4

70%

103%

0.1

16.5 

–

18.5 

35.0

10.85 

52.0

67%

99%

1.2

9.8 

–

15.0 

24.8

6.28 

36.2

68%

103%

1.1

630

689

695

706 

544 

360,500

358,500

343,000

325,000 

221,000 

Novated leases under management

66,700

68,500

65,250

62,500 

53,000 

Glossary of terms

Glossary 
of terms

129

AGM
ARC
Board
Company
CAGR
CEO
CFO
CGS

CIO
CLO
COO
Director
EBITDA
EPS
Executive
Executive KMP
Greenfleet
GRI

Group

GST
HRRC
ITIC
KMP

KPI
LFS
LTIP
Net debt
Non-Executive 
Director
NPAT
NPATA

NPS

Operating cash flow

PBI
PBT
Smartgroup
STIP
TFR
TSR
VWAP
WGEA
Website

The annual general meeting of the Company
Audit and Risk Committee
Board of Directors
Smartgroup Corporation Ltd ABN 48 126 266 831
Compound annual growth rate
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Corporate Governance Statement. Available on the website at  
http://ir.smartgroup.com.au/Investors/?page=Corporate-Governance
Chief Information Officer
Chief Legal Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Director means a director of the Company
Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation adjusted for significant non-operating items
Earnings per share
The CEO and each of his direct reports
The KMP, excluding the Non-Executive Directors
An environmental not-for-profit organisation, whose mission is to protect the climate by restoring forests
The Global Reporting Initiative is an international independent standards organisation that helps 
businesses, governments and other organisations understand and communicate their impacts on issues 
such as climate change, human rights and corruption. It developed the GRI Standards
The consolidated Smartgroup Corporation Ltd entity consisting of the Company and the entities it 
controlled at the end of or during the year ended 31 December 2020
Goods and services tax
Human Resources and Remuneration Committee
IT and Innovation Committee
Key management personnel, being those employees who had authority and responsibility for planning, 
directing and controlling the activities of the Group during the 2020 financial year, and includes the Directors
Key performance indicator
Loan funded shares
Long-term incentive plan
Cash and cash equivalents less corporate borrowings, adjusted to exclude capitalised borrowing costs
Director who is not an Executive

Net Profit After Tax
Net Profit After Tax, adjusted to exclude the non-cash tax effected acquired amortisation of intangibles and 
significant non-operating items
Net promoter score. Net promoter score is a measure of how likely a customer is to provide a word-of-
mouth referral, measured on a scale of -100 to +100
Operating cash flow excludes receipts and payments from customers’ salary packaging accounts,  
significant non-operating items
Public benevolent institution
Profit before tax
Smartgroup Corporation Ltd ABN 48 126 266 831
Short-term incentive plan
Total fixed remuneration
Total shareholder return
Volume-Weighted Average Price
Workplace Gender Equality Agency
smartgroup.com.au

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamGRI content 
index

GRI content index

130

The 2020 Smartgroup Sustainability Report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards Core Option.

Identifying material topics, report content and boundaries
We have selected material topics to report on that have the greatest impact on our stakeholders and the communities in which we 
operate and over which we have some ability to influence or address related impacts. A significant number of the possible material 
topics listed in the GRI standards are not relevant to our business, or have limited impact on our business and importance to our share 
holders and thus have been excluded from our review. Our process to identify material topics will continue to evolve as we continuously 
review the expectations of stakeholders and broader sustainability trends.

The impacts for employee related topics are entirely within Smartgroup, whilst governance, environmental and community impacts 
occur both inside and outside Smartgroup and client, customer and supplier impacts occur mostly outside Smartgroup.

The location of the disclosures are referenced to the relevant pages in this report, to Smartgroup’s Corporate Governance Statement 
and its website. Where it has not been possible to disclose information, then a brief explanation is given.

GRI 
Standard

Disclosure

General Disclosures

GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016

GRI 102: 1. Organisational Profile

Reference or link

102-1

102-2

102-3

102-4

102-5

102-6

102-7

102-8

102-9

102-10

102-11

102-12

102-13

Name of the organisation

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd

Activities, brands, products and services

Website: “About Us”, “What we do”. Pages 6, 10, 12

Location of headquarters

Location of operations

Ownership and legal form

Markets served

Corporate Directory (page 133)

Australia – see Website

ASX-listed public company

Website: “About Us”, “Who we Help”, “What we do”. 
Pages 8-10

Scale of the operation 

Page 17-20 and Financial Report (page 70 onwards)

Information on employees and other workers

Pages 24-29 and Corporate Governance Statement

Supply chain

Page 39 and page 45

Significant changes to the organisation and its 
supply chain

Precautionary principle or approach

External initiatives

Membership of associations

Nil. There were no such changes in CY2020

Not applicable

Not applicable

Smartgroup is a member of NALSPA (National Automotive 
Leasing and Salary Packaging Association) and AFIA 
(Australian Finance Industry Association)

GRI 102: 2. Strategy

102-14

102-15

Statement from senior decision-maker

Managing Director and CEO Report (page 16)

Key impacts, risks and opportunities

Pages 36-41, 44-46 and Corporate Governance Statement

GRI 102: 3. Ethics and integrity

102-16

Values, principles, standards and norms of 
behaviour

Page 28 and Corporate Governance Statement

102-17

Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics

Corporate Governance Statement

GRI 102: 4. Governance

102-18

Governance Structure

Corporate Governance Statement

GRI 
Standard

Disclosure

GRI 102: 5. Stakeholder engagement

102-40

102-41

102-42

List of stakeholder groups

Collective bargaining agreements

Identifying and selecting stakeholders

102-43

Approach to stakeholder engagement

102-44

Key topics and concerns raised

GRI 102: 6. Reporting practice

GRI content 
index

131

Reference or link

Pages 44-46

Nil

Smartgroup identifies our key stakeholders as those who 
have the greatest impact on our business, or who are most 
impacted by our activities

To ensure we focus on the issues that matter most to our 
stakeholders, we regularly engage throughout the year 
with stakeholders in different forums and ensure that the 
feedback is appropriately shared within the Company

The topics and concerns raised depend upon the relevant 
group and their interests in the Company. Page 44-46 cover 
a number of these issues in our risks overview

102-45

102-46

102-47

102-48

102-49

102-50

102-51

102-52

102-53

102-54

102-55

102-56

Entities included in the consolidated financial 
statements

Financial report of the Company for the year ended 
31 December 2020 comprises the Company and its 
subsidiaries (the Group). Refer page 70 onwards

Defining report content and topic Boundaries

Page 130

List of material topics

Restatements of information

Changes in reporting

Reporting period

Date of most recent report

Reporting cycle

Reporting is limited to the disclosures most relevant to 
Smartgroup and are located at pages 22-46

No material restatements

In 2019, Smartgroup progressed from ‘GRI Referenced’ to  
‘GRI: Core’ reporting. There have been no further changes 
to reporting in 2020

1 January to 31 December 2020

February 2020

Annual

Contact point for questions regarding the report

Email: ir@smartgroup.com.au

Claims of reporting in accordance with the  
GRI Standards

GRI Content Index

External assurance

Page 130

Pages 130-132

No external assurance sought for the Sustainability Report

Material topics

GRI 200: Economic

GRI 205: Anti-corruption

205-1

Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

205-2

Communication and training about anti-corruption  
policies and procedures

The whole Smartgroup group of companies is subject to the 
risk assessment. No significant risks identified

All employees of the Smartgroup Group undertake training

205-3

Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

There have been no confirmed incidents

GRI 206: Anti-competitive behaviour

206-1

Legal actions for anti-competitive behaviour,  
anti-trust and monopoly practices

None

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamGRI content 
index

GRI 
Standard

Disclosure

GRI 300: Environmental

GRI 302: Energy

132

Reference or link

302-1

302-3

302-4

Energy consumption within the organisation

Page 42 (Electricity – total consumption (kwh))

Energy intensity

Page 42 (Electricity (tonnes CO2-e per FTE))

Reduction of energy consumption

Pages 36-41

GRI 305: Emissions

305-1

305-2

305-3

305-4

305-5

Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions

Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions

Not applicable

Pages 40-41

Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions

Page 36-41 (in part)

GHG emissions intensity

Reduction of GHG emissions

Page 36-41 (Electricity (tonnes CO2-e per FTE))

Page 36-41

GRI 400: Social

GRI 401: Employment

401-1

401-3

Parental leave

New employee hires and employee turnover

Pages 22-29 and page 42

GRI 404: Training and education

404-3

Percentage of employees receiving regular 
performance and career development reviews

GRI 405: Diversity and equal opportunity

Page 42

100%

405-1

Diversity of governance bodies and employees

Pages 24-26

GRI 419: Socioeconomic compliance

419-1

Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the  
social and economic area

No non-compliance identified

Corporate 
directory

133

Corporate Governance 
Statement

The corporate governance 
statement, which was approved 
at the same time as the Annual 
Report, can be found at:  
ir.smartgroup.com.au/
Investors/?page=Corporate-
Governance

Annual General Meeting

12 May 2021 at 11am.
Please refer to the website 
for further details.

Corporate Directory

Directors

Michael Carapiet
Timothy Looi
Gavin Bell 
Andrew Bolam
Carolyn Colley
Deborah Homewood
John Prendiville
Ian Watt

Company secretaries

Sophie MacIntosh
Jonathan Swain

Registered office and 
principal place of business

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd
Level 8, 133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000
Tel: 1300 665 855

Share register

LINK Market Services Limited
Level 12, 680 George Street 
Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000
Tel: 1300 554 474

Auditor

PricewaterhouseCoopers
One International Towers
Watermans Quay 
Barangaroo, Sydney 
NSW, Australia, 2000

Solicitors

MinterEllison Lawyers
Level 23, 525 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC
Australia, 3000
Tel: 03 8608 2000

Bankers

Westpac Group
275 Kent Street, Sydney  
NSW, Australia 2000

Australia and New Zealand 
Banking Group Limited
242 Pitt Street, Sydney 
NSW, Australia, 2000

Stock Exchange listing

Smartgroup Corporation 
Limited shares are listed on the 
Australian Securities Exchange 
(ASX code: SIQ)

Website

smartgroup.com.au

Smartgroup2020Annual  ReportAccountability  Care  TeamS

m

a

r

t

g

r

o

u

p

A

n

n

u

a

l

R

e

p

o

r

t

2

0

2

0

smartgroup.com.au

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd
National Head Office
Level 8, 133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000