Hire employees in Australia

The biggest advantage when hiring employees or contractors in Australia is, of course, the non-existing language barrier. As the country’s official language is English, communication among remote team members will definitely not be a problem.

Another reason why Australia has become increasingly popular with international recruiters is its geographic location. Down Under is considered the perfect gateway for international companies who are looking to expand their business into the Asia Pacific region. With one of the best education systems in the world, Australia offers international companies a large pool of highly skilled, well educated workers who are constantly looking for new challenging job opportunities, including those from overseas.

Australian legislation generally distinguishes between fixed-term employment contracts and permanent employment contracts . Although not legally required, it is best practice in Australia to put a written employment contract in place which outlines the basic terms of employment such as:

• Identification of both parties

• Date of commencement (and employment duration for temporary contracts)

• Workplace

• Position , duties and responsibilities

• Base salary as well as other compensation and benefits

• Working hours

• Total number of holidays and leave entitlement

• Notice periods for employment termination

• Probation period (if applicable)

• Reference to existing awards

Probation Period

In general, probation periods in Australia must not exceed six months – twelve months for businesses with less than 15 employees.

Working Hours and Breaks

A standard working week in Australia comprises 38 hours with a daily working time of around 7.6 hours. Breaks and rest periods are subject to awards and differ from industry to industry.

Overtime

Under federal legislation, i.e. the 2009 Fair Work Act, employers can request their employees to work a “reasonable” amount of overtime without having to compensate them. However, overtime payment may be required under applying industrial awards which usually mandate overtime pay for any work exceeding 38 hours within one week.

Minimum Wage

As of March 2022, the national minimum wage is AUD 20.33 per hour and AUD 772.60 per week.

Sick Pay

Every employee in Australia is entitled to ten days of combined sick and carer’s leave per year which can be used either in case of personal illness or for childcare and family emergencies. During this time, employees receive their normal wages.

Bonuses

There is no legislation in Australia which mandates the payment of annual bonuses.

Employers and employees in Australia are subject to the following tax and social security contribution rates (rates apply to the 2021/2022 tax year beginning on 1 July 2021 and ending on 30 June 2022):

Taxes

Employers

15.35% - 17.35%

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• 30% corporate tax rate (standard rate)

• 10% VAT (standard rate)

• payroll tax rates and thresholds vary between states and territories: 4.85% – 6.85%

Employees

up to 45%

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Individual income tax rates range from

0% (up to AUD 18,200) to 45% (over AUD 180,000) *

Social security

Employers

10.5%

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10.5% of employee’s salary to superannuation *

Employees

3.5%

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• 2% Medicare and Disability Care

• additional 1.5% surcharge on income exceeding certain limits

Please note that the social security contributions indicated above do not necessarily reflect the actual employment costs. These may differ depending on the employment contract and due to other factors (e.g. 13th and 14th salary, health insurance allowances, accrual for severance pay, etc.).

Annual Leave

Employees in Australia are entitled to four weeks of paid annual leave – five weeks for shift workers. Annual leave does not expire but can be accumulated by an employee over the course of various years. It is also possible to cash out any remaining annual leave.

Public holidays are not included in an employee’s annual leave entitlements. There are seven public holidays which are observed all over Australia. In addition, each state / territory has several specific holidays on which businesses are usually closed.

Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave

Maternity leave in Australia is usually considered as part of the statutory parental leave entitlements. However, female employees can take special unpaid maternity leave in case of pregnancy-related illness, miscarriage or stillbirth. Employees also have the right to shift to a so-called “safe-job” during their pregnancy.

On birth, the employee’s partner can claim up to two weeks of paternity leave during which they receive the equivalent of the national minimum wage directly from the Australian Government.

Parental Leave

Pregnant employees and their partners as well as those planning to adopt a child under 16 years of age are entitled to up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave per family. Parental Leave Pay (PLP) equal to the national minimum wage is issued by the employer but refunded by the Australian Government.

In addition, twelve months of unpaid parental leave can be taken by each partner if they have been working for the same employer for more than one year.

For female employees, parental leave can start six weeks before the expected due date while the partner’s parental leave can start no earlier than on the actual day of birth.

Additional Leave and Benefits

• two days of compassionate leave in case of death or serious injury of a close family member

• five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year

• long service leave (duration and required length of service vary between states and territories)

In addition to employment termination by default – i.e. in case of a fixed-term contract – resignation and mutual agreement, employment in Australia may be terminated by one of the following reasons (non-exhaustive list):

• redundancy and business-related dismissal

• underperformance

• incapability to fulfill the role

• misconduct

Statutory Notice Periods

Except for dismissal due to the employee’s own fault, employers have to respect the following statutory notice periods when terminating an employee:

For employees over 45 with at least two years of service, notice periods are one week longer.

Final Pay

Final pay in Australia includes any outstanding wages, payments for untaken annual leave or long service leave, pay in lieu of notice (if applicable) and – in case of redundancy – a severance pay which is calculated as follows:

It is worth noting that companies with less than 15 employees do not have to provide any severance pay to their employees.