QLD Compliance Calendar

Federal first, then the Queensland layer

Every Queensland business carries the same federal rhythm as the rest of the country: quarterly BAS covering GST and PAYG, superannuation guarantee (with the payday super reform shifting super toward per-pay-run timing — verify commencement and transition rules with the ATO), STP on every pay run, then the annual set of STP finalisation, income tax, TPAR for reportable industries, FBT and the ASIC annual review for companies. The ATO and your registered agent hold the current due dates — always use theirs. On top of that sits Queensland's own layer, and that's what this page maps. As with anything tax- and employment-adjacent, confirm your specific obligations with a professional who knows your setup.

Queensland Revenue Office: payroll tax

Payroll tax kicks in once Australia-wide wages exceed Queensland's threshold, with grouped entities assessed together. Liable employers lodge periodic returns (monthly for most) plus an annual return reconciling the year. Queensland also levies a mental health levy on larger payrolls, tiered above the standard payroll tax. QRO publishes the current thresholds, rates, levy tiers and due dates — and Queensland's settings differ enough from NSW and Victoria that interstate assumptions will mislead you.

WorkCover Queensland

• Accident insurance policy — compulsory for virtually every Queensland employer, held directly with WorkCover Queensland.
• Annual wages declaration — declare actual and estimated wages each year so the premium can be set and trued up. WorkCover publishes the declaration window; missing it means an estimated (usually unfavourable) premium.
• Claims and incident obligations — ongoing: report injuries promptly and support return-to-work plans. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland handles notifiable incidents.

QLeave: portable long service leave

Queensland runs portable long service leave through QLeave for building and construction, contract cleaning and community services. If you operate in those industries, you register, report workers and pay a levy on QLeave's cycle — separate from, and in addition to, ordinary long service leave under Queensland's Industrial Relations Act. Plenty of businesses discover QLeave only when a worker asks about it; better to check scope now on QLeave's site.

The Queensland holiday pattern

• King's Birthday — Queensland observes it later in the year than most states, which routinely trips up national rosters built on a southern calendar.
• Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) holiday — Brisbane takes a show-day holiday, and other regions each have their own local show day on different dates.
• Labour Day — also sits at a different point in the year than in the southern states.

Check the Queensland Government's published holiday list — including your specific region's show day — every year before building rosters, because award penalty rates apply on the days Queensland gazettes, not the days your interstate payroll template assumes.

One calendar, named owners

Queensland's layer means at least four extra authorities beyond the ATO: QRO, WorkCover Queensland, QLeave and the state's holiday gazette. The reliable pattern is the unglamorous one — a single compliance calendar refreshed once a year from each authority's site, with a named owner per obligation and a written checklist for each. That's the ground floor of a modern SME back office; if it all still lives in the owner's head, start with systemising the business before a missed declaration does it for you.