Payslips: you must give each employee a payslip within one working day of pay day — even if they're on leave — and it must include a specific set of details (employer and ABN, employee, pay period and date, gross and net pay, hours and rate, loadings, deductions, and super).
Records: you must keep employee and pay records for seven years.
Form: records must be legible, in English, and not false or misleading. Breaches carry penalties, and knowingly false or misleading records carry higher ones.
When a payslip must be given
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, employers must give each employee a payslip within one working day of pay day. That deadline applies even when the employee is on leave during the pay period — being away doesn't pause the obligation.
Payslips can be issued electronically — for example by email, or to a secure online portal — as long as the employee is able to access and print them. A paper payslip handed over or posted is equally valid.
What must be on a payslip
A compliant Australian payslip has to include all of the following:
- The employer's name and ABN (if the employer has one)
- The employee's name
- The pay period the payslip covers
- The date of payment
- Gross and net pay
- For staff paid an hourly rate, the ordinary hourly rate and the number of hours worked at that rate
- Any loadings, penalty rates, allowances or other paid entitlements
- Any deductions — the amount of each deduction and the details of who it was paid to
- Superannuation contributions — the amount, and the fund it was (or will be) paid into
Build the payslip from the same figures used in the pay run rather than re-keying them. Every mandatory field — gross, net, hours, rate, loadings, deductions and super — should flow straight from the calculation, so the payslip is a record of what was actually paid, not a separate document that can drift out of step.
Super on payslips
Superannuation is one of the mandatory payslip fields, and it has two parts: the amount of the super contribution for the pay period, and the fund it is being paid to. Showing both lets the employee check that their super is being calculated and directed correctly.
A payslip needs to show the super amount and the fund — not just a total. If your payslip lists a super figure but no fund, or a fund with no amount, it doesn't meet the requirement. Make sure both appear for every employee, every pay period.
What records you must keep
Payslips are only part of the picture. Employers must also keep a broader set of employee and pay records, and keep them for seven years. Between them, those records need to cover:
- Pay — gross and net amounts, rates, loadings, penalty rates and any deductions
- Hours worked, where relevant to the employee's pay
- Leave — balances taken, and leave accruals
- Superannuation — the contributions made, the amounts, and the funds
- Rosters and overtime, for some employees (for example where penalty rates or overtime apply)
The seven-year clock runs on the records themselves — so keep them even after an employee has left.
Form and penalties
Records aren't just about content — they have to be kept in the right form. Under the Fair Work rules, employee and pay records must be:
- Legible — readable and able to be produced if requested
- In English
- Not false or misleading
The Fair Work Ombudsman can seek penalties where an employer fails to keep proper records or issue compliant payslips. There are higher penalties for making or keeping records — or giving payslips — that the employer knows are false or misleading.
Poor records don't just risk a fine in their own right — they make wage disputes far harder to defend. If you can't produce accurate pay records, a court can accept an employee's claim about what they were owed unless you disprove it. Good record-keeping is your evidence.
Quick answers
When must a payslip be given?
Within one working day of pay day — even if the employee is on leave. Payslips can be issued electronically as long as the employee can access and print them.
What has to be on a payslip?
The employer and ABN, the employee, the pay period and date of payment, gross and net pay, hours worked and the rate, any loadings, deductions with details, and super — including the fund and the amount.
How long must I keep payroll records?
Seven years. Employee and pay records — pay, hours, leave, super, and (for some) rosters and overtime — must be kept for seven years, be legible, in English, and not false or misleading.
Are electronic payslips OK?
Yes, if the employee can access and print them. Email or a secure portal is fine, provided the employee can retrieve and print their payslip.
Compliant payslips, and a 7-year record behind every pay run
Ledra Pay generates compliant payslips automatically — every mandatory field, including super amount and fund, straight from the pay run — and keeps an auditable seven-year record behind each figure. No re-keying, no missing fields, no scramble when someone asks for the paperwork.
See Australian payroll →Government sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Pay slips (when a payslip must be given, electronic payslips).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — What to put on a pay slip (mandatory payslip contents, including super).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Record-keeping (records to keep, seven-year retention, form).
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Record-keeping and pay slips fact sheet (penalties and requirements).
- Federal Register of Legislation — Fair Work Regulations 2009 (payslip and record-keeping provisions).