This section provides information on: minimum standards for pay and conditions, record keeping, tax and superannuation and common payroll issues.
The sources of pay and conditions for Australian workers may be determined by a number of sources or combination of sources including awards, agreements, contracts of employment and legislation.
Federal 'modern awards' operate from 1 January 2010 and together with the National Employment Standards, form the safety net of terms and conditions of employment for most Australian employees. Modern awards do not differ greatly from the minimum conditions provided under pre-WorkChoices federal awards and Notional Agreements Preserving State Awards (NAPSAs) which were created under WorkChoices.
Modern awards include 10 allowable matters, relating to annualised salary arrangements, arrangements for when work is performed, overtime and penalty rates, allowances, leave and leave loadings, superannuation and procedures for consultation, dispute resolution and the representation of employees.
Other terms may relate to the period of notice of termination required to be given by an employee, payment of wages, transitional redundancy pay and types of employment, eg full-time, part-time, and casual.
Research
All the topics in this tab on payroll issues are treated in detail in the major research facility on WorkplaceInfo -
Employment Topics A-Z.
Q&As
Payroll issues provide one of the busiest areas of questions to the
WorkplaceInfo Ask an Expert service. Our database of common payroll Q&As to this service can be accessed here, at the bottom of this page.
Sample documentation
For an extensive library of policies, agreements, forms, correspondence and checklists, designed to make human resources (HR) management easy for your business see our
HR Advance website.