Job descriptions and pay bands in Australia
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
A well-written job description paired with a transparent pay band reduces hiring time, limits legal risk, and sets clear expectations for both sides. Here is how to build both from scratch.
What a job description needs to cover
A job description is a working document, not a formality. It should tell a candidate exactly what the role involves and give you a defensible basis for performance management later.
At minimum, include:
- Job title — use a title that reflects the market. Inflated titles confuse candidates and distort salary benchmarking.
- Reporting line — who the person reports to, and any direct reports they will manage.
- Key responsibilities — five to eight concrete duties, written as outcomes rather than activities. "Own the monthly close process" is more useful than "assist with finance tasks."
- Required vs. preferred qualifications — separate the non-negotiables from the nice-to-haves. Conflating them narrows your candidate pool unnecessarily.
- Employment type and location — full-time, part-time, casual or fixed-term. On-site, hybrid or remote. These affect award coverage and entitlements under the National Employment Standards.
- Pay band or range — increasingly expected by candidates, and mandatory under pay transparency rules that apply in some contexts (more on this below).
Keep the language plain. Avoid jargon specific to your industry or internal terminology a newcomer would not know.
Choosing the right award or agreement framework first
Before you set a pay band, you need to know the floor. Most Australian employees are covered by a Modern Award, which sets minimum pay rates, penalty rates, allowances and leave entitlements for a specific industry or occupation. Enterprise Agreements can sit above awards.
The process:
1. Identify whether a Modern Award covers your role. The Fair Work Commission's online tool is the authoritative source.
2. Note the relevant classification level and its minimum hourly or annual rate.
3. Check whether any industry-specific loadings or allowances apply — these affect total cost of employment, not just base pay.
4. Confirm whether your business is covered by a registered Enterprise Agreement instead.
Your pay band must sit at or above the applicable minimum at every point in the range. Paying below award is a serious compliance breach, regardless of what a candidate agrees to.
Building a pay band
A pay band defines the minimum, midpoint and maximum you are willing to pay for a role. It is not a ceiling you never move — it is a structure you review regularly.
Step 1 — Gather market data. Use salary surveys from credible sources (SEEK, Mercer, Aon, industry associations), recent advertised roles and internal equity data. Aim for at least three data points.
Step 2 — Set the midpoint. The midpoint should represent the market rate for a fully competent person in that role. New hires with limited experience typically start at 80–90% of midpoint. Senior or scarce talent may start at or above it.
Step 3 — Define the spread. A typical band spans roughly 50–80% of the midpoint value from minimum to maximum. A narrower band suits high-volume, transactional roles where performance variation is limited. A wider band suits specialist or leadership roles where experience and output vary significantly.
Step 4 — Document it. Record the rationale behind your midpoint and the data sources you used. This protects you if a pay decision is ever questioned internally or by a regulator.
Step 5 — Map it to your payroll obligations. Once a band is set, ensure your payroll system applies the correct PAYG withholding, the current 12% Superannuation Guarantee on ordinary time earnings, and any HECS/HELP repayment obligations. All of this is reported to the ATO via Single Touch Payroll at each pay event.
Pay transparency and legal obligations
Australia does not yet have a single federal law requiring employers to advertise pay ranges, but practice is shifting. Large employers covered by the Workplace Gender Equality Act already have reporting obligations that include pay data. Some state-based obligations are also evolving.
Practically, advertising a pay range reduces time wasted on both sides. Candidates who cannot accept the range self-select out early. It also reduces the risk of discriminatory pay outcomes, which is a live concern under general protections provisions in the Fair Work Act.
Avoid advertising a range so wide it is meaningless — a $50,000 spread on a $90,000 role tells a candidate nothing useful and signals that you have not done the work.
Keeping job descriptions and bands current
A job description written at hire becomes inaccurate quickly. Build a review into your annual performance cycle — at minimum, check that the title, responsibilities and band still reflect the actual role.
Pay bands should be benchmarked at least annually. If the market has moved and your band has not, you will start losing people before you understand why. Factor in the Superannuation Guarantee rate — at 12% from 2026, super is a material part of total remuneration and should be quoted transparently alongside base pay when you communicate a band to candidates or employees.
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