How the clearing house provider(s) will be compensated for providing a free service to small business is another major question. Gullone points out that existing clearing houses make money partly from playing the short-term money market as cash passes through them – will the Federal Government be happy for a mandated clearing house to continue this practice?

The extent to which it will control service fees for larger employers is also to be determined. Watson Wyatt perhaps summed it up best in its ‘Budget Bulletin’ reaction to the clearing house – “We wonder if the devil will be in the detail of this proposal.”