Australia, the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lies between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The Great Barrier Reef, off the east coast of Queensland, is the greatest mass of coral in the world and one of the world’s foremost tourist attractions.
Australia is divided into six states and two territories. Significant features of modern Australian society are isolation in the social landscape beyond the large coastal cities and the representation of a broad spectrum of cultures drawn from many lands due to immigration. Australia’s abundant and diverse natural resources attract high levels of foreign investment and include extensive reserves of coal, iron ore, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable energy sources. The country also has a large services sector and is a significant exporter of natural resources, energy, and food.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Australia.
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Australia, the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lies between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The Great Barrier Reef, off the east coast of Queensland, is the greatest mass of coral in the world and one of the world’s foremost tourist attractions.
Australia is divided into six states and two territories. Significant features of modern Australian society are isolation in the social landscape beyond the large coastal cities and the representation of a broad spectrum of cultures drawn from many lands due to immigration. Australia’s abundant and diverse natural resources attract high levels of foreign investment and include extensive reserves of coal, iron ore, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable energy sources. The country also has a large services sector and is a significant exporter of natural resources, energy, and food.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Australia.
The Fair Work Act has specified eight public holidays. However, states or territories can add or replace more holidays. Public Holidays that fall on the weekend are observed on the following non-weekend day.
The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2025.
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| January 1 | New Year's Day | |
| January 26 | Australia Day | |
| April 18 | Good Friday | Movable, the Friday before Easter |
| April 19-21 | Easter Holidays | Movable, the first Sunday of a full moon after March 21 |
| April 25 | Anzac Day | |
| Varies | King's Birthday | Dates are different in various parts of the country |
| December 25 | Christmas | |
| December 26 | Boxing Day |
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Australia is 6 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
Employers must keep time and wages records for seven years. These need to be readily accessible to a Fair Work Inspector, legible, and in English.
There is only a 2% Medicare and 11% superannuation surcharge paid by the employers in the name of employee services. Unemployment and other statutory social services are not paid for.
Easter Saturday is observed only in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, and Victoria
There are no social security taxes in Australia. However, a levy is imposed on taxable income and reportable fringe benefits for residents for the funding of a National Health Scheme (Medicare). The Medicare levy is currently 2%. No levy is payable to those with taxable income below the relevant low-income thresholds.
A surcharge of between 1% and 1.5% applies to high-income taxpayers where the taxpayer and their dependents are not covered by a private health insurance fund registered in Australia that provides basic hospital cover.
Employers must contribute on behalf of their employees’ superannuation a set minimum percentage of the employee’s earnings base, subject to limited exceptions, or be liable to a superannuation guarantee charge. The required superannuation guarantee percentage is currently 11%.
Here is an overview of employer costs in Australia:
| Benefits | Employer Contribution |
|---|---|
| Superannuation | 11% |
| Payroll Tax* | up to 6.85% |
| Work Related Injury | It depends on the state |
*Payroll tax is a state or territory tax calculated based on total wages paid each month.
An employee can work a maximum of 38 hours a week unless the employer asks them to work reasonable extra hours.
Awards, enterprise agreements, and other registered agreements set out in any:
An employer can roster a full-time employee to average the employee’s hours over more than a week. This means the employee may work more than 38 hours a week, but less in another.
The overtime rate is different for each award, registered agreement, and contract. Employees should be aware of their overtime rate to ensure they are being paid correctly. An employee can refuse to work overtime if the request is unreasonable. Some employers allow employees to take paid time off instead of receiving overtime pay. This is known as ‘time in lieu’, ‘time off in lieu’, or ‘TOIL’.
Probation periods are often implemented at the start of the employment relationship. Employers can decide the length of the probation period, which can range from a few weeks to a few months. The common practice is between three to six months. During this period, full-time and part-time employees are entitled to accrue and access paid leave entitlements such as annual and sick leave. Employers must notify employees if they do not pass their probation.
The Fair Work Act 2009 refers to a Minimum Employment Period which is determined by the amount of time the employee has worked in the business and the size of the business. If the employee has met the minimum employment period, the employee has access to unfair dismissal which is the minimum period that an employee must be engaged for before they may have access to an unfair dismissal claim if their employment is terminated by the employer. For a small business with less than 15 employees, this is 12 months, otherwise, it is six months.
Depending on an employee’s service period, employers must give the following minimum statutory notice when dismissing the employee:
| Service Period | Length of Notice |
| Less than 1 year | 1-week notice |
| 1 to 3 years | 2 weeks notice |
| 3 to 5 years | 3 weeks notice |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks notice |
An employee has to get an extra week of notice if they are over 45 years old and have worked for the employer for at least two years.
Notice amount can be paid out completely or in a combination of the notice period and payment. If the employer pays out the notice period, the employee’s employment ends on the date that payment in lieu of notice is made.
An employee can work a maximum of 38 hours a week unless the employer asks them to work reasonable extra hours.
Awards, enterprise agreements, and other registered agreements set out in any:
An employer can roster a full-time employee to average the employee’s hours over more than a week. This means the employee may work more than 38 hours a week, but less in another.
The overtime rate is different for each award, registered agreement, and contract. Employees should be aware of their overtime rate to ensure they are being paid correctly. An employee can refuse to work overtime if the request is unreasonable. Some employers allow employees to take paid time off instead of receiving overtime pay. This is known as ‘time in lieu’, ‘time off in lieu’, or ‘TOIL’.
Probation periods are often implemented at the start of the employment relationship. Employers can decide the length of the probation period, which can range from a few weeks to a few months. The common practice is between three to six months. During this period, full-time and part-time employees are entitled to accrue and access paid leave entitlements such as annual and sick leave. Employers must notify employees if they do not pass their probation.
The Fair Work Act 2009 refers to a Minimum Employment Period which is determined by the amount of time the employee has worked in the business and the size of the business. If the employee has met the minimum employment period, the employee has access to unfair dismissal which is the minimum period that an employee must be engaged for before they may have access to an unfair dismissal claim if their employment is terminated by the employer. For a small business with less than 15 employees, this is 12 months, otherwise, it is six months.
Depending on an employee’s service period, employers must give the following minimum statutory notice when dismissing the employee:
| Service Period | Length of Notice |
| Less than 1 year | 1-week notice |
| 1 to 3 years | 2 weeks notice |
| 3 to 5 years | 3 weeks notice |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks notice |
An employee has to get an extra week of notice if they are over 45 years old and have worked for the employer for at least two years.
Notice amount can be paid out completely or in a combination of the notice period and payment. If the employer pays out the notice period, the employee’s employment ends on the date that payment in lieu of notice is made.
Apart from the 10 days of personal or carers’ leave granted per year to employees, a further two days are also granted as unpaid leave.
All employees (including part-time and casual employees) are entitled to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year. The entitlement to unpaid family and domestic violence leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES). Violent, threatening, or other abusive behavior by a close relative that aims to control an employee and causes harm or fear, falls into family and domestic violence. Employers may also provide paid family and domestic violence leave entitlements.
Employees including casual employees can take community service leave for activities such as voluntary emergency management activities or jury duty. Community service leave, except for jury service, is unpaid. There is no limit on the amount of community service leave employees can take. However, employers may request evidence that employees are entitled to community service leave.
There are no social security taxes in Australia. However, a levy is imposed on taxable income and reportable fringe benefits for residents for the funding of a National Health Scheme (Medicare). The Medicare levy is currently 2%. No levy is payable to those with taxable income below the relevant low-income thresholds.
A surcharge of between 1% and 1.5% applies to high-income taxpayers where the taxpayer and their dependents are not covered by a private health insurance fund registered in Australia that provides basic hospital cover.
Employers must contribute on behalf of their employees’ superannuation a set minimum percentage of the employee’s earnings base, subject to limited exceptions, or be liable to a superannuation guarantee charge. The required superannuation guarantee percentage is currently 11%.
Here is an overview of employer costs in Australia:
| Benefits | Employer Contribution |
|---|---|
| Superannuation | 11% |
| Payroll Tax* | up to 6.85% |
| Work Related Injury | It depends on the state |
*Payroll tax is a state or territory tax calculated based on total wages paid each month.
