Employer record-keeping obligations

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s record-keeping page sets out the form the records must take. They must be:

• legible and in English
• readily accessible to a Fair Work Inspector
• unchanged, unless the change corrects an error
• not false or misleading. Knowingly making or keeping false records is unlawful.

Whatever system you use, an inspector must be able to get the records readily, so they need to be organised by employee and pay period.

Some awards add more, such as extra records for employees on annualised salaries or a copy of an agreement to take annual leave in advance. Check your award.

A pay slip must show the employer’s and employee’s names, the employer’s ABN (if any), the pay period, the payment date, and gross and net pay. It must also show, for hourly employees, the ordinary rate, the hours and the total at that rate, along with any loadings, allowances, bonuses or penalty rates, each deduction and where it went, and the super paid or to be paid and to which fund.

• Pay slips must not mention paid family and domestic violence leave. Record the payment as ordinary hours or another kind of payment for work, but keep the leave in your own records.
• Leave balances don’t have to appear on pay slips, but you must tell an employee their balance if they ask.
• A pay slip you know is false or misleading is unlawful.

If an employee or former employee asks to see their records, you must make them available. On a transfer of business, the old employer must pass the records of transferring employees to the new employer.

Under the ATO’s record-keeping rules, the 5 years for super contribution records runs from the date of the contribution. For super fund choice records, it runs from when the employee was engaged or offered, made or changed a choice. Some records need to be kept longer, for example to cover a period when an assessment can be reviewed.

State payroll tax offices set their own retention rules too. Revenue NSW, for example, asks for contractor payment records to be kept for at least 5 years.

An infringement notice works like an on-the-spot fine and can be issued the first time a problem occurs. Examples include not making or keeping records, leaving required information off a pay slip, and issuing pay slips late. It must be paid within 28 days.

In court, according to the Ombudsman’s litigation page, civil penalties can be up to $21,840 per contravention for an individual. For a company with fewer than 15 employees the maximum is $109,200, and for a company with 15 or more it is $546,000. Penalties for serious contraventions (knowing or reckless) are ten times higher and expressly cover record-keeping and pay slip breaches. These amounts reflect the Commonwealth penalty unit of $364, which has applied since 1 July 2026.

Reverse onus: if you didn’t keep records or give pay slips and can’t give a reasonable excuse, a court can require you to prove you paid an employee correctly (Fair Work Act s 557C).

1. Set up each employee’s general record on day one, including employment type and award classification.
2. Record actual start and finish times, not just rostered hours, especially for casuals and overtime.
3. Keep signed copies of individual flexibility arrangements, averaging agreements and leave cash-out agreements.
4. Reconcile super paid against the payroll each payday.
5. Log corrections as new entries with a reason, rather than overwriting the original.
6. Make sure you can produce any employee’s records quickly if an inspector asks.