Payroll compliance checklist

In Australia, getting payroll right is one of the most important parts of being an employer. But with rules and rates constantly changing, it’s easy to feel like you’re always one step behind. 

The reality is, even just one small error or misclassification can lead to serious consequences, landing your business in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Unintentional mistakes can lead to investigations from the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), costly backpay orders and reputational damage that can be hard to recover from. 

As of January 2025, deliberate underpayments are a criminal offence, with penalties of up to 10 years’ jail for individuals and fines reaching into the millions of dollars. 

Thankfully, payroll compliance doesn’t have to feel unmanageable. With the right systems in place, you can stop worrying about what you might be missing and have the confidence that your payroll is running smoothly. 

To help you manage your payroll compliance obligations, we’ve put together a checklist.

Download the checklist now. 

What’s in the payroll compliance checklist?

This checklist is designed to guide you through the essentials of Australian payroll compliance so you can:

• Protect your business from costly errors
• Stay up to date with changing laws and obligations
• Give your team peace of mind that they’re being paid correctly
• Learn about the systems to help you feel confident with your compliance obligations

How Employment Hero can help

For Australian businesses, managing payroll can feel like a full-time job on top of running your business. Calculating modern award pay rates, tracking leave entitlements, keeping up with wage updates and staying across superannuation obligations; it’s a lot to manage.

Late payments, errors or non-compliance with the Fair Work Act can lead to fines, back-pay orders and added stress for you and your team.

That’s why it pays to have an all-in-one Employment Operating System that does the heavy lifting. Not just once, but every pay cycle. Employment Hero takes the weight off your shoulders, cutting down the admin hours and helping you manage your obligations.

With smart tools that automate calculations, track entitlements and generate accurate payslips, you can spend less time buried in spreadsheets and more time focusing on your people and your business.

With Employment Hero’s intelligent payroll solution, you can:

• Automate award interpretation. Automatically calculate correct modern award pay rates, loadings and penalty rates for every employee.
• Streamline leave and entitlements. Track annual leave, personal leave, parental leave and more in one central system.
• Simplify superannuation and PAYG. Make superannuation and tax obligations effortless with automated calculations and reporting.
• Issue digital payslips with every pay run. Quick, accurate and easy for your team to access in Employment Hero.
• Stay audit-ready. Keep all payroll records, reports and compliance data securely in one place, ready for audit time and end of financial year.

Payroll doesn’t have to be a headache. With Employment Hero, you can focus on growing your business while your payroll runs smoothly every time.

Download the checklist now. 

Disclaimer: The information in this checklist is current as at 30 August 2025, and has been prepared by Employment Hero Pty Ltd (ABN 11 160 047 709) and its related bodies corporate (Employment Hero). The views expressed in this checklist are general information only, are provided in good faith to assist employers and their employees, and should not be relied on as professional advice. The Information is based on data supplied by third parties. While such data is believed to be accurate, it has not been independently verified and no warranties are given that it is complete, accurate, up to date or fit for the purpose for which it is required. Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracy in such data and is not liable for any loss or damages arising either directly or indirectly as a result of reliance on, use of or inability to use any information provided in this checklist. You should undertake your own research and to seek professional advice before making any decisions or relying on the information in this checklist.