Your payroll system
doesn't read the Award.
We do.

Does Xero calculate Modern Award rates automatically?

No. Xero Payroll calculates pay from the rates, pay items and leave settings you configure. It does not read the Modern Award and decide which classification, penalty rates, overtime rules and allowances apply to each employee, so an incorrect setup produces confidently incorrect pay every cycle. MYOB Business and AccountRight work the same way. QuickBooks depends on the plan: its Advanced Payroll is powered by Employment Hero and does interpret awards, while its Standard Payroll does not. Employment Hero Payroll, formerly KeyPay, does include award interpretation with around 69 pre-built Modern Awards, but that is short of the full 121, enterprise agreements must be built rather than downloaded, and it still relies on you having put each employee on the right award and classification. Award interpretation remains the employer's responsibility, and that is the gap FairCheck is built to close.

Compare Xero, MYOB, Employment Hero and QuickBooks side by side ›

How do I know which Modern Award applies to my employee?

The award follows the work the employee actually does and the industry the business operates in, not their job title. Start with the industry award that covers your business, then check whether an occupational award, such as the Clerks Award or the Professional Employees Award, covers the role instead. Then match the person to a classification level using the award's classification definitions, which describe duties, qualifications and level of supervision. If an enterprise agreement applies it overrides the award, but it can never leave an employee worse off than the award floor. Fair Work's Find My Award is the place to start. The classification step is where most errors begin, because it relies on judgement rather than a lookup.

The five-step method for working out award coverage ›

Is underpaying staff a criminal offence in Australia?

Intentional underpayment became a criminal offence on 1 January 2025 under the Closing Loopholes reforms. It applies where an employer deliberately underpays, not where a genuine mistake is made. Honest errors remain a civil matter and are dealt with through back-pay, interest and civil penalties. Small businesses that follow the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code are not referred for criminal prosecution. In practice, accurate records and a documented, repeatable checking process are what evidence that an error was a mistake rather than a deliberate act.

What the offence covers, the penalties, and the two safe harbours ›

How do I know if I am being underpaid?

Run three checks. First, confirm which Modern Award covers your job and which classification level you sit at, because your minimum rate depends on both. Second, compare the base hourly rate on your payslip against the current minimum for that classification. Third, check that the penalties, overtime, allowances and loadings that should apply to the shifts you actually worked appear on the payslip. Missing allowances and unpaid overtime are the most common shortfalls, and they rarely show up as an obviously wrong number, which is why underpayment often runs for years before anyone notices.

Employee guide: which award am I under? ›

Do casual employees get penalty rates on top of the casual loading?

It depends on the award, and this is one of the most common payroll errors in Australia. In some awards the published casual penalty rate already includes the 25% casual loading, so applying the loading again overpays. In others the loading and the penalty are calculated separately and compound. There is no single rule that holds across all awards, so the specific award's penalty rates table has to be read rather than assumed.

How far back can an underpayment claim go?

The general limitation period for recovering underpaid wages through the courts under the Fair Work Act is six years from the date the entitlement fell due. Employers are separately required to keep employee records for seven years. Where an employer cannot produce adequate records, a reverse onus can apply, meaning the employer may have to disprove the underpayment that is alleged rather than the employee having to prove it.