Employer of record in Australia: costs, rules and how to hire
Hire someone in Australia without opening your own Australian company.
An employer of record (EOR) can handle local employment while you manage the person’s work. Start by confirming the provider’s coverage and the arrangement available for your specific hire.
By Employ Borderless · We help you understand and compare EOR services.
How does an employer of record in Australia work?
Three parties, two contracts: the EOR employs the person under a local employment contract, your company signs a service agreement with the EOR and directs the day-to-day work. Which arrangement is legal and sensible in Australia is decided by the questions below.
Your company
Choose the person, agree their role and manage their daily work.
The employer of record
Handles the agreed employment, payroll and HR services through the employing entity named in your contract.
Your employee
Works with your team under a local employment contract with the EOR’s employing entity.
- Do you already have an entity in this country?
- How many people are you hiring, and for how long?
- Is the work genuinely independent, or is it a job?
- Who carries the employment risk if the arrangement is challenged?
What each route means in full
- Your own entity
- Choose it when: You already have a company here, or you are committing to a substantial local team for the long term.You become the legal employer. You arrange payroll, benefits, filings and employment support yourself, and you carry the setup and running cost.
- Employer of record
- Choose it when: You have a person to hire here, want them employed properly, and do not want to open a company for it.The provider is the legal employer through its own entity. You direct the work and pay one invoice covering salary, employer costs and the service fee.
- Independent contractor
- Choose it when: The work is genuinely independent: their own business, their own methods, their own clients.A contract for services, not employment. The label does not decide the status; how the person actually works does, and getting it wrong is reclassified after the fact.
Hiring in Australia: the short version
Say you are hiring an award-free adult employee at the floor: from 1 July 2026 that is A$26.44 an hour, or A$1,004.90 for a 38-hour week, plus 12% superannuation on eligible earnings, plus workers' compensation and any state payroll tax the employing entity owes. That is the whole shape of an Australian budget, and it is simpler than most. Australia sits 103rd of 192 on our 2026 Employer Burden Index at a composite of 38.9, and 77th of 190 on the Termination Cost Index at 30.2, on 11.7 total weeks.
What complicates it is not cost but coverage. An award or enterprise agreement can sit above the National Employment Standards and set its own rates, classifications, allowances, overtime and penalty rates, and a high salary is not a reason to skip that check. State-system coverage and casual employment change the answer again, so a national headline rate is only the starting point. Check the scope of the NES.
Your first hire in Australia in five decisions
Five things settle an Australian hire, and each figure below is explained further down.
- Entity or EOR. No universal headcount makes an entity cheaper, so compare total cost and responsibilities for the workforce you actually plan.
- Employee or contractor. An Australian business number or a contractor label settles nothing; the whole-of-relationship test for constitutionally covered businesses looks at how the arrangement works in practice.
- Budget line. Salary from A$26.44 an hour or A$1,004.90 a week at the national minimum, plus 12% super, applicable payroll tax, workers' compensation and the fee, each quoted separately.
- Notice reality. One week up to a year, rising to four weeks after five years, plus one more week if the employee is over 45 with at least two years' service, and redundancy pay is a separate schedule.
- Realistic start. After documents, payroll cut-offs and any immigration requirement, on a date the provider will actually commit to.
EOR, entity, or contractor in Australia?
Before accepting a quote, identify the entity that will employ the worker, the award or agreement that applies, and who checks changes to pay and working arrangements. Those three answers decide whether the price you are given is the price you will pay. Ask for separate amounts for salary, superannuation, applicable payroll tax, workers' compensation, benefits and the service fee.
Decide what the EOR must handle
If the arrangement is labour hire, check whether a regulated labour-hire arrangement order affects pay, and remember that a host's responsibilities do not disappear because another business runs payroll: knowingly participating in underpayment can create liability. Fair Work's labour-hire guidance explains the employer and host roles.
Agree at the start how the provider handles a move to your own entity or another EOR, reviewing employee consent, continuity of entitlements, records, fees and the transfer process before you make any commitment to the worker.
Moving from an employer of record to your own Australian entity
Plan this around continuous service, because in Australia continuous service is the variable that prices almost everything at the end of the relationship. Notice of termination runs from one week at a year or less of continuous service to four weeks at more than five years, with an extra week for employees over 45 who have completed at least two years. Redundancy pay runs on the same variable, from four weeks at a year to ten weeks at five to six years, and applies where the employer employs at least 15 people. Source: fairwork.gov.au, notice of termination and redundancy pay, archived capture 15 September 2026.
So the question that decides the cost of the move is whether service with the provider counts as continuous service with your entity. If it does, you have inherited a notice and redundancy position built over the provider's years. If it does not, the employee has lost it, which is the thing they will notice and object to. Australia does have statutory transfer of business provisions, and I have not read them from a government source in this pass, so I am not going to state how they apply here.
Ask the provider four things before you sign, not at the exit: will you recognise and hand over the service record, what notice does the service agreement require, who pays out accrued annual leave and any long service leave entitlement if the employment ends rather than transfers, and will you release the person to our entity without objection. Then have an Australian adviser tell you whether the transfer provisions apply to the move you are actually making.
How to hire employees in Australia
The choice turns on how long you expect to employ in Australia rather than on a headcount: there is no universal number at which an entity becomes cheaper. Onboarding time depends on documents, payroll cut-offs and any immigration requirement. Ask each provider for a start date it will actually commit to for this hire.
Contractors and employees have different rights and obligations, and an Australian business number or a contractor label does not settle every classification question. Fair Work's contractor guidance explains the different tests.
How long the first hire takes, and what sets the date
The award classification sets the date in Australia, because it decides the minimum pay and the loadings, and getting it wrong is the mistake that gets paid for retrospectively.
So rather than a number of weeks, here is the sequence, in the order the steps actually gate each other. Work backwards from whichever one is unresolved in your case, because that is the one holding your date and the rest will not be.
- Identify the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement and the classification, because they set the minimum pay, the loadings and the conditions for the role.
- Agree the written terms, the employment type and the start date, since casual, fixed-term and permanent carry different entitlements from day one.
- Confirm the right to work, and where a visa is involved, treat that as the critical path rather than the paperwork.
- Set up the superannuation choice and the fund details, and confirm the employing entity's workers' compensation cover extends to the state where the person works.
- Land the start date on the payroll cut-off so the first pay period and the leave accrual start together.
The award is the dependency to settle first. Getting the classification wrong is the most common and most back-dated mistake in Australian hiring, and no provider can fix it retrospectively without paying for it.
What should you budget for hiring in Australia?
Your budget includes salary, employer contributions, agreed benefits and the EOR fee. Ask for a quote for the actual role and salary.
- Gross salary
- Employer contributions
- Benefits and other costs
- EOR service fee
- Gross salary: 100
- Employer social contributions: 12%
- Benefits and EOR fee: quoted per hire
The numbers behind this figure
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | 100 |
| Employer social contributions | 12% |
| Benefits and EOR fee | Quoted per hire |
Source: National government, 2026
Published EOR base fees among providers covering Australia range from $99 to $699 per employee/month. These are provider base prices, not a quote for this hire or the total employment cost.
Employer contribution benchmarks · 2025
These stored OECD benchmarks help with initial planning. Earnings ceilings, employee circumstances and later changes can affect the actual charge; use the EOR’s itemised quote for your budget.
| Contribution | Rate |
|---|---|
| Employer social contributions | 6.07675% |
Use a salary benchmark for the right population
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports A$2,083.70 in full-time adult average weekly ordinary-time earnings, seasonally adjusted, for May 2026, released on 13 August 2026. It is a mean for a defined workforce rather than a median or a recommendation for your vacancy, so use the role, seniority, location and working pattern to set the offer, and note that occupation figures elsewhere in this guide keep their own statistical periods. ABS average weekly earnings.
Understand employer payroll tax
Payroll tax is a state or territory tax that can apply when an employer's Australian wage bill exceeds the relevant threshold, with taxable payments, rates and thresholds varying by jurisdiction, so the EOR should explain the calculation for the work location and its employing entity. The number of people you hire through that provider does not establish its payroll-tax position. Government payroll tax guidance.
Keep employer charges separate from employee income-tax deductions when comparing quotes: ask for the gross salary, each employer cost, the net-pay calculation and the service fee as separate lines. A national tax-wedge statistic is a comparison measure, not a flat withholding rate for any employee.
What an employer of record adds to the employment cost
Budget the provider fee as a third line, next to gross pay and the employer contributions above. Across the market it runs from $99 to $799 per employee per month, or 8 to 20% of salary, and where a quote sits in that range is decided by the work rather than by the country: headcount, how much of the administration you hand over, and whether the provider is pricing a single hire or a team. I treat a quote at the bottom of the range as a question rather than a win, because the cheap number is usually the one with the fewest things inside it.
What the fee buys is the employment itself: the employing entity, the payroll run, the filings and the employer-side administration. What it does not buy is the cost of employing the person. Gross pay, superannuation, payroll tax where the state threshold is met, workers' compensation cover and any award or enterprise agreement loadings are yours, and the applicable award is what decides several of them rather than the provider. Ask for a quote that separates the fee from the pass-through costs, priced in Australian dollars, because a single blended figure hides which half moves when pay changes.
How to hire through an EOR in Australia
- Step 1
Define your hire
Prepare the role, work location, salary, working hours and target start date.
- Step 2
Confirm the local hiring route
Ask the provider to confirm that its employing arrangement fits this role and location, including any restrictions.
- Step 3
Review the full quote and contract
Check the legal employer, total costs, benefits, responsibilities and exit terms before signing.
- Step 4
Complete onboarding
Coordinate employment documents, required checks, equipment and the payroll cut-off with the EOR.
- Step 5
Keep employment changes coordinated
Manage the work and tell the EOR about proposed pay, leave, contract or termination changes before they take effect.
What should the EOR arrange before your hire in Australia starts?
Confirm the employment terms, work eligibility, payroll and pension arrangements before the start date. Ask which local rules and agreements apply to your employee.
What catches employers out in Australia
Award coverage is the thing foreign employers miss, and it is the one that produces back-pay claims. An award can apply alongside an individual contract, specifying minimum rates, classifications, allowances, overtime and other conditions, and a high salary alone is not a reason to skip the assessment. The other two traps are casual employment and contractor classification.
Check award coverage before agreeing a salary
Have the EOR identify the applicable instrument and explain how the proposed salary meets its requirements. How contracts, awards and agreements interact.
Keep casual employment and contracting separate
A casual is an employee, with a casual loading or specific casual rate and no firm advance commitment to ongoing work, and regular hours alone do not decide whether someone is casual. Eligible casuals have a pathway to permanent employment, which is not a blanket automatic conversion after twelve months. Casual employment rules.
For independent contractors, work out which classification test applies: the whole-of-relationship test for constitutionally covered businesses considers how the arrangement works in practice as well as what the contract says. Contractor status chosen solely to remove payroll or leave costs is exactly what that test is designed to catch. Contractor classification guidance.
What types of employment contracts exist in Australia?
An Australian employment contract can be written or verbal, and either way it cannot remove minimum rights under applicable law, the NES, an award or an enterprise agreement. A written agreement is still worth having, because it is the record both sides rely on. What decides the substance is the instrument sitting above it. Employment contracts and minimum entitlements.
Put the employment terms in writing
Have the EOR confirm the employing entity, role, location, work pattern, classification, pay, superannuation, leave, probation and termination terms, and agree how confidential information, work products, equipment and employee records will be handled. Tailored clauses need review for the role and applicable law.
Use fixed-term contracts carefully
For arrangements covered by the rules introduced on 6 December 2023, a fixed-term contract generally cannot run for more than two years including extensions, or contain more than one renewal option, with separate rules restricting consecutive contracts. Exceptions exist, including certain replacement, specialist and training arrangements, and they must fit the actual circumstances.
Give a new fixed-term employee the Fixed Term Contract Information Statement as required, alongside the Fair Work Information Statement. If a contract breaches the limitations its end-date term may stop applying, so it is not a safe way to avoid dismissal obligations. Fixed-term limits and exceptions.
Set a useful probation process
Probation is an employer choice rather than a statutory period, commonly three to six months, and employees keep their minimum entitlements throughout, including applicable leave and notice. Schedule reviews and document feedback, and do not treat probation as an exemption from workplace law. Probation guidance.
Misclassification risk, and the test that now applies
Australia changed this test recently, so a classification that was defensible a few years ago may not be now. The current approach is the whole of relationship test, which considers the real substance, practical reality and true nature of the working relationship rather than the terms of the contract alone. An earlier start of relationship test still applies in defined situations, including for determinations about work before 26 August 2024 or where the worker has opted out. Source: fairwork.gov.au, independent contractors, archived capture 15 September 2026.
Sham contracting is the separate and more serious wrong. It can happen where a business or person tells or represents to a worker that they are a contractor when they are actually an employee, and does not reasonably believe the worker is a contractor. Sham contracting is illegal. Source: fairwork.gov.au, independent contractors, archived capture 15 September 2026.
One detail changes how you should use any of this. The Fair Work Ombudsman states that it cannot decide whether someone is a contractor or an employee and can only give information and advice to help you make the assessment, which means there is no administrative ruling to hide behind and the question ends up in a court or a tribunal if it is contested. The models will quote you penalty figures for sham contracting; I have not verified those against a government source in this pass, so I am not printing them. What a hirer does is decide the status on the real substance of the relationship, document why, and where the person will work as part of your business, employ them.
Payroll frequency and additional payments
Use the pay frequency in the applicable award or agreement, and where it does not specify one, employees must be paid at least monthly. Agree the payroll calendar, variable-pay approvals and cut-off dates before onboarding. Frequency-of-pay rules.
Check any commission, bonus, allowance or leave loading against the relevant award, agreement and contract, and ask the EOR which payments form part of qualifying earnings for superannuation: a payment is not exempt from super because it is labelled a bonus.
What taxes and social contributions apply in Australia?
Australia has no national employer social-security charge, which is most of why it sits 103rd of 192 on the Employer Burden Index. What it has instead is superannuation, workers' compensation and a state payroll tax that applies only above a threshold. That threshold belongs to the employing entity rather than to your team, which is the detail worth checking.
Superannuation and mandatory insurance
Specified circumstances allow longer than the seven business days for a payday super contribution to reach the fund, but plan on the shorter period. Superannuation and Payday Super.
The employer must also arrange required workers' compensation insurance through the applicable scheme, so ask which scheme covers the worker, what the premium covers and how incidents are reported. Workers' compensation guidance.
Work eligibility and immigration
Confirm the employee's right to do the proposed work before setting a start date. With the visa holder's permission, registered organisations can use VEVO to check visa conditions, while Australian citizenship is proved separately, such as with an Australian passport, because VEVO does not establish it. Home Affairs' VEVO guidance.
If the hire needs a visa or a change of sponsor, ask the provider to confirm the available route and who can sponsor before signing, because a service agreement with an EOR is not immigration permission. Do not rely on old visa names, a generic salary threshold or a promised processing time.
What pay and leave should your offer in Australia cover?
Agree pay, working patterns, paid leave and benefits as part of the offer. These affect both your hiring budget and how you plan the employee’s work.
- Paid annual leave: 20 days
- Public holidays: 11 days
- The rest of the year: 334 days
The numbers behind this figure
| Entitlement | Days a year |
|---|---|
| Paid annual leave (statutory minimum) | 20 days |
| Public holidays (national) | 11 days |
| Total statutory paid days off | 31 days |
Source: National government, 2026; National government, 2026. Statutory minimums. Eligibility, accrual and collective agreements can change what an individual employee receives.
How does payroll and compensation work in Australia?
From 1 July 2026 the national minimum wage is A$26.44 an hour, or A$1,004.90 for a 38-hour week, for adult award or agreement-free employees in the national system. Junior, apprentice, trainee and supported-wage rules differ, and awards and agreements set their own rates for covered employees with casual loading or penalty payments possible on top. That last point is what decides most offers, not the national figure.
Minimum pay and award rates
Check the applicable award or agreement rate against the national minimum before quoting a salary, because the covered rate is the one that binds. National minimum wage scope and rates.
Working time and overtime
The NES sets a 38-hour week plus reasonable additional hours, with the applicable working pattern, award or agreement deciding the detail. Ask the EOR to confirm ordinary hours, breaks, overtime approval and penalty rates for this role, because a single generic overtime table is not reliable across Australian jobs. NES hours and employment standards.
What benefits and leave are employees entitled to in Australia?
Superannuation is the Australian benefit that has to be in the budget from day one: the super guarantee is 12% of eligible qualifying earnings, and from 1 July 2026 contributions are due each payday and normally must reach the fund within seven business days. Paid annual leave is four weeks, accruing from the first day including during probation. Make the split between cash salary and super explicit in the offer and the quote.
Annual leave and public holidays
Full-time and part-time employees accrue those four weeks on their ordinary hours, unused leave carries forward, certain shiftworkers qualify for an additional week, and casuals do not receive the paid annual-leave entitlement. Annual leave entitlement and accrual.
Use the employee's state or territory holiday calendar, including any regional holidays, rather than assuming Easter days, the King's Birthday or substitute days are identical across Australia. Official 2026 public holiday calendars.
Plan for different types of leave
Five categories carry their own rules, and the parental ones separate employment leave from government payment.
| Leave | National starting point | What the EOR should confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Personal/carer's leave | 10 days per year for full-time employees; proportional to ordinary hours for part-time staff. | Accrual, carried balances, notice and evidence. Casuals do not receive this paid entitlement. |
| Unpaid parental leave | Up to 12 months for eligible employees, with a right to request a further 12 months. | Eligibility, notice, arrangements during leave and return to work. |
| Government Parental Leave Pay | Up to 130 days (26 five-day weeks) per eligible family for births/adoptions from 1 July 2026. | Eligibility, partner-reserved days and sharing. This is separate from unpaid employment leave. |
| Other NES leave | Compassionate, family and domestic violence, community-service and other entitlements have their own rules. | The employee's entitlement and whether the period is paid. |
| Long-service leave | The applicable state, territory or industrial instrument matters. | Eligibility and service recognition; do not apply one national formula. |
Sick and carer's leave; NES leave categories; Services Australia's Parental Leave Pay guidance.
Choose additional benefits deliberately
Compare the mandatory package with benefits that suit this employee: additional leave, health cover, equipment, training or flexible working arrangements. Ask which items are contractual, how they are taxed and what happens during leave or on termination, and avoid using an unsupported national percentage as the benefits budget.
What happens if you need to end employment in Australia?
Discuss the proposed change with the EOR before giving notice or promising an exit payment. Ask it to confirm the procedure, timing and costs for the employee’s circumstances.
The numbers behind this figure
| Obligation | Weeks of salary |
|---|---|
| Statutory notice | 3 weeks |
| Statutory severance | 8.7 weeks |
| Total statutory exit cost | 11.7 weeks |
Australia sits at number 77 of 190 countries for statutory exit cost in our Termination Cost Index.
What are the termination and compliance rules in Australia?
Unfair-dismissal eligibility generally requires six months' employment, or twelve months for a small-business employer with fewer than fifteen employees, and those qualifying periods are separate from probation. That distinction is where Australian exits go wrong, because a contractual probation period does not suspend the clock. Ask the EOR to assess the reason, the applicable protections and the required process before the employee is told a decision has been made.
Plan the dismissal process before giving notice
Coverage and other eligibility conditions also apply. Fair Work Commission eligibility guidance.
Employer notice periods
Notice runs with service, with one addition that is easy to miss.
| Continuous service | Usual minimum employer notice |
|---|---|
| Up to and including 1 year | 1 week |
| More than 1 year, up to 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 years, up to 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Add one week where the employee is over 45 and has at least two years' service when notice is given. Exceptions apply, including specified casual, fixed-period and serious-misconduct cases, payment instead of notice uses the applicable full pay rate, and employee resignation notice must be checked separately rather than copied from this table. Notice rules and exceptions.
Redundancy pay
Redundancy concerns the job no longer being required, so it is not a payment automatically due whenever employment ends. Most small-business employers are exempt, though industry-specific schemes and other circumstances can change that.
| Continuous service | NES redundancy pay |
|---|---|
| At least 1 year, less than 2 years | 4 weeks |
| At least 2 years, less than 3 years | 6 weeks |
| At least 3 years, less than 4 years | 7 weeks |
| At least 4 years, less than 5 years | 8 weeks |
| At least 5 years, less than 6 years | 10 weeks |
| At least 6 years, less than 7 years | 11 weeks |
| At least 7 years, less than 8 years | 13 weeks |
| At least 8 years, less than 9 years | 14 weeks |
| At least 9 years, less than 10 years | 16 weeks |
| 10 years or more | 12 weeks |
The amount is generally based on the employee's base rate for ordinary hours rather than every component of remuneration, and notice and final entitlements are separate. Have the EOR confirm service, award or agreement terms, consultation requirements and the full final-pay calculation before proceeding. Redundancy pay and exceptions.
These are stored source rules, not a case-specific termination calculation. Confirm the applicable procedure and current requirements before acting.
Choose an EOR for your hire in Australia
Compare the employing entity, itemised costs, local support, payroll deadlines and what happens if you change or end the arrangement.
Questions about hiring in Australia
Do I need my own Australian company to use an EOR?
No, the arrangement uses the provider's employing entity. Ask it to confirm that this structure is available for your role and location, and take separate advice on any corporate or tax obligations your own activities in Australia create.
Is a PEO the same as an EOR in Australia?
Not necessarily, because providers use these commercial terms differently. Ask which entity signs the employment contract and whether your company must supply its own Australian employing entity. Our EOR versus PEO guide explains the models and the questions to ask.
Check the facts behind this guide
Each reviewed fact links to its source and shows its validation date and effective period. Monthly review does not mean that every rule changes monthly. Statistical benchmarks retain their original data periods.
View sourced facts and review dates
| Fact | Value | Source | Effective / data period | Last validated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment standards | The National Employment Standards set minimum terms for employees in the national workplace relations system. Awards and enterprise agreements can add rights. State-system coverage and casual entitlements differ. | Fair Work Commission | ||
| National minimum wage | A$26.44/hour or A$1,004.90 for a 38-hour week from 1 July 2026, for adult employees in the national system without an award or agreement. Junior, apprentice, trainee and supported-wage rules differ. | Fair Work Commission | From 1 July 2026 | |
| Employer superannuation | The super guarantee is 12% of eligible qualifying earnings. From 1 July 2026, contributions are due each payday and normally must reach the fund within 7 business days; specified exceptions allow longer. | Fair Work Ombudsman | Payday Super from 1 July 2026 | |
| Payroll frequency | Follow the applicable award or agreement. If it does not set the frequency, employees must be paid at least monthly; weekly and fortnightly payroll are also possible. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Weekly hours | The NES sets 38 weekly hours plus reasonable additional hours. Apply the employee’s coverage and working pattern, and check the applicable award or agreement for overtime, breaks and penalty rates. | Fair Work Commission | ||
| Paid annual leave | Full-time and part-time employees accrue 4 weeks based on ordinary hours. Casuals do not receive this paid entitlement. Certain shiftworkers qualify for an additional week, and unused leave carries forward. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Sick and carer’s leave | Full-time employees accrue 10 days per year; part-time entitlement is proportional to ordinary hours. Unused balances carry forward. Casuals do not receive this paid entitlement. Notice and evidence requirements apply. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Unpaid parental leave | Eligible employees can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave and request a further 12 months. This employment entitlement is separate from the government’s Parental Leave Pay scheme. | Fair Work Commission | ||
| Government Parental Leave Pay | For children born or adopted from 1 July 2026, an eligible family can receive up to 130 days (26 five-day weeks). Partner reservations, sharing rules and eligibility conditions apply; this is a family total. | Services Australia | Births/adoptions from 1 July 2026 | |
| Public holidays | Use the 2026 calendar for the employee’s state or territory, including relevant regional holidays. Australia does not have one uniform nationwide holiday count or identical substitution rules. | Fair Work Ombudsman | 2026 calendars | |
| Employer notice | The usual NES minimum is 1 week for service up to 1 year; 2 weeks for more than 1–3 years; 3 weeks for more than 3–5 years; and 4 weeks after 5 years. Add 1 week if over 45 with at least 2 years’ service. Exceptions apply. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Redundancy pay | The NES schedule is 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 16 weeks for completed service bands from 1 to under 10 years, then 12 weeks at 10+ years. Small-business and other exceptions, and award-specific schemes, can change entitlement. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Probation | Employers usually choose the probation period, commonly 3–6 months. It is not a statutory 180-day period. Employees retain minimum entitlements during probation, including applicable leave and notice. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Unfair dismissal eligibility | The minimum employment period is generally 6 months, or 12 months for a small-business employer with fewer than 15 employees. Coverage and other eligibility rules also apply. This is separate from probation. | Fair Work Commission | ||
| Fixed-term contracts | For contracts covered by the rules introduced on 6 December 2023, the usual limits are 2 years including extensions and no more than one renewal option. Consecutive-contract restrictions and exceptions apply. Give the required Fixed Term Contract Information Statement. | Fair Work Ombudsman | Rules from 6 December 2023; current exceptions must be checked | |
| Employment contracts | A contract can be written or verbal, but cannot reduce minimum rights under applicable legislation, the NES, an award or an enterprise agreement. Use a written agreement that identifies the actual employer and employment terms. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Casual employment | Casual status requires no firm advance commitment to ongoing work and entitlement to a casual loading or specific casual rate. Regular hours alone do not decide status. Eligible casuals can access a pathway to permanent employment. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Contractor classification | Check which legal test applies to the business and engagement. For constitutionally covered businesses, the whole-of-relationship test applies from 26 August 2024 and considers the practical working relationship as well as the contract. | Fair Work Ombudsman | Classification rules from 26 August 2024 | |
| Labour-hire responsibilities | A labour-hire employer employs and pays the worker, who works for a host. A regulated labour-hire arrangement order can require protected host-equivalent pay. Businesses knowingly involved in underpayments can also be liable. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| State and territory payroll tax | Payroll tax can apply when an employer’s Australian wage bill exceeds the relevant state or territory threshold. Rates, thresholds and taxable payments vary; request a location-specific calculation from the EOR. | Australian Government, business.gov.au | ||
| Workers’ compensation | Employers must arrange the required workers’ compensation insurance. State and territory regulators administer the schemes; coverage and premiums depend on the applicable scheme and work. | Fair Work Ombudsman | ||
| Work eligibility checks | Home Affairs’ VEVO service lets registered organisations check visa conditions with the visa holder’s permission. Australian citizenship is proved separately. An EOR employment agreement does not itself grant immigration permission. | Department of Home Affairs | ||
| Average weekly earnings | A$2,083.70 in May 2026: full-time adult average weekly ordinary-time earnings, seasonally adjusted. This is an ABS statistical benchmark, not a median, minimum wage or quote for a particular role. | Australian Bureau of Statistics | May 2026; ABS release 13 August 2026 |