Key facts
- Six of seven High Court justices found Uber's drivers were employees and payments to them were wages.
- Uber is liable for $81 million in payroll tax for tax years 2015 to 2020, the court found.
- The report says later years could push Uber's total bill above $100 million.
- NSW finance minister Courtney Houssos said Uber should pay its fair share of payroll tax.
The High Court of Australia ruled on November 4, 2026 that Uber is liable to pay $81 million in payroll tax in New South Wales for the tax years from 2015 to 2020, dismissing the company's appeal six to one.
Uber had argued it does not employ drivers and that money paid to them was not wages under state law. It was initially successful in appealing against the assessment by the NSW chief commissioner of state revenue, but the high court's decision ends its legal avenues, the report said.
Six of the seven justices agreed that Uber's drivers were employees and that payments to them were wages. "Uber has structured its rideshare system business so payments from riders are funnelled through it," the majority said in the judgment, adding that this gave Uber substantive control over fares before they were remitted to drivers.
Chief Justice Stephen Gageler wrote that payroll tax laws had been adjusted late in the last century in multiple states to capture more revenue from contractual arrangements meant to disguise the true nature of the working relationship. He said the contractor provisions had continued "always speaking in the present" to participants in the gig economy.
The report said the ruling is likely to leave Uber with a significant bill for subsequent years, pushing the total well over $100 million. It did not give a figure for those years.
The NSW finance minister, Courtney Houssos, said payroll tax was a key part of the state's tax base, despite only about one in 20 companies meeting the threshold to pay it. "It helps fund essential services that families and households rely on," she said. "Local businesses pay their fair share. Uber should pay their fair share too."