What does a payroll officer do? Duties and skills in Australia

The day-to-day duties of an Australian payroll officer, from pay runs and STP to super and awards, and the skills to hire for.

A payroll officer makes sure every employee is paid correctly and on time, and that the business meets its tax, super and award obligations. In Australia that means running pay cycles, reporting through Single Touch Payroll (STP), paying superannuation, tracking leave and applying the right award rates.

Payroll officer duties and responsibilities

Collect and check timesheets, rosters and approved overtime.
Process weekly, fortnightly or monthly pay runs in Xero, MYOB, KeyPay (Employment Hero) or similar.
Apply modern award rates, penalty rates, allowances and loadings.
Calculate PAYG withholding and lodge pay events through Single Touch Payroll.
Calculate and pay superannuation guarantee contributions by the due dates.
Maintain leave balances: annual leave, personal leave and long service leave.
Set up new starters and process terminations and final pays.
Answer employee pay questions and keep payroll records confidential.
Reconcile payroll to the general ledger and prepare payroll reports.

Payroll officer vs payroll specialist

The titles are often used interchangeably. A payroll officer usually runs the day-to-day cycle, while a payroll specialist may also handle complex awards, multi-entity payroll, audits and system set-up.

Skills to look for

Accuracy and confidentiality: payroll mistakes are felt by every employee straight away.
Australian payroll knowledge: STP, superannuation guarantee, PAYG and award interpretation.
Software: hands-on experience with your payroll system, not just familiarity.
Deadline discipline: pay day and super due dates do not move.

Can payroll be done by offshore staff?

Yes. Many Australian businesses have a full-time offshore payroll officer prepare pay runs, with a manager in Australia reviewing and approving before payment. Good setups use role-based access, multi-factor authentication and a clear approval step. Elephant Teams recruits offshore payroll staff in Sri Lanka and the Philippines and tests candidates on a sample pay run before you interview. Read more about IT and security or book a free consultation.