Australia Sets Sights on Peppol for B2B E-Invoice Exchange
Australia explores adopting Peppol for B2B e-invoicing through a proposed Business eInvoicing Right (BER), giving businesses the legal right to request structured electronic invoices.
Beyond mandating e-invoicing for Commonwealth government agencies by 2022, Australia is now actively exploring the expansion of structured e-invoicing into the B2B sector.
As part of this process, the Australian Treasury has released an additional consultation paper inviting stakeholders to provide feedback on future regulatory approaches.
Introducing the Business eInvoicing Right (BER)
The latest consultation proposes a Finnish-style legal framework known as the Business eInvoicing Right (BER).
Under this model, Australian businesses would have a legal right to request and receive electronic invoices via the Peppol Network. This approach does not immediately prohibit paper invoices but instead empowers buyers to demand structured digital invoices.
The consultation explores how BER could be implemented across:
- Businesses of different sizes
- Multiple industries
- Diverse digital maturity levels
The objective is to create a supportive legal environment that encourages automation of accounts payable processes while increasing structured invoice submission among suppliers.
Peppol as the Infrastructure Backbone
The consultation explicitly envisions the use of the Peppol Network as the underlying exchange infrastructure. Peppol already supports secure, standardized invoice transmission across public and private sectors and is aligned with Australia’s broader digital transformation strategy.
By embedding Peppol into a legal right framework, Australia would take a structured and interoperable approach to scaling B2B e-invoicing nationwide.
