First Hire? Don’t Miss These Key Employer Obligations

Written By Isabella Satara

Woohoo! So you have hired your first employee or growing the team. Here are some things you need to know when hiring employees in Australia. Getting these things right from the start can save you stress down the track.

Here are the key things you should consider:

Award Rates and Employee Entitlements

Understanding the modern award and minimum pay rates and conditions is important. Failing to meet these can lead to back-pay claims and penalties, so before you hire, you need to:

  • Check the correct award that applies to your industry and employee role.

  • Confirm minimum wage, penalty rates, allowances, overtime, and leave entitlements.

Feeling overwhelmed? Did you know if you are planning to hire your first employee, Fair Work offers a free Employee Advisory Service where you can obtain free tailored written advice to ensure you are meeting your obligations.

WorkCover

Workplace safety is another key area of compliance. It is something that can be easily missed. You must take out workers’ compensation insurance (WorkCover) to protect both your employees and your business if staff are injured or become ill at work.

  • In Queensland, for example, all employers must register with WorkCover Queensland within 5 days of employing staff.

PAYG Withholding Registration

You will need to register for PAYG withholding with the ATO. Dependent on the outcome with the ATO, you may be required to pay PAYG-W to the ATO on a monthly or quarterly basis.

As an employer, you may need to lodge and pay:

  • IAS (Instalment Activity Statement) – usually monthly, reporting PAYG withholding amounts.

  • BAS (Business Activity Statement) – monthly or quarterly, reporting GST, PAYG, and other obligations.

Key due dates to remember:

  • IAS: generally due 21 days after the end of each month.

  • BAS: generally due on the 28th of the month following the end of the quarter (with extensions available if we lodge this for you).

Single Touch Payroll (STP)

Once you have identified what you must pay and have collected all the relevant information (including employee tax file numbers and superannuation details), you will need a payroll system that is Single Touch Payroll (STP) compliant. This will ensure employee wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation contributions are reported directly to the ATO each pay cycle.

Superannuation

  • Employers must pay Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions (currently 12% from 1 July 2025) on ordinary time earnings.

  • Contributions must be paid quarterly into employees’ nominated funds by the due dates.

  • Late payments are not tax deductible and may incur penalties.

Quarterly Super Payment Due Dates

We recommend working with a HR Advisor or a solicitor to have your employment contracts drawn up.

If you need help with any of the above, reach out to one of our amazing staff and we can happily assist you.

Isabella Satara
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