The national minimum wage sets how much an employer who is in the national system can pay an employee. From 1 July 2026, the national minimum wage is $1004.90 based on a week of 38 ordinary hours ($26.44 per hour). This is the base rate for adult employees in the national system who are award/agreement free. We use it to set different rates (called ‘special national minimum wages’) for certain types of employees, depending on: the type of employment (for apprentices or trainees) the employee’s age if they are under 21 years (‘junior’) the employee’s work capacity (if they have a disability). To understand how we set the national minimum wage, see Annual wage...
What is Payday Super? Payday Super is one of the most significant changes to super in recent years. Introduced by the Australian Government to improve retirement outcomes and reduce unpaid super, it aligns super payments more closely with wages. What Is Changing in 2026? Payday Super replaces the current quarterly payment cycle and introduces a new earnings definition called Qualifying Earnings. Here are the three core changes your team needs to understand: Payment timing: You must pay the Superannuation Guarantee on payday, with contributions received by the fund within seven business days of each pay event. Qualifying Earnings (QE): QE replaces Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) and covers ordinary earnings, salary sacrifice contributions and certain contractor payments, all calculated at 12% of QE. SBSCH closure: The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closes on 30th June 2026. So, if your business uses it, you need to move to a SuperStream-compliant alternative right now. Why Does Payday Super Impact Payroll Systems? Moving from quarterly to per-payday super payments significantly increases your processing volume. Each pay event now triggers both a reporting obligation and a payment workflow, which places new demands on your payroll system capacity, clearing house integrations, and error-resolution speed. The Cash Flow and Processing Pressure Your treasury model changes fundamentally under Payday Super. If you budget super outflows quarterly today, you need to rethink that approach immediately. Every pay run now carries a concurrent super obligation, and your approval workflows and clearinghouse integrations must handle the higher transaction volume accurately. The Seven-Business-Day Obligation Seven business days sounds manageable until something goes wrong. Any error in employee fund details, bank data or SuperStream submissions can result...
From 26 August 2025, small business employees will have the right to disconnect from work outside of their usual work hours. This means they can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from their employer, outside of their working hours, unless that refusal is unreasonable. The right also applies to contact from third parties, such as clients, suppliers, other staff and members of the public. An employee’s refusal will be considered unreasonable if the contact or attempted contact is required by law. If not required by law, the following must be considered: the reason for the contact how the contact is made and how disruptive it is to the employee how much the employee is compensated or paid extra for: being available to perform work during the period they’re contacted, or working additional hours outside their ordinary hours of work the employee’s role in the business and level of responsibility the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities. At the outset, employers and employees are encouraged to discuss what out-of-hours contact might mean. They should set expectations about contact and responding to contact when either party is not working. For example: when an employee may need to monitor, read or respond to contact both parties’ preferences for how they prefer to be contacted when required (for example, a phone call may be preferable to monitoring email) personal circumstances that could impact either parties’ ability to respond to out-of-hours contact. Visit the Fair Work Ombudsman’s page for more information or view the Ombudsman’s...
eInvoicing How to use eInvoicing to exchange invoices directly between suppliers’ and buyers’ software. What is eInvoicing? About eInvoicing and how your business can benefit from its use. eInvoicing for businesses How to get started with eInvoicing and work with your trading partners for a smooth transition. eInvoicing for tax professionals and business advisers How to support your clients in getting started with eInvoicing and enhancing your clients’ digital capability. eInvoicing for government How all levels of government are adopting Peppol eInvoicing to help boost productivity across the economy. Peppol About the Peppol framework and how to identify Australian trade partners that are ready to receive eInvoices. eInvoicing news and resources Keep up to date with the latest eInvoicing information and...
Xero Employee Onboarding with Xonboard Xonboard is an employee onboarding solution integrated with Xero payroll to streamline and automate the process. With Xonboard, employers and accounting firms can onboard new hires in one click without the hassle of paper forms, manual data entry, or back-and-forth communications. Employee Onboarding Steps The employee onboarding process collects all the details required to start paying your new employee. These details are all imported into Xero Payroll, ready to complete your payrun. Employee’s Personal & Contact Details Emergency Contact Details Tax Details (TFN Declaration) Bank Account Details Super Choice Form Presented Fair Work Statement (if...
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