Current Region & Language

Australia

Employment in Australia

Updated on: February 24, 2025

Currency

Australian Dollar (AUD)

Employer Taxes

Employers pay 11.5% of employee earnings for Superannuation (pension contributions).

Payroll Frequency

Monthly, fortnightly, weekly

Language

English

Date Format

DD/MM/YYYY

Australia By The Numbers

26 million

Population

AUD 2 trillion

GDP

9

National Holidays

Country Information

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Weekly Working Hours

The standard working hours are 38 hours a week that can be extended by employers subject to such extended hours being reasonable. Overtime differs under each award and registered agreement.

National Holidays

  • New Year’s Day
  • Australia Day
  • Labour Day
  • Anzac Day
  • King’s Birthday
  • Christmas
  • Boxing Day
  • Good Friday
  • Easter Monday

Leave

Full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks of annual leave based on their ordinary hours of work. All employees, except casuals, are entitled to paid sick and careers leave, with full-time employees receiving 10 sick days per year. The leave is provided on a pro-rata basis for part-time employees. Employees are also entitled to 2 days of bereavement leave, including casual employees. Regarding parental leave, employees, including casuals who have worked for 12 months, are eligible for up to 12 months of unpaid leave when a child is born or adopted. Paid parental leave can be provided as per the employment contract, and the leave may be further extended by an additional 12 months.

All employees are entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year. This includes full-time, part time and casual employees.

Employment Contracts

No. There is no legal mandate to have a written employment contract. However, employers are required to provide a fair work information sheet to the employees.

Types of Employment

There are two types of employment: Employees and Independent Contractors

Employment Costs

Superannuation: 11.5% of wages. Payroll tax of 0% – 6.85% of wages dependent upon the Australian state and amount paid for the full financial year. Australia wide surcharge of 0.25 % to 0.5 % is also applicable on wages above certain thresholds.
Superannuation contribution of 11.5 % of wages.
Workers Compensation Premium ranging from 1% to 5.00%.

IC Class Factors

A Whole of Relationship test is used by constitutionally covered businesses, while a Start of Relationship test is used by state-referred businesses and constitutionally covered businesses when determining whether a worker is a contractor or an employee. The Start of Relationship test applies for work performed before 26 August 2024, or if the worker opted out of the Whole of Relationship test.

Labor Leasing

Labour hire license is required in Victoria, Queensland and ACT for labor hire businesses. In SA it applies to some non-white collar industries.

Minimum Wage Requirements

The national minimum wage at July 1, 2024 is $24.10 AUD per hour (before tax).

Every year, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) Expert Panel reviews the minimum wages received by employees. At the end of this review, a national minimum wage order is made which will apply from the first full pay period on or after July 1st each year.

Casual employees covered by the national minimum wage also get a 25% casual loading.

Medical Benefits

There are no specific medical benefits requirements.

Probationary Periods

There is no legally mandated probation period. It is at the employer’s discretion and typically ranges from 3 to 6 months.

Termination Notice

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, the minimum notice period for termination depends on the employee’s length of continuous employment, ranging from 1 to 4 weeks, with the possibility of a longer notice period specified in the employment contract, agreement, or Award. If not confirmed in a written contract, non-Award-covered employees may be entitled to “reasonable notice,” potentially up to 12 months based on factors like seniority and service length. Employees over 45 with at least 2 years of service are entitled to an additional week’s notice. Employers can generally pay in lieu of notice.

Severance

Redundancy pay is not payable to employees with less than 1 year of continuous service, casual employees, or where the employer is a small business (i.e. employs fewer than 15 employees).

The amount of redundancy pay payable to an employee is calculated by reference to their length of continuous employment.

Pre-hire Checks

Pre-hire checks are legal and must comply with privacy laws that mandate obtaining consent for use of personal data. Right to work checks are required to ensure the employee has legal status to work in Australia. Other types of pre-hire checks (depending on the nature of employment and industry) are: Criminal record checks, reference checks, employment history, working with children check etc.

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