Modern Awards are complex. Getting them wrong is expensive.
Ongoing monitoring and management of your Award obligations. We track the changes so you do not have to.
average underpayment liability per misclassified employee (6-year lookback)
annual Award rate change effective date (plus ad-hoc variations)
pages in some Modern Awards (averaging 50-100 pages)
The complexity trap.
Australia's Modern Award system is one of the most complex employment frameworks in the world. A single Award can run to hundreds of pages. Penalty rates change depending on the day, the time, and whether the employee is full-time, part-time, or casual.
Classifications determine minimum pay rates, and misclassification can mean thousands in back-pay liability per employee. Awards change regularly with limited notice. One misclassified employee across one year creates a back-pay liability greater than your People Hub subscription cost.
Compliance Risks
Employee misclassification (very common, very expensive)
Missed rate changes and penalty rate errors
Incorrect leave entitlement calculations
6-year lookback for underpayment claims
Continuous Compliance Monitoring
Ongoing audits and monitoring of your Award compliance across classifications, rates, and entitlements.
Classification Reviews
Ensuring every employee is correctly classified under the relevant Award. Misclassification is the single most common source of underpayment claims.
Learn more →Rate Monitoring
Tracking Award rate changes (annual wage reviews, interim variations) and ensuring your payroll reflects current rates from the effective date.
Learn more →Penalty Rate Calculations
Verification of penalty rate calculations across all scenarios: weekends, public holidays, overtime, shift loadings, and split shifts.
Learn more →Compliance Calendar
A forward-looking calendar of all compliance obligations: rate changes, reporting deadlines, policy reviews, and legislative updates.
Learn more →Leave Entitlement Management
Tracking and calculating leave accruals, including complex scenarios: long service leave, personal leave, parental leave, and Award-specific entitlements.
Learn more →Continuous Auditing
Continuous auditing of your payroll against Award requirements. Issues identified and resolved in real time, before they become liabilities.
Learn more →Our Audit Process
Initial Comprehensive Audit
We audit every employee's classification and rate against the relevant Award. Identifying current gaps and calculating any back-pay exposure.
Remediation Planning
We resolve any gaps or errors identified, including back-pay calculations if required, with a clear remediation plan and Fair Work self-correction framework.
Ongoing Rate Monitoring
Continuous monitoring tracks Award changes and ensures your payroll is updated within the required timeframe. You are always current with the latest rates.
Ongoing Compliance Reviews
Regular compliance reviews confirm ongoing accuracy and flag emerging risks. Proactive identification and resolution before they become problems.
Every Australian Business
Particularly critical for businesses with complex Awards (hospitality, healthcare, transport), multiple Awards, casual employees, shift workers, and multi-site operations.
Complex Awards
Casual Employees
Shift Workers
Compliance with Business Context
Award compliance directly affects payroll accuracy (People Hub) and financial reporting (Finance Hub). When we identify a classification error, the financial impact is immediately calculated. The remediation plan considers both the compliance resolution and the cash flow impact. Your Operations Hub is updated with any staffing or structural changes.
Check your Award compliance now
FreeFree tools to verify you are paying correctly under the Modern Award system.
Penalty Rate Calculator
Calculate penalty rates for any Modern Award including weekends, public holidays, and overtime. Know exactly what you owe.
Try it nowAward Finder
Not sure which Modern Award applies to your employees? Find the right Award by industry, role, or classification in seconds.
Try it nowFAQ
Frequently asked questions
We will identify the underpayment during the initial audit, calculate the back-pay liability, and work with you on a remediation plan. Voluntary self-correction is viewed far more favourably by the Fair Work Ombudsman than discovered non-compliance.
The annual wage review typically takes effect 1 July each year. The Fair Work Commission can also issue interim variations at any time. We monitor all changes and update your payroll accordingly.
Yes. Enterprise agreements have their own compliance requirements, and many still reference the underlying Award as a benchmark. We manage compliance for both.
It depends on the nature and duration of the error. Underpayment claims can go back six years. We will quantify your exposure during the compliance audit and recommend the appropriate response.
Penalty rates vary by Award and depend on the type of work (weekend, public holiday, shift, overtime), the day and time. We verify penalty rate calculations across all scenarios. A 1% error in penalty rates compounds across every pay cycle.
Multi-Award workforces are complex but manageable. We track each Award's requirements separately and ensure correct classification for each employee. This is where compliance audits add the most value.
Casual employees have specific Award entitlements: ordinary rates, loading (instead of leave accrual), and in many Awards, minimum engagement periods and maximum hours. Misclassification of casuals is a common underpayment source.
Your payroll provider is responsible for payroll processing, but you are responsible for providing correct input data (classification, hours, rates). Our compliance audits ensure your input data is correct, protecting you from liability even if the payroll system makes an error.
Can't find the answer you're looking for? Get in touch