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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
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:
Australia : 1
World : 71
Australia : 2
World : 86
Australia : 3
World : 93
Australia : 4
World : 94
Australia : 5
World : 108
Seek, Indeed, Jobsearch.gov.au
14,370,000
Top Local Job Boards:
Top Local Job Boards
Number of LinkedIn users:
Number of LinkedIn users
Top Recruitment Agencies:
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 |
Employment and workplace relations in Australia are governed by the Fair Work Act of 2009. The Australian labor law framework is derived from:
No statutory requirements are mentioned in the language of the contract.
The usual probationary period followed in Australia is from one to six months.
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 |
Type of leave | Time Period |
Annual leave/Earned Leave | 4 weeks |
Sick Leave | 10 days |
Maternity Leave | 52 weeks |
Leave Compliance
Payroll cycle
Employees are paid bi-weekly (every second week), bi-monthly (15th and 30th), or monthly (28th to 30th).
Minimum wage
The minimum wage is AUD 23.23 per hour.
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.
Superannuation Guarantee Percentage – rate rises to 11% for 2023/24
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.
Employees have to pay the medicare levy at 2%.
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% |
Australia has GST instead of VAT. The Standard rate is 10%.
It is not mandatory to have 13th month pay in Australia.
An employee can resign or be terminated by the employer. The major grounds for termination include:
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.
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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