Miss a required field on an Australian payslip and you're not just being sloppy — you're breaking the law. The Fair Work Act 2009 prescribes exactly what must appear, with fines up to $16,500 per breach for a company. Per employee. Per pay period. Most small business owners don't discover the gaps until a staff member asks a question they can't answer.

Here's exactly what belongs on a payslip, how to calculate PAYG and super correctly for 2025/26, and how to generate a fully compliant payslip in under a minute.

What Must Go on an Australian Payslip

The Fair Work Act 2009 and Fair Work Regulations 2009 don't leave room for interpretation — the required fields are prescribed, not suggested. For the complete legal breakdown, see our guide to payslip requirements in Australia. Every payslip must include:

One field catches employers out constantly: casual employees must also have their casual loading rate on the payslip. A 25% loading is standard under most modern awards — omitting it is a breach even when you're paying it correctly.

Calculating PAYG Withholding and Super — the 2025/26 Numbers

PAYG withholding is not a flat rate. You pull it from the ATO's 2025/26 tax withholding tables based on the employee's gross earnings (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly) and their Tax File Number declaration. The PAYG withholding tax tables for 2025/26 are updated every financial year — using last year's tables means withholding the wrong amount.

For superannuation, the Super Guarantee rate for 2025/26 is 11.5% of ordinary time earnings. Quarterly payment is the minimum the ATO requires — but the amount payable for each period must still appear on every payslip.

Step-by-Step: Make a Payslip Using PayslipMate

James runs a café in Brisbane with three part-time staff. He was copying payslip details into a Word document every fortnight — until his bookkeeper spotted missing leave balances and the wrong super figure. Six steps fixed it.

1. 1
   Go to payslipmate.com/generate. No account required — start immediately.
2. 2
   Enter employer details — business name, ABN, and address. These populate every payslip you generate.
3. 3
   Enter employee details — name, employment type (full-time / part-time / casual), pay rate, and hours worked for the period.
4. 4
   Select the pay period. PayslipMate auto-calculates PAYG withholding using 2025/26 ATO rates and applies 11.5% super automatically.
5. 5
   Add any deductions — HECS-HELP repayments, salary sacrifice to super, or other pre-tax deductions. Each appears as a separate line item.
6. 6
   Preview and download. You get a Fair Work-compliant PDF — leave balances, super fund name, and every required field included.

Before issuing your first payslip, run through our first payslip checklist for Australia to confirm nothing's missed.

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PayslipMate generates a Fair Work-compliant payslip in under 60 seconds — no payroll software subscription required.

Three Mistakes That Will Get You in Trouble

The same errors appear in Fair Work disputes, again and again. Each one is a potential breach — and none of them are difficult to avoid.

For ongoing compliance, our guide to payslip record keeping in Australia covers how long employee pay records must be kept (7 years) and the required format.

One hard rule: payslips must reflect wages actually paid. Falsifying pay records is illegal under the Fair Work Act — these tools exist for employers accurately documenting their own payroll.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it a legal requirement to give employees a payslip in Australia?

Yes. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, all national system employers must provide a payslip within 1 working day of each pay day. Failure to do so can result in penalties of up to $16,500 per breach for a company — per employee, per pay period.

Can I make a payslip in Australia for free?

Yes. PayslipMate lets you generate a single Fair Work-compliant payslip as a PDF at no cost — no subscription or payroll software required. Visit payslipmate.com/generate to start.

What superannuation rate do I use on a payslip in 2025/26?

The Super Guarantee rate for the 2025/26 tax year is 11.5% of ordinary time earnings. That figure — or the amount payable for the period — must appear on every payslip alongside the employee's super fund name.

What happens if my payslip shows the wrong PAYG withholding amount?

Incorrect withholding is an ATO compliance issue. If too little is withheld, the employee will owe a tax debt at year-end; if too much, they are out of pocket until their return is assessed. Either way, the employer may face penalties. Always use the current ATO tax tables or a compliant payroll tool to calculate withholding before issuing the payslip.

Do casual employees need to receive payslips in Australia?

Yes. Casual employees are covered by the same Fair Work Act obligations as full-time and part-time staff. Their payslip must also show the casual loading percentage or amount that makes up their hourly rate, so it is clear how the loading is applied relative to the base rate of pay.