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Australian payroll

RecSphere supports Australian payroll natively, with PAYG, Super, AU leave types, workers' compensation classes and Xero AU sync. This article covers the AU-specific settings layered on top of the general Payroll flow.

Switching the workspace to AU mode​

Australian payroll is enabled at workspace level:

  1. Open the relevant Settings > Payroll or workspace payroll setup area.
  2. Set the region to Australia.
  3. Enter your ABN, business address and the AU bank account used for pay file generation.
  4. Save.

Switching region changes the tax engine, leave types, currency display (AUD) and date formats. Existing contracts on the workspace are updated to the AU tax engine on save.

In Australia the bank file used to pay candidates is the ABA file (the standard Australian bank file format).

PAYG and Super calculation​

For each AU PAYE contract, the pay run calculates:

  • PAYG. Pay As You Go withholding using the candidate's tax file declaration (residency status, tax-free threshold, HELP debt).
  • Super. The Superannuation Guarantee at the current rate (12%), applied to ordinary time earnings.
  • Salary sacrifice. Pre-tax contributions to super or other approved benefits.

Contractor and labour-hire arrangements skip PAYG where appropriate but still attract Super if the contract is over the eligibility threshold.

Supported leave types​

RecSphere ships with the standard AU leave types:

  • Annual leave. Accrued at 4 weeks per year for full-time, pro-rated for part-time.
  • Personal/carer's leave. 10 days per year, full-time equivalent.
  • Long service leave. State-based, accrued from start date.
  • Compassionate leave.
  • Community service leave (including jury duty).
  • Unpaid parental leave entries for record-keeping.

Each contract carries a leave balance and accrues per pay period. Leave entitlements are set per client as a number of days. Candidates request leave from the candidate portal; recruiters or admins approve.

Workers' compensation​

Workers' compensation rules match on a combination of Sector, Setting and Type, not on state and a single class. A rule in the workers' compensation table is keyed by these three levels, for example:

  • any sector / GP practice / GP
  • any sector / residential / aged care
  • hospital / any / psychiatric

The word "any" wildcards a level. A more specific rule takes priority over a broader one, and anything that does not match a specific rule falls back to the broader "any" rule.

The selectable Sector, Setting and Type values come from System Values (Settings > System values). You can edit or add these values, but each one must exactly match the string used in the workers' compensation table. A wording or case mismatch breaks the match and the contract falls back to the default rule. So whenever you introduce a new value, add it in System Values and set the matching rule in the workers' compensation table.

RecSphere posts the workers' comp expense to your accounting integration so you can reconcile against insurer statements.

Match the strings exactly

The Sector, Setting and Type strings in System Values must match the strings in the workers' compensation table character for character, including case. A mismatch silently falls back to the default rule.

Payroll tax​

Payroll tax is set per client. Each client's Financials carries a payroll tax rate by state, plus a payroll-tax-exempt toggle for clients that are exempt. This is configured separately from workers' compensation.

Candidate financial details​

The financial fields held against a candidate depend on how they are engaged.

Employee (PAYG) candidates​

For a candidate paid as an employee under PAYG, you record:

  • Superannuation fund (or the employer default fund) and the member account number.
  • Tax file number (TFN).
  • Tax residency.
  • A study and training support (HELP) line.
  • A super tax offset date.

Company-contractor (ABN) candidates​

A candidate engaged through their own company (ABN) carries the fields that flow into a Xero supplier bill:

  • Purchases tax rate (GST registered or not).
  • Default currency.
  • Payment terms, expressed as days after bill date (for example 7).
  • Legal entity or trading name.
  • ABN.
  • Registered address, with an option to use the candidate's main address.
  • Bank account.
  • Remittance email.
  • The name to show on the bill.
  • An upload slot for professional indemnity documents.

See Xero for how these fields create a supplier bill in Xero.

Xero AU sync​

If you connect Xero AU under Integrations, RecSphere maps:

  • Chart of accounts to your Xero account codes.
  • Leave types to Xero leave categories so balances stay aligned.
  • Tax codes for PAYG, Super and salary sacrifice.

Pay runs sync as Xero payroll runs (or as draft journal entries if you prefer to keep payroll outside Xero).

STP (Single Touch Payroll) reporting​

RecSphere reports STP via the Xero integration. After each pay run:

  1. Submit the pay run in RecSphere.
  2. The synced Xero payroll run is lodged with the ATO via Xero's STP channel.
  3. The STP status updates in RecSphere (Lodged, Lodged with errors, Pending) within a few minutes.

Year-end finalisation is completed in Xero.

Region check

If you operate in both UK and AU, run separate workspaces (one per region) for cleanest tax handling. Mixing regions on a single workspace forces awkward compromises on tax codes, leave accrual and STP routing.