Award coverage and classification
The hardest question in Australian payroll: which award applies to a given person, and at what level.
- Which Modern Award applies to my employee?The five-step method, and where the errors start
- How do I work out an employee's classification level?Duties, skills, responsibility and supervision, with worked examples for staff who do more than one job
- Industry award or occupational award: which one applies?How overlapping coverage resolves, and the Clerks Award exclusion
- What if no Modern Award applies?Award-free employment is rarer than most employers assume
- Which award am I under?For employees, in plain English
Payroll software and award interpretation
What your payroll system actually checks, and what it quietly leaves to you.
- Which Australian payroll systems interpret Modern Awards?All four compared side by side
- Does Xero calculate Modern Award rates automatically?No, and Xero says so itself
- Does MYOB calculate Modern Award rates automatically?Not in Business or AccountRight. PayGlobal is different
- Does Employment Hero interpret Modern Awards automatically?Yes, partly. Around 69 pre-built awards of 121
- Does QuickBooks calculate Modern Award rates automatically?It depends on your plan, and this one catches people out
Underpayment, penalties and the criminal laws
What changed on 1 January 2025, what it means for an honest mistake, and what to do if you find one.
- Is underpaying staff a criminal offence in Australia?Yes, but only when it is intentional
- What are the penalties for underpaying staff?Criminal and civil, and what actually drives the cost
- The Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance CodeThe safe harbour for employers with fewer than 15 staff
- What to do if you discover an underpaymentA six-step playbook, and how cooperation agreements work
Checking your own payroll
- How to check if your business is underpaying staffWhere award errors hide, and how to run a real check
- The 2026 Payroll Compliance ChecklistTwelve checks worth running before your next pay run. Free
Have these checks run against your own pay data
FairCheck is an independent layer that reads your payslips and pay run data and tests them against the award or agreement that actually applies. In beta now, with early access opening to the waitlist first.
Join the waitlist About FairCheckFairCheck provides general information about Australian pay rules and does not provide legal advice or guarantee compliance. Official information is available from the Fair Work Ombudsman at fairwork.gov.au.