Introducing ECHO

What is ECHO?

ECHO⁽¹⁾ stands for Employer Clearing House Online and is BT’s online clearing house service for employers. Through this clearing house, employers instruct BT in relation to superannuation contributions for their employees which will be made to multiple super providers using Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac)’s PayDeduct Bureau Instructed Payments (Westpac PayDeduct)⁽²⁾ facility.

ECHO avoids the need for employers to communicate with each super provider individually or with Westpac – BT handles all the communication on the employer’s behalf. Through ECHO, which is available via BT Online Employer (BTOE), employers can use PayDeduct. Superannuation contribution payments will be made by Westpac through PayDeduct, in accordance with instructions BT gives Westpac on the employers’ behalf.

¹ BT Funds Management Limited ABN 63 002 916 458, AFSL 233 724, Trustee RSE L0001090 & Westpac Securities Limited ABN 77 000 049 472, AFSL 233716, RSE L0001083 arranges the issue to employers of a non-cash payments facility by Westpac Banking Corporations ABN 33 007 457 141. A copy of the Financial Services Guide (FSG) for BT Funds Management & Westpac Securities Limited can be downloaded or obtained by calling 1300 553 010.

² Employers should carefully read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for PayDeduct, before deciding whether to use or continue to use the facility. A copy of the PDS for Westpac PayDeduct can be downloaded or obtained by calling 1300 553 010.

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Why would an employer use ECHO?

With Choice of Superannuation legislation (Super Choice), eligible Australian employees are able to choose which super fund they would like their employer to make their Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions.

If an employer has many employees, the employer may need to submit contributions to multiple super providers. This could be a costly and time-consuming task. The PayDeduct facility available to employers through ECHO can take the pain away by giving employers the option to make one payment through PayDeduct and that payment will be divided and distributed to multiple super providers.

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What are the Terms and Conditions for using ECHO?

Employers should carefully consider the Terms and Conditions of ECHO before deciding whether to use or to continue to use the facility. These Terms and Conditions are accessible to all BTOE users on every page of the secure section of BTOE by clicking the 'Terms and Conditions' link in the top right hand corner on any page of the secure section of the site. This section requires you to login to BTOE (opens in a new window).

If you are a new user, click here to register.

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Do employers need to accept the ECHO Terms and Conditions?

Yes. On the Terms and Conditions page, there is one set of Terms and Conditions for using BTOE and another set of Terms and Conditions for using ECHO.

Employers need to accept both sets of Terms and Conditions regardless of whether they want to use ECHO or not. Note that the acceptance of both Terms and Conditions does not oblige employers to use ECHO - employers can choose whether or not to use ECHO.

For each employer, the first user of BTOE after the implementation of ECHO in July 2005 will be asked to accept the revised Terms and Conditions (which includes Terms and Conditions for ECHO usage).

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How do I get started on ECHO?

To submit superannuation contributions via ECHO, employers will need to be registered for BTOE and ECHO, and use the new ECHO functionality. This functionality is separate from the existing BTOE contribution processes used by employers to make contributions to the BT employer fund (ie BT Business Super or BT Lifetime Super - Employer Plan).

If an employer is familiar with making super contributions via BTOE, the process to make 'Choice' contributions will be straightforward. For each employee who wishes their employer to make super contributions to a super fund other than the BT employer fund, the employer will need to register this member in ECHO as a 'Choice employee'.

Once Choice employees are registered, the employer can make regular super contributions through PayDeduct using ECHO by completing an e-form or by uploading a payroll file.

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