Employment, Payroll & Mobility in Australia

Essentials guide · Source-checked research48% of statements checked against a source30 checked against an official source0 checked against a secondary sourceChecked 2026-10-1913 held back until checked against an official source10 topics include AI-written statements, not source-checkedNot yet professionally reviewed

• The National Employment Standards are 12 minimum entitlements for employees: maximum weekly hours, requests for flexible working arrangements, offers and requests to move from casual to permanent work, parental leave, annual leave, personal, carer's, compassionate and family and domestic violence leave, community service leave, long service leave, public holidays, superannuation contributions, notice of termination and redundancy pay, and the Fair Work and Casual Employment Information Statements.

  Federal. Modern awards set minimum standards for an industry or occupation and cannot provide less than the NES; an enterprise agreement applies instead of the relevant award and its pay rates cannot be lower than the award. Casual employees get only some NES entitlements.Australian Government, business.gov.au · checked 2026-10-19

• The Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review 2026 raised modern award minimum wages by 4.75% and set the national minimum wage at AUD 1,004.90 per week, or AUD 26.44 per hour, from 1 July 2026.

  Federal; the Fair Work Act 2009 requires the Commission to conduct an annual wage review. The C13 and C14 award classifications received an additional structural adjustment.Fair Work Commission · checked 2026-10-19

• Employers must pay superannuation guarantee contributions of 12% of ordinary time earnings into an employee's superannuation fund.

  Federal; rate applies from 1 July 2025 to earnings paid up to 30 June 2026, after which Payday Super rules apply. Late or unpaid contributions attract the superannuation guarantee charge.Australian Taxation Office · checked 2026-10-19

• The Corporations Act protects whistleblowers who report misconduct, and public companies and large proprietary companies must have a whistleblower policy.

  Federal.AI-written, not source-checked

• Workplace health and safety laws, largely based on a national model law but enacted separately by each state and territory, impose duties on businesses and due diligence duties on officers.

  Victoria has its own long-standing occupational health and safety legislation.AI-written, not source-checked

Read the full guide: Employment, payroll and mobility