Outsourced Payroll Services in Brisbane

Payroll in Brisbane

What every Brisbane pay run covers.

A dedicated team prepares each pay run, checks it, and sends it to you to approve before anyone is paid. Six things are right every time.

Awards, applied Pay rates, penalties and allowances checked against the award or agreement each person is on.
Single Touch Payroll Every pay run reported to the ATO from your own payroll file, with nothing to re-key.
Super on time Super calculated with each pay run and paid on the cycle Payday Super sets from 1 July 2026.
Leave that adds up Annual, personal and long service leave accrued in the file, so balances are right when someone asks.
Queensland payroll tax Wages reconciled every month, so your Queensland return draws on the same numbers as your books.
Starters and leavers New starters set up properly and final pay worked out to the rules that apply.

Queensland rules

The Queensland rules every pay run works to.

Seven employer rules set by Queensland, each with the instrument that sets it and what it does to your month. Your team works to them every pay run and every close.

Every dollar above the threshold changes the bill.

Periodic returns are due 7 days after each month or half-year ends and the annual return by 21 July. Because the deduction tapers, payroll and the books need to agree every month, not only in July.

Set by Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld)

Payroll tax is 4.75% where Australian taxable wages are $6.5 million or less, and 4.95% above that. The $1.3 million threshold deduction reduces by $1 for every $7 of wages above it and is nil at $10.4 million. Eligible regional employers receive a one percentage point discount until 30 June 2030, and a mental health levy applies above $10 million.

Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld); deduction range from 1 January 2023; regional discount 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2030; unchanged in the 2026-27 Budget.

Sources Queensland Revenue Office, payroll tax rates and thresholds Queensland Revenue Office, payroll tax deductions Queensland Revenue Office, 2026-27 State Budget Queensland Revenue Office, discount for regional businesses Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld)

The liability can fall due from year seven.

It builds from day one, so it belongs in your balance sheet before it is triggered, not after.

Set by Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), s 95

About 8.67 weeks of paid leave after 10 years of continuous service, and a further 4.33 weeks after each further 5 years. Between 7 and 10 years, pro rata leave is payable when employment ends in set circumstances, such as dismissal for a reason other than conduct, capacity or performance. Building and construction, contract cleaning and community services have portable schemes run by QLeave.

Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), s 95; community services portable scheme from 1 January 2021.

Sources Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld) Business Queensland, long service leave entitlements QLeave, community services scheme

Queensland’s calendar runs on its own dates.

Labour Day and the King’s Birthday fall on different days from the southern states, so multi-state pay calendars have to be set state by state, and site by site for show holidays.

Set by Holidays Act 1983 (Qld)

Queensland holidays include the day after Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Labour Day (the first Monday in May), the King’s Birthday (the first Monday in October), Christmas Eve from 6pm, and, in the Brisbane area, the Royal Queensland Show holiday on the Wednesday of the show in August (Wednesday 12 August in 2026). Other districts take their own show holidays.

Holidays Act 1983 (Qld); extra day for a weekend Christmas, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day from Christmas Day 2011.

Sources Queensland Government, public holidays Queensland Government, show holiday dates

Clean monthly numbers make August a check.

The wages you declare should match your payroll and your books, so the declaration confirms figures you already trust rather than starting a project.

Set by Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld)

Employers of workers in Queensland must have workers’ compensation insurance with WorkCover Queensland, unless they are a licensed self-insurer. Policies end on 30 June. Actual wages for the year just ended, and estimated wages for the year ahead, are declared by 31 August, which also makes a business eligible for a 3% pay-in-full discount on premiums over $200.

Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld); policies renew each 1 July.

Source WorkCover Queensland, renewing your policy and declaring wages

Above $10 million, every return carries a second calculation.

The levy is worked from the same wages as payroll tax and has to reconcile with it at year end.

Set by Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld), pt 2

A mental health levy of 0.25% applies to Queensland taxable wages where the employer’s or group’s Australian taxable wages pass $10 million, with a further 0.5% above $100 million. It is reported in the same monthly or half-yearly returns as payroll tax.

Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld), pt 2; wages paid from 1 January 2023.

Sources Queensland Revenue Office, calculating the mental health levy Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld)

The July close carries two jobs.

June wages are taxed in the annual return, so the reconciliation and the last month of tax land together and the June books need closing early.

Set by Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld)

Periodic returns and payments are due 7 days after each monthly or half-yearly period ends. There is no June periodic return: June wages go into the annual return, due 21 July (21 July 2027 for the 2026-27 year).

Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld).

Sources Queensland Revenue Office, payroll tax due dates Payroll Tax Act 1971 (Qld)

Pay items have to be mapped before the quarter closes.

The return needs ordinary wages split out per worker, so the same coding has to hold in payroll and in the books.

Set by Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020 (Qld)

Community services employers register with QLeave, lodge a return each quarter and pay a levy on eligible workers’ ordinary wages. Workers keep accruing long service as they move between community services employers in Queensland.

Community Services Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 2020 (Qld); scheme from 1 January 2021.

Source QLeave, community services scheme

Rules last checked 7 October 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. General information only. It does not take your circumstances into account.

Beyond Brisbane

Where the rules change across Queensland.

The same team works with businesses in regional Queensland. These are the places where a rate, a holiday or a declaration differs from Brisbane.

Gold Coast

The Gold Coast pays payroll tax exactly as Brisbane does, but it takes its own show holiday instead of the Ekka.

The City of Gold Coast has its own Gold Coast Show holiday, Friday 28 August in 2026, and does not take Brisbane’s Royal Queensland Show holiday on Wednesday 12 August.
The Gold Coast is not regional Queensland for payroll tax, so the 1% regional discount does not apply and a Gold Coast employer pays the Brisbane rates.
Sites over the border in Tweed Heads are in New South Wales, where payroll tax is 5.45% above $1.2 million and New South Wales holidays apply.

Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast shares Brisbane’s payroll tax, but its show holidays split by old council boundaries.

In 2026 the former Caloundra City area took the Maleny Show holiday on Friday 29 May, the former Maroochy Shire area the Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show holiday on Friday 12 June, and the Shire of Noosa the Noosa Show holiday on Friday 11 September.
The Sunshine Coast is not regional Queensland for payroll tax, so the 1% regional discount does not apply.

Townsville

Townsville employers can pay a lower payroll tax rate than Brisbane’s, and their show holiday falls in July.

Townsville is one of seven regions where an employer can take the 1% regional discount (3.75% or 3.95%), if its principal place of employment is in regional Queensland and at least 85% of its Queensland taxable wages go to staff whose home is there.
The test is where staff live, not where they work, and transient or temporary accommodation does not count, so a Brisbane team or fly-in staff can take a business under 85%.
The City of Townsville takes the Townsville Annual Show holiday, Monday 6 July in 2026, instead of the Ekka in August.

How it works from anywhere

Can a team outside Brisbane run a Brisbane business?

Yes. Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and its team works across Australia, so nothing about the work depends on where your office is.

Your own file

Your books stay in your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file. Your team works inside it, so you see the same numbers they do, whenever you look.

A team you know by name

A dedicated team runs the work, led by a Business Performance Partner. You meet them by video call, and you always know who to ask.

Queensland rules, built in

Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and its team works across Australia, with businesses throughout Queensland. Your books stay in your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, and your team works inside it with you. Every pay run and every close is checked against the rules on this page.

Business hours, and the platform after them

Your team works 9am to 5pm Melbourne time on business days, all year round, and the Visory platform is open to you around the clock for documents, approvals and your numbers.

What we run for Brisbane businesses

The whole finance function, actually handled.

Bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable, run end to end by a dedicated team with Delphi AI working under their oversight. Flat monthly fee. No hourly billing.

Bookkeeping

Every transaction coded and reconciled, month-end closed on schedule.

Explore bookkeeping

Payroll

Pay runs prepared, checked, and paid on time, every cycle.

See how payroll runs

Accounts payable

Bills captured, checked against what's already paid, and paid when you say so.

See accounts payable

Accounts receivable

Invoices out on schedule, overdue accounts followed up in your name.

See accounts receivable

Visory Insights

Once a month: what changed, what it means, and what to do next.

See how Insights works

Business Performance Partner

A named partner who walks you through the numbers and the next move.

How your partner works

Bookkeeping services in Brisbane

What customers say

A Queensland NDIS provider on working with Visory.

Customer story Flexi Queensland Flexi Queensland provides disability support and NDIS services across Queensland from its base in the Burdekin. When its internal accountant left, Visory replaced one person with a team, and the books went through the audit on clean data. Read the story

Common questions

Questions Brisbane businesses ask.

Straight answers about payroll for a Brisbane business, from a team that works remotely.

Does Visory have a payroll office in Brisbane?

Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and our team works across Australia, so we run payroll for businesses in Brisbane as we do everywhere else. Your Payroll Officer is named, works inside your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file and meets you by video call. Pay runs, Single Touch Payroll reporting and super all happen in your own systems.

What hours does my payroll team work in Brisbane time?

Your payroll team works 9am to 5pm Melbourne time, all year round, on business days. In Brisbane that is 9am to 5pm from April to October, and 8am to 4pm from October to April, because Queensland has no daylight saving. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your payroll information is there whenever you need it.

Can you run award payroll for a Brisbane business?

Yes. Your Payroll Officer sets up each employee under the award or agreement that covers the work, with penalty rates, allowances and casual loading applied every pay run. You approve the pay run before it is paid. Queensland holidays, including Christmas Eve from 6pm and the show holiday for each site, are set in the pay calendar.

Do you report through Single Touch Payroll?

Yes. Every pay run is reported to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll on or before payday, from your own payroll software. Your Payroll Officer checks the variations before you approve the pay run, and finalises the year’s data by the due date so employees see complete income statements.

When does super have to be paid now?

Since 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, contributions must reach the employee’s fund within seven business days of each payday, with 20 business days for a new employee’s first contribution. Visory calculates super with every pay run, so it can be paid on that cycle rather than at the end of the quarter.

How do Queensland payroll tax returns work?

Periodic returns and payments are due 7 days after each monthly or half-yearly period ends. There is no June return: June wages go into the annual return, due 21 July. Above $10 million of wages, a mental health levy is reported in the same returns. Each return draws on the payroll your Payroll Officer has reconciled to the books.

We are a community services provider. How does QLeave affect payroll?

Since 1 January 2021, Queensland employers of eligible community services workers register with QLeave, lodge a return each quarter and pay a levy on ordinary wages. Your Payroll Officer maps the pay items so ordinary wages are split out per worker, and the levy shows up in your monthly numbers rather than as a surprise.

What does WorkCover Queensland need from payroll each year?

Policies end on 30 June, and by 31 August you declare the actual wages for the year just ended and an estimate for the year ahead. Declaring on time makes a business eligible for a 3% pay-in-full discount on premiums over $200. The wages you declare come from the same reconciled payroll as your books.

Do our Townsville staff change our payroll tax rate?

They can. An employer whose principal place of employment is in regional Queensland, such as Townsville, and who pays at least 85% of its Queensland taxable wages to staff living there gets a 1% discount on the rate until 30 June 2030. The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are not regional for this test.

More questions, longer answers. Every question has its own link. See all common questions

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Sources (17) · rules last checked 7 October 2026

Payroll tax

Long service leave

Public holidays