What is an Australian payslip?

An Australian payslip is a document that outlines an employee's earnings and deductions for a specific pay period, including gross pay, PAYG income tax, Medicare levy, superannuation contributions, and net pay. Under the Fair Work Act, employers must provide payslips within 1 business day of payment.

How do I create a payslip in Australia?

With PayslipMate: 1) Enter employer and employee details, 2) Input pay period and hours worked, 3) Our system calculates PAYG tax, Medicare levy, and super automatically, 4) Download your PDF instantly.

Is PayslipMate ATO compliant?

Yes, PayslipMate uses the latest 2025-26 ATO PAYG tax tables for accurate income tax, Medicare levy, and HECS-HELP calculations. Our payslips meet Fair Work Act requirements for all 8 states and territories.

How much does it cost to create a payslip?

Your first payslip is FREE. Additional payslips are $6.89 each, with bulk discounts available: 10% off for 5+ payslips and 15% off for 10+ payslips.

Payslip Sample Australia — What a Compliant Payslip Looks Like (2025-26)

Most payslip errors aren't deliberate — employers simply don't know which fields are legally required. Under the Fair Work Act payslip requirements, a missing ABN or absent super fund name isn't a minor oversight. It's a civil penalty offence. Here's exactly what a compliant Australian payslip looks like for the 2025-26 tax year, field by field.

TL;DR — What Every Australian Payslip Must Include

Employer name and ABN
Employee name, pay period dates, and payment date
Gross pay, PAYG tax withheld, and net pay — all shown separately
Ordinary hourly rate (required for casual and hourly workers)
Super fund name, member number, contribution amount, and the 11.5% rate

What Must Appear on an Australian Payslip — The Fair Work Checklist

The Fair Work Regulations 2009 (reg 3.46) set out ten mandatory fields. Every payslip you issue must include all of them — there's no partial compliance. Miss even one and you're exposed to a penalty of up to $19,800 per contravention for a corporation (as of 2025-26 Fair Work penalty unit values: 60 penalty units × $330).

Australian small business owner reviewing payslip on a laptop in a bright modern office, warm natural light, professiona — Australian small business owner reviewing payslip on a laptop in a bright modern office, warm natura

Here's the full checklist with realistic example values for a casual retail worker:

Required Field	Example Value
1. Employer name	Greenfield Retail Pty Ltd
2. Employer ABN	51 234 567 890
3. Employee name	Sarah Chen
4. Pay period	1 July 2025 – 14 July 2025
5. Date of payment	16 July 2025
6. Gross pay	$1,235.00
7. PAYG tax withheld	$185.00
8. Net pay	$1,050.00
9. Ordinary hourly rate (casual/hourly)	$32.50/hr × 38 hrs
10. Super fund name + member number	AustralianSuper — Member #1234567
11. Super contribution amount + rate	$142.03 (11.5%)

Salaried employees don't need an hourly rate shown, but every other field applies. For a closer look at how PAYG withholding appears on a payslip, we've broken that down separately.

Annotated Payslip Sample — Australia 2025-26

Below is a realistic mock payslip for Sarah Chen (a composite of casual retail workers we see regularly). Each numbered callout maps to the checklist above.

① Greenfield Retail Pty Ltd
② ABN: 51 234 567 890

PAYSLIP
⑤ Payment Date: 16 July 2025

③ Employee: Sarah Chen | ④ Pay Period: 1 Jul 2025 – 14 Jul 2025

⑨ Ordinary Hours (38 hrs × $32.50)	$1,235.00
⑥ Gross Pay	$1,235.00
⑦ PAYG Tax Withheld	− $185.00
⑧ Net Pay	$1,050.00

⑩ Superannuation: AustralianSuper — Member #1234567
⑪ Super Contribution (11.5%): $142.03 | Paid to fund by: 28 October 2025

11.5%

Super Guarantee rate for 2025-26 — rising to 12% on 1 July 2026

💡 Did You Know?
Employers must issue payslips within one working day of payment — even if the employee is on leave. Failing to issue on time is a civil penalty offence under the Fair Work Act, regardless of whether the pay itself was correct.

Close-up of a printed Australian payslip on a desk with a pen and calculator, clean professional office setting — Close-up of a printed Australian payslip on a desk with a pen and calculator, clean professional off

The Payslip Mistakes That Fail the Fair Work Test

Most non-compliant payslips we see aren't missing fields entirely — they're just incomplete. Here are the three most common failures and the fix for each.

✗ Missing employer ABN

The payslip shows the business name but no ABN. This is one of the most commonly cited breaches during Fair Work audits.

✓ Add the ABN to every payslip header

It's a single field — set it once in your payroll system or template and it populates automatically.

✗ No super fund name or member number

Showing only the dollar amount ("Super: $142.03") fails the regulation — the fund name and member number are both mandatory.

✓ Include fund name + member number

This also protects employees — they can verify their super is actually being paid to the right account.

✗ Only net pay shown

Some templates just show the take-home amount. Without gross pay and PAYG tax withheld as separate line items, the payslip is non-compliant.

✓ Show all three: gross, tax withheld, net

Fair Work requires each figure shown separately so employees can verify their tax deductions are correct.

For a full rundown of errors and fixes, see our guide to common Australian payslip errors and how to fix them.

How to Create a Compliant Payslip in Minutes

Australian employer using a payslip generator on a desktop computer, modern home office setup, daylight through window — Australian employer using a payslip generator on a desktop computer, modern home office setup, dayli

You don't need payroll software or an accountant to produce a fully compliant payslip. Three steps is all it takes.

Enter employer and employee details — business name, ABN, employee name, pay period, and super fund information.

Enter hours worked and pay rate — PAYG withholding is calculated automatically using the current ATO tax tables. No manual tax maths required.

Download a PDF payslip with every required field pre-filled, ready to issue within the one-working-day deadline.

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PayslipMate auto-populates the 2025-26 super rate and PAYG withholding so you never miss a compliance field — and it updates automatically when rates change.

The PAYG withholding tax tables for 2025-26 changed with the Stage 3 tax cuts — if you're calculating tax manually, make sure you're using the current ATO Schedule 1 figures. And with the Super Guarantee rate rising to 12% on 1 July 2026, getting the right rate on your payslip now matters more than ever.

The Bottom Line

A compliant Australian payslip requires 10 mandatory fields under the Fair Work Regulations 2009. Use the annotated sample above as your checklist — or let PayslipMate generate one instantly with the correct 2025-26 rates pre-filled. Records must reflect real wages paid; falsifying income documents is illegal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What information is legally required on an Australian payslip?

Under the Fair Work Regulations 2009 (reg 3.46), every payslip must show: employer name and ABN, employee name, pay period, payment date, gross pay, PAYG tax withheld, net pay, super fund name and member number, and the super contribution amount. Casual and hourly employees must also see their ordinary hourly rate listed separately.

What is the super rate on Australian payslips for 2025-26?

The Superannuation Guarantee rate for 2025-26 is 11.5% of ordinary time earnings — that's the figure that should appear on every payslip issued between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. It rises to 12% from 1 July 2026, so payslips issued from that date must reflect the updated rate.

Can an employer issue a payslip the day after payday?

Yes — Fair Work rules require payslips within one working day of payment. So if pay hits on a Thursday, the payslip must be in the employee's hands (or inbox) by end of business Friday. Failing to issue on time is a civil penalty offence, even if the pay amount itself was correct.

Does a salaried employee payslip need to show an hourly rate?

No — the hourly rate requirement applies only to casual and hourly workers. Salaried employees are exempt from this specific field, though all other nine mandatory fields under reg 3.46 still apply to their payslips.

Generate a Compliant Australian Payslip — Free

Every required field. Correct 2025-26 rates. PDF ready to issue in minutes.

Create Your Payslip Now →

The Bottom Line

Australian payslips aren't optional paperwork — they're a legal obligation under the Fair Work Act, and getting them wrong exposes corporations to civil penalties of up to $19,800 per contravention (60 penalty units × $330, as of 2025-26). The 2025-26 payslip must capture the correct 11.5% super rate, PAYG withholding, and all prescribed fields under reg 3.46 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

Whether you're a sole trader paying your first employee or an SME processing weekly runs, using a purpose-built payslip generator removes the guesswork and keeps every record audit-ready from day one.

Shawn Martinez, CPA

Senior Tax Accountant

Shawn Martinez is a Certified Public Accountant with over 12 years of experience in Australian taxation and payroll compliance. He specializes in PAYG withholding, superannuation regulations, and ATO compliance for small to medium businesses.

Reviewed by: Paolo Chen, Payroll Specialist • Certified Payroll Professional

Australian Tax LawPAYG WithholdingSuperannuation ComplianceATO Regulations

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