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Expand your global workforce in Australia

Your guide to the employment landscape, working customs and local labor laws in Australia.

Capital

Canberra

Currency

Australian Dollar (AUD)

Languages

English (Official)

GDP per Capita

$64,602.67

Employer Tax

15.85%

Payroll Frequency

Monthly/Bi-monthly/Bi-weekly depending on state provisions

Talent overview

A highly developed, high-income country, Australia, has the world’s 13th biggest economy. It ranks at the 8th position in human development and 10th in the world per capita income. An abundance of natural resources and robust international trade forms the backbone of the Australian economy.

Major economic hubs:

Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney

Skills in demand:

Digital Transformation Skills, IT industry, Technical Specialists

Top local universities in Australia

Uni4

The University of New South Wales

RANKING

Australia : 1

World : 71

Uni2

Monash University

RANKING

Australia : 2

World : 86

Uni3

University of Sydney

RANKING

Australia : 3

World : 93

Uni1

University of Melbourne

RANKING

Australia : 4

World : 94

Uni5

University of Queensland

RANKING

Australia : 5

World : 108

Top Local Job Boards:

Seek, IndeedJobsearch.gov.au

Number of LinkedIn users:

14,370,000

Top Recruitment Agencies:

Lloyd Connect MelbourneAdeccoRandstad Australia

Where to find talent

Top Local Job Boards:

Number of LinkedIn users:

Top Recruitment Agencies:

Salary Data

Some of the top jobs in Australia and their yearly salaries are listed below:

Job Title Average Monthly Salary (AUD) Average Monthly Salary (USD)
Accountant 5,510 3,736
Financial Analyst 10,100 6,849
Graphic Designer 4,680 3,173
Business Analyst 9,250 6,272
Customer Service Manager 10,800 7,324
Human Resource Officer 4,510 3,058

Employ in Australia

Employing in Australia

Employment and workplace relations in Australia are governed by the Fair Work Act of 2009. The Australian labor law framework is derived from:

  • Constitution
  • Federal and state laws
  • Statutory agreements
  • Employment contracts

Employee Contract:

‍No statutory requirements are mentioned in the language of the contract.

Probation Period:

‍The usual probationary period followed in Australia is from one to six months.

Public and Provincial Holidays

Date Name Type
January 1 New Year’s Day Nationwide
January 26 Australia Day Nationwide
February 12 Royal Hobart Regatta only observed in certain areas of the state- TAS
March 4 Labour Day WA
March 11 Eight Hours Day

Labour Day

Canberra Day

TAS

VIC

ACT

March 29 Good Friday Nationwide
March 30 Easter Saturday ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, VIC
March 31 Easter Sunday ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, VIC, WA
April 1 Easter Monday Nationwide
April 2 Easter Tuesday Generally Tasmanian Public Service only (TAS)
April 25 Anzac Day Nationwide
May 6 May Day NT, QLD
May 27 Reconciliation Day ACT
June 3 Western Australia Day WA
June 10 Sovereign’s/King’s Birthday ACT, NSW, NT, SA, TAS, VIC
August 5 Picnic Day NT
August 14 Royal Queensland Show Brisbane only (QLD)
September 23 King’s Birthday some regional areas in WA hold the King’s Birthday public holiday on a different date- WA
October 7 Labour Day

King’s Birthday

ACT, NSW, SA

QLD

November 5 Melbourne Cup VIC
November 4 Recreation Day TAS
December 25 Christmas Day Nationwide
December 26 Boxing Day Nationwide

Employee Leaves

Type of leave Time Period
Annual leave/Earned Leave 4 weeks
Sick Leave 10 days
Maternity Leave 52 weeks

Leave Compliance

Payroll in Australia

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Payroll cycle

Employees are paid bi-weekly (every second week), bi-monthly (15th and 30th), or monthly (28th to 30th).

Tw Payroll Img2

Minimum wage

The minimum wage is AUD 23.23 per hour.

Tw Payroll Img3

Overtime pay

On a general note, for overtime on weekdays, the pay is 1.5 times the regular pay for the first 3 hours of overtime and, after that, twice the regular pay. On Sundays, the payment is twice the rate of regular pay. These vary depending on the industries and states.

How taxes work

Employer Payroll Tax:

Superannuation Guarantee Percentage – rate rises to 11% for 2023/24

Payroll tax rate for individual states:

State No. of staff before payroll taxes to be paid Payroll tax rate (%) *Exception Threshold (wages)
New South Wales 13 5.45% $1,200,000
Victoria 7 4.85% (for regional employers – 1.2125%) $700,000
Queensland 15 4.75% (for regional employers – 4.95%) $1,300,000
South Australia 19 0 to 4.95% (depending on Australian taxable wages) $1,500,000 – $1,700,000 (Variable)
Western Australia 10 5.5% $1,000,000
Tasmania 16 4.0 – 6.1% (depending on Australian taxable wage) $1,250,001 for lowest rate and $2,000,000 for highest rate
Northern Territory 17 5.5 $1,500,000
Australian Capital Territory 21 6.85 $2,000,000

An entity will be exempt from payroll tax obligations if it has a quantum of wages that falls beneath the identified number.

Employee Payroll Tax:

Employees have to pay the medicare levy at 2%.

Employee Income Tax:

Taxable income Tax(AUD) Tax % on Excess
0 – 18,200 0%
18,200 – 45,000 19%
45,000 – 120,000 5,092 32.5%
120,000 – 180,000 29,467 37%
180,000 – onward 51,667 45%

VAT:

Australia has GST instead of VAT. The Standard rate is 10%.

Bonus

13th Month Pay:

It is not mandatory to have 13th month pay in Australia.

Employee Benefits:

  • Healthcare
  • Maternity leave
  • Paternity leave
  • Stock options (Common for listed companies)

Employee offboarding

An employee can resign or be terminated by the employer. The major grounds for termination include:

  • Redundancy(operational changes)
  • Conduct
  • Poor performance

Notice period varies depending on the length of employment. During the probationary period, it is from 7 – 30 days, and for permanent employees, it ranges from one to twelve weeks.

An employee’s job might be affected by redundancy and the redundancy/severance pay for different employment terms in Australia are as follows:

Period of Employment Severance Pay
Between 1 to 2 years service 4 weeks’ pay
Between 2 to 3 years service 6 weeks’ pay
Between 3 to 4 years service 7 weeks’ pay
Between 4 to 5 years service 8 weeks’ pay
Between 5 to 6 years service 10 weeks’ pay
Between 6 to 7 years service 11 weeks’ pay
Between 7 to 8 years service 13 weeks’ pay
Between 8 to 9 years service 14 weeks’ pay
Between 9 to 10 years service 16 weeks’ pay
Above 10 years service 12 weeks’ pay*

*Note, there is a decrease in redundancy pay from 16 weeks to 12 weeks for employees with above 10 years of continuous employment service.

Tw Visa Img

Visa and
immigration

Foreign nationals looking to work in Australia need to apply for a visa.  Application is taken in through the various immigration programs administered by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) of Australia.

The Temporary Skills Short visa (subclass 482) can be utilized by businesses to meet skill shortages by hiring foreign nationals to live and work in Australia for 2 years – or up to 4 years in some circumstances – where a suitably skilled Australian cannot be engaged.

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