First employee checklist

Hiring your first employee? Get the set-up checklist for your state: ABN and PAYG withholding, Single Touch Payroll, workers compensation, super, the award, the contract and the records you must keep.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

Your business

First employee checklist

Steps
18
Workers compensation
Icare (the NSW scheme insurer)
Super guarantee
12%

Check before you use it

  • Confirm workers compensation details with icare (the NSW scheme insurer) before the start date: rules and thresholds change each year. Source: https://www.icare.nsw.gov.au/workers-compensation/employers/who-needs-a-policy
  • If the business is a sole trader or partnership in Western Australia, the WA state industrial relations system may apply instead of the Fair Work Act. Check before writing the contract.
  • Use the new starter compliance pack for the employee’s own paperwork and dates, and the cost of hiring calculator for the full cost.

[Business name]: first employee checklist

State: New South Wales. Planned start date: [start date].

Before you make an offer

  • ☐ Check the person will be an employee, not a contractor: the Fair Work Act looks at the whole relationship in practice (s 15AA).
  • ☐ Find the award (or enterprise agreement) that covers the job and the right classification. It sets minimum pay, penalty rates, allowances, hours and breaks.
  • ☐ Decide the employment type (full-time, part-time, casual or fixed term) and the hours, and write the contract to the award or agreement.

Registrations

  • ☐ Register for PAYG withholding with the ATO before the first pay you must withhold from, even if the amount withheld is nil.
  • ☐ Set up payroll software that reports through Single Touch Payroll, and report each pay on or before payday.
  • ☐ Workers compensation in New South Wales: You need a policy unless you pay $7,500 or less in wages a year, don’t employ an apprentice or trainee, and aren’t part of a group of businesses. Policies come from icare (the NSW scheme insurer).
  • ☐ Payroll tax: you register only once your total Australian wages pass your state’s threshold. One employee rarely does, but check with the payroll tax calculator if you have grouped businesses.

Super

  • ☐ Pay super guarantee at 12% of ordinary time earnings, however little you pay.
  • ☐ Under Payday Super, super for each payday must reach the fund within 7 business days (20 business days for a new employee’s first contribution).
  • ☐ Give a super standard choice form within 28 days of the start date, and request their stapled fund if they don’t choose.
  • ☐ Choose a default fund for employees who don’t nominate one and have no stapled fund.

On the first day

  • ☐ Give the Fair Work Information Statement (and the casual or fixed-term statement if it applies).
  • ☐ Have them complete a tax file number declaration and collect their bank and super details.
  • ☐ Run a safety induction. Your duties come from the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW): consult the worker, provide training and supervision, first aid and a safe workplace.

Every pay and every year

  • ☐ Give a pay slip within 1 working day of each pay day.
  • ☐ Keep time and wages records for 7 years (s 535 of the Fair Work Act).
  • ☐ Apply the Annual Wage Review increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 July each year.
  • ☐ Check portable long service leave if your industry has a scheme (for example building and construction in most states).

Highlighted text in [brackets] still needs your input. General information, not legal advice.

How this works

Pick your state or territory and the checklist adds:

  • The workers compensation rule and insurer from your state’s regulator.
  • The work health and safety Act that sets your safety duties, including Victoria’s OHS Act 2004 and Western Australia’s WHS Act 2020.
  • ATO registrations, Single Touch Payroll and Payday Super deadlines.

For the full yearly cost of the hire, use the cost of hiring calculator. For the new employee’s own paperwork and dates, use the new starter compliance pack. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

What do I need to register before hiring my first employee?

PAYG withholding with the ATO, before the first pay you must withhold from; Single Touch Payroll-enabled payroll; and workers compensation insurance with your state or territory scheme or a licensed insurer. Payroll tax registration only applies once your wages pass your state’s threshold.

Do I have to pay super for a part-time or casual employee?

Yes. Super guarantee of 12% of ordinary time earnings is payable however little you pay. For employees under 18 it applies only in weeks they work more than 30 hours. Since 1 July 2026, super must reach the fund within 7 business days of each payday.

Do I need workers compensation for one employee?

Almost always. Every state and territory requires a policy for employers, with small exemptions in some: for example NSW and Victoria where you pay $7,500 or less in wages a year (and have no apprentices), and South Australia below $16,806 in wages in 2026–27.

What records do I have to keep?

Time and wages records for each employee, kept for 7 years (s 535 of the Fair Work Act), and a pay slip given within 1 working day of each pay day.

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Questions the calculator can’t answer?

Workfloor answers pay, award, leave and termination questions for your team, with the Fair Work Act section or award clause behind each answer.

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