Payroll Review for Australian Businesses

A payroll review is a thorough audit of your payroll setup and processes. We check award classifications against actual duties performed, verify pay rates match current award minimums, test overtime and penalty rate calculations, audit superannuation compliance including the Ordinary Time Earnings base, reconcile leave accruals against actual entitlements, review STP category mapping for ATO accuracy, and confirm year-end finalisation is complete. You get a report showing every error found, the financial exposure for each, and a prioritised remediation plan

At minimum, review your payroll annually - ideally before the 1 July award rate changes take effect. Beyond that, trigger a review whenever you hire under a new modern award, promote employees into different classification levels, change pay frequency or employment types, receive a Fair Work or ATO enquiry, or lose the person who manages your payroll. Businesses in high-risk industries like construction, hospitality, and healthcare should review more frequently because their award structures are complex and change often

We quantify the financial exposure for each error - how much has been underpaid or overpaid, and over what period. From there we build a remediation plan: correcting the Xero payroll setup going forward, calculating back-pay owed to affected employees, and advising on voluntary disclosure to the ATO or Fair Work if required. Self-reporting before you're caught typically reduces penalties and demonstrates good faith to Fair Work and the ATO

For small businesses (fewer than 15 employees), Fair Work civil penalties for underpayment reach $93,900 per standard contravention, or $469,500 for serious contraventions involving knowing or reckless conduct. From 1 January 2025 under the Closing Loopholes legislation, intentional underpayment is a criminal offence - small business employers can access a safe harbour through the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code, but those who intentionally underpay face fines up to $7.825 million for companies and up to 10 years imprisonment for individuals. Late superannuation triggers the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) - the shortfall calculated on salary and wages, plus nominal interest at 10% per annum, plus a $20 administration fee per employee per quarter - and the SGC is not tax-deductible. Directors face personal liability for unpaid super through Director Penalty Notices