Australia’s High Court Upholds A$81 Million Uber Tax

Key Facts

Australia’s High Court on November 4, 2026, rejected Uber’s appeal over payroll tax in New South Wales, upholding the treatment of amounts transferred to drivers as taxable wages. The revenue authority estimated the liability at about A$81 million for the disputed period, and the court ordered the company to pay the revenue commissioner’s costs. The court said the majority concluded that the driver contracts fell within the contracts covered by the Payroll Tax Act. The ruling ends the company’s appeal before Australia’s highest court, after a dispute that had been before the courts for years. The tax covers the financial years ending June 30 from 2015 to 2020.

The assessments comprised six tax claims totaling A$81,515,923 for the 2015 to 2020 financial years. Uber challenged them on April 24, 2021, but the revenue commissioner rejected the objection. The detailed total shows the basis for the estimated liability of about A$81 million cited in the judgment summary. The dispute centered on whether money reaching drivers through the platform should be treated as wages under state law. Under the law, according to the court summary, an amount paid for work connected with a relevant contract is treated as wages.

The court majority found that the driver contracts fell within the relevant contracts and that the amounts paid to drivers constituted wages under the Payroll Tax Act. Under the payment model described by the court, Uber deducts service and other fees from passenger payments, then transfers the balance to the driver. The classification of that balance was central to the case, as the revenue authority based its assessments on the view that most of the amounts transferred were connected with performing the work. A lower court had set aside the assessments at an earlier stage, before the Court of Appeal accepted the revenue commissioner’s challenge. The High Court then rejected Uber’s appeal, upholding the outcome of the appeals stage.

Uber said the ruling could have implications beyond ride-hailing and could affect intermediary business models in sectors such as mortgage broking, medical services and healthcare. The company called it a "worrying precedent" at a time when Australian businesses were facing, it said, growing regulatory burdens and cost pressures. It urged state governments to update payroll tax laws to reflect how digital platforms operate, providing businesses with greater clarity and ensuring a level playing field in the on-demand transport sector. In contrast, New South Wales’ treasurer said only about 5% of businesses in the state pay payroll tax. The comments place the decision within a broader debate over the scope of tax on businesses, while the current ruling remains confined to Uber’s assessments in New South Wales for 2015–2020.

The ruling followed the High Court’s grant of special leave to Uber to appeal on December 4, 2025, and a hearing in Canberra on April 8, 2026. In market trading, EL7 data showed Uber shares closed at $66.6 on November 3, the day before the ruling was announced. In Australia, the Reserve Bank raised its cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.85% on November 3. The bank has set December 8, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. local time for its next rate update. These developments remain separate from the tax ruling, which concerned the company’s obligations to New South Wales.