A payroll configuration review checks that your Xero pay items, superannuation calculation and STP reporting are actually set up correctly against the rates and rules you've told us apply, so your numbers can be trusted. Fixed-fee, confidential, Australia-wide.
It drifts. A classification set correctly on day one never gets reviewed as a role grows. A rostering system changes and the mapping into Xero doesn't quite keep up. An award update lands and nobody's certain whether it was actually applied. None of it looks urgent in any single pay run, until it's several years of quiet exposure sitting on the books, discovered by an employee, an accountant, or Fair Work, rather than by you.
Payroll isn't a set-and-forget system. A classification review, super reconciliation and STP check every 12 to 24 months catches drift before it compounds.
Whoever set up your payroll rules may not be the person maintaining them now. Handover gaps are one of the most common places award conditions quietly stop being applied.
Moving between Shiftcare, Brevity, Careview, Deputy, Employment Hero, Tanda or similar platforms is exactly when shift types stop mapping to the correct Xero pay item without anyone noticing.
A Fair Work Commission determination or annual wage review, like the SCHADS Award changes taking effect from October 2026, is a direct trigger to confirm payroll actually reflects the new rules from the correct date.
One question about a pay run is often a signal, not an isolated event. It's worth checking whether the same issue affects other staff on the same classification or shift pattern.
Payroll compliance is a standard part of financial due diligence. An audit before you're in a transaction, not during one, gives you time to fix issues on your own terms.
A compliance notice, a request for records, or any correspondence from the Fair Work Ombudsman is not the time to guess. An audit tells you exactly where you stand before you respond.
Payroll set up for two or three staff rarely scales cleanly to fifteen. Growth is when classification variety, shift complexity and award interactions genuinely increase.
A Melbourne disability provider signed an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman after rectifying $2.05 million in underpayments, including interest and super, to 1,389 current and former staff, underpaid over a period of six years before anyone caught it.
Providers across sectors have spent years in Federal Court over a single disputed allowance or unresolved Compliance Notice. Even those who ultimately prevail absorb years of legal cost and uncertainty getting there.
A 2021 Fair Work Ombudsman audit of NDIS providers found 36% had incorrectly applied penalty rates, casual loadings, overtime or allowances. This pattern isn't unique to one sector, it's close to a coin flip wherever award interpretation is complex.
Since January 2025, intentional underpayment carries criminal penalties in Australia, up to 10 years imprisonment for individuals, and for companies a fine of at least $7.825 million or three times the underpayment amount, whichever is larger.
This is a system-level review of how your payroll is set up and configured, not a legal or industrial relations determination. If a review surfaces a genuine classification or underpayment question, we'll tell you plainly and point you to a workplace lawyer or the Fair Work Ombudsman for that specific call, that's their expertise, not ours.
Every pay item in your Xero file checked against the award rates and classifications you've told us apply, confirming the setup is current and configured correctly, the single most common source of quiet drift as a role or roster changes.
Superannuation guarantee timing checked against Payday Super requirements, and Single Touch Payroll reporting reconciled against actual pay runs, so nothing's been quietly missed or filed late.
Pay run outputs reconciled against the rostering or timesheet system behind them, Shiftcare, Brevity, Careview, Deputy, Employment Hero, Tanda or similar, to confirm shift types actually mapped to the correct pay item rather than defaulting to ordinary hours.
Where a setup gap is found, a clear written plan showing exactly which pay items, rates or mappings need correcting in Xero, so pay runs going forward are accurate. If the gap points to a genuine back-pay question, that's flagged clearly as a matter to take to a workplace lawyer or the Fair Work Ombudsman, we fix the system, we don't make the legal call.
A free self-audit checklist covering SCHADS Award classification, sleepover and travel allowances for NDIS providers, Health Professionals and Support Services Award setup for medical and allied health practices, and the cross-cutting STP, super and record-keeping items that trigger Fair Work attention regardless of award. Work through it before your next annual review.
Get the Free ChecklistA payroll audit isn't specific to one industry or one award, it's relevant to any business running payroll for staff, from a handful of employees up to a full department. The complexity varies by sector, the need to actually check doesn't.
This payroll audit service is run by True Tally Bookkeeping, an Australian Registered BAS Agent and Xero Certified Advisor. If the audit finds something, the same team can correct the setup and manage payroll going forward, you're not left with a report and no path forward.
There are no silly questions. You should be able to know, not guess, that your payroll is right.
"They caught a sleepover allowance we'd been getting wrong for over a year."
NDIS Support Provider
Most businesses with employees benefit from a payroll configuration review every 12 to 24 months, or sooner if a specific trigger applies, an award change, new rostering software, staff turnover in the payroll function, or a pay query raised by an employee.
It checks that pay items and rates in Xero are set up correctly against the award rates and classifications you've confirmed apply, that superannuation guarantee timing and Payday Super compliance are configured correctly, that Single Touch Payroll reporting is accurate, and reconciles pay run outputs against source rostering or timesheet data.
We give you a clear written plan showing exactly which pay items, rates or mappings need correcting in Xero, and correct the setup going forward. If a finding points to a genuine underpayment or classification question, that's a legal or industrial relations determination, we'll flag it clearly and recommend a workplace lawyer or the Fair Work Ombudsman for that specific call, rather than making it ourselves.
A straightforward review for a business with under fifteen employees typically takes one to two weeks. Larger or more complex payrolls, multiple awards, several rostering systems, casual and permanent staff mixed together, take longer depending on how much reconciliation is required.
Yes. A payroll configuration review is a private engagement between you and us, it isn't reported to Fair Work or the ATO.
We'll review how your pay items are configured, your super and STP setup, and how your rostering software lines up with Xero, then tell you exactly what we'd change.
Book My Free Consult or call 0468 159 950