Australian Payroll
Compliance Guide
Avoid the ATO's radar. A comprehensive overview of STP Phase 2, Superannuation, Modern Awards, and your obligations as an employer.
Book a 15-minute chat with our team. No obligation.
Did you know?
The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered over $532 million in underpaid wages in the last financial year. Don't let your business become a statistic.
The 4 Pillars of Payroll Compliance
Staying compliant in Australia means mastering four key areas. Neglecting any one of these can lead to audits, fines, and reputational damage.
Single Touch Payroll (STP) Phase 2 is now mandatory. You must report detailed payroll information to the ATO every single payday, including disaggregated gross income.
There are over 120 Modern Awards. You must know which one applies to each employee and strictly follow rules regarding base rates, overtime, and penalties.
Super Guarantee (SG) must be paid at least quarterly. Late payments are not tax-deductible and attract the Super Guarantee Charge (SGC).
State-based payroll tax kicks in when your total Australian wages exceed certain thresholds (e.g., $1.2M in NSW). Rates and thresholds differ by state.
Common Compliance Traps
The "Set and Forget" Mentality
Awards change annually (usually in July). If you set a salary two years ago and haven't reviewed it, you might now be underpaying your staff relative to the Award minimum, especially after recent high wage increases.
Contractor vs. Employee
Just because someone has an ABN doesn't mean they are a contractor for tax and super purposes. The ATO looks at the nature of the relationship. If you get this wrong, you could be liable for years of back-pay for superannuation and PAYG withholding.
Annualised Salary Reconciliation
If you pay staff an annual salary to cover all Award entitlements, you must perform a reconciliation every 12 months (or when they leave) to ensure they weren't worse off than if they were paid strictly by the Award (including overtime).
Worried about your compliance?
We offer a comprehensive Payroll Health Check. We review your past 12 months of payroll data to identify risks before the ATO does.
Book a Health Check