Compliance calendar for Australian employers
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Every Australian employer has recurring legal obligations tied to specific dates and pay cycles. Miss one and you risk penalties, employee complaints, or an ATO audit — so knowing the calendar in advance is the most practical risk-management tool you have.
Single Touch Payroll: every pay event
STP is not an annual event — it is a per-pay-run obligation. Each time you run payroll, you must lodge a payroll event report with the ATO through your STP-enabled software on or before the day you pay employees. The report captures gross wages, PAYG withholding, and superannuation liability for every worker.
At the end of the financial year, you must finalise each employee's STP data by 14 July. Finalisation replaces the old payment summary and makes each employee's income and tax information visible in their myGov account. If you have a small withholder and need an extension, you can apply to the ATO, but 14 July is the default deadline you should plan for.
PAYG withholding: withheld every pay, remitted on a cycle
Income tax is progressive and withheld from employees under the Pay As You Go system. You calculate the withholding amount using ATO tax tables, taking into account any Tax File Number declaration the employee has submitted and, where relevant, a HECS/HELP repayment component.
HECS/HELP repayments are added to withholding based on a banded scale tied to the employee's repayment income. The employee declares their study debt on their TFN declaration; you apply the appropriate band and withhold the extra amount each pay.
How often you remit to the ATO depends on your annual withholding level:
- Small withholders remit quarterly, with due dates aligned to BAS lodgement.
- Medium withholders remit monthly, generally by the 21st of the following month.
- Large withholders remit within a few days of the pay event itself.
The ATO assigns your category; check your current classification and lodge on time regardless of whether you owe a large or small amount.
Superannuation Guarantee: quarterly deadlines, not payroll dates
The Superannuation Guarantee requires you to contribute to a complying superannuation fund on behalf of eligible employees. From 2026, the rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings. Ordinary time earnings generally means base wages and regular allowances, but not overtime.
Super is due quarterly, with contributions payable by the 28th of the month following the end of each quarter:
| Quarter | Period | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 1 July – 30 September | 28 October |
| Q2 | 1 October – 31 December | 28 January |
| Q3 | 1 January – 31 March | 28 April |
| Q4 | 1 April – 30 June | 28 July |
Late or missing contributions trigger the Superannuation Guarantee Charge, which is calculated differently from the standard contribution and is not tax-deductible. Pay on time.
The Medicare levy of 2% is withheld as part of your PAYG calculation — it is not a separate employer remittance.
Annual leave and redundancy: the NES baseline
The National Employment Standards set the floor for leave and termination entitlements. Full-time and part-time employees accrue four weeks of annual leave per year (five weeks for shift workers who regularly work on Sundays or public holidays under their award).
Leave accrues continuously; there is no reset date. What matters for your compliance calendar is ensuring leave balances are correctly carried over in your payroll system and that you are not inadvertently capping accruals in a way that breaches the NES.
Redundancy pay follows a scale based on years of continuous service, also set by the NES. When you make a genuine redundancy, calculate the payment using the statutory scale, pay it with final wages, and report it correctly through STP. Genuine redundancy payments up to the tax-free limit are treated differently for withholding purposes — use the current ATO guidance to apply the correct tax treatment.
End-of-financial-year checklist
The period from late June through to mid-July is the most compressed compliance window. Work through these in order:
1. Reconcile payroll records — confirm your STP year-to-date figures match your general ledger for the financial year ending 30 June.
2. Check super contributions — ensure all Q4 contributions are paid and cleared before 28 July. Contributions that have not cleared the fund by the due date are late, even if you transferred the funds earlier.
3. Finalise STP — lodge finalisation for all employees by 14 July. For any employee who has left during the year, mark them as "no longer employed" in your STP software.
4. Fringe benefits tax — if you provide benefits such as vehicles or expense payments, the FBT year ends 31 March with returns generally due in May. This sits outside the main payroll calendar but intersects with remuneration planning.
5. Award rate increases — the Fair Work Commission typically announces minimum wage and award rate changes effective 1 July each year. Review and update pay rates before the first pay run of the new financial year.
Running through this list each year keeps you ahead of the most common compliance failures rather than responding to them.
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