Outsourced Payroll Services in Melbourne

Payroll in Melbourne

What every Melbourne 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.
Victorian payroll tax Wages reconciled every month, so your Victoria 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.

Victorian rules

The Victorian rules every pay run works to.

Seven employer rules set by Victoria, 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.

Payroll and the books agree every month.

Once wages pass the threshold, a return is due by the 7th of the following month and the annual reconciliation by 21 July, with no extensions. Each return draws on the same reconciled wages as your books.

Set by Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic)

Payroll tax is 4.85% of Victorian taxable wages above an annual threshold of $1,000,000 ($83,333 a month). The threshold reduces by 50 cents for each dollar of Australian wages above $3 million and is nil at $5 million. Eligible regional employers pay 1.2125%, and surcharges apply to wages above $10 million.

Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic); threshold and 50% phase-out from 1 July 2025; unchanged for 2026-27.

Sources State Revenue Office Victoria, payroll tax current rates State Revenue Office Victoria, threshold and phase-out rate State Revenue Office Victoria, payroll tax surcharges FAQ Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic)

The liability starts on day one.

Leave accrues from the first day, so it belongs in your balance sheet long before anyone reaches seven years, and a resignation or a long leave request should never be a surprise.

Set by Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), s 6

After 7 years of continuous employment with one employer, an employee is entitled to long service leave of 1/60th of their total period of continuous employment, about 6.07 weeks at 7 years. Community services, contract cleaning and security work fall under the portable scheme of the Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018.

Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), s 6; Act in force from 1 November 2018.

Sources Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic) Portable Long Service Authority, about the scheme

Pay runs move around Victorian dates.

Pay runs that cross these days need penalty rates and award conditions checked, and supplier payment runs move around them.

Set by Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic), s 6

Victoria’s holidays include Labour Day (the second Monday in March), Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, the Friday before the AFL Grand Final, and Melbourne Cup Day (the first Tuesday in November, Tuesday 3 November in 2026), for which a non-metropolitan council can ask for a substitute local day.

Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic), s 6; current text in force from 6 April 2020.

Sources Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic) Business Victoria, Victorian non-metropolitan public holidays 2026

Declared pay matches payroll.

The remuneration you certify should match your payroll and your books. An estimate that is out by 20% or more has to be updated, so clean monthly numbers keep the premium accurate.

Set by Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)

Employers register for WorkCover insurance with WorkSafe Victoria unless they pay $7,500 or less in remuneration a year and employ no apprentices. The premium year runs 1 July to 30 June, and actual rateable remuneration is certified after it ends: for 2025-26, by 23 October 2026 for large employers and 19 March 2027 for small employers. The average premium rate for 2026-27 is 1.8%.

Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic); Act in force from 1 July 2014; 2026-27 premium year.

Sources WorkSafe Victoria, do I need to register for WorkCover insurance WorkSafe Victoria, how remuneration works WorkSafe Victoria, industry rates and key dates Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)

A quarterly cost on every covered pay run.

Ordinary pay has to be coded the same way in payroll and in the books, so the quarterly return agrees with both.

Set by Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018 (Vic)

Employers in community services, contract cleaning and security register with the Portable Long Service Authority and lodge a return every quarter, in October, January, April and July. The levy is 1.65% of ordinary pay for community services workers and 1.80% for contract cleaning and security, payable within 14 days.

Long Service Benefits Portability Act 2018 (Vic); scheme from 1 July 2019.

Source Portable Long Service Authority, about the scheme

Check the estimate each quarter.

A hiring year can push you over the 20% line, so the estimate needs checking against payroll during the year, not only at renewal.

Set by Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)

If your estimate of rateable remuneration is short of the expected figure by 20% or more, you must update it as soon as possible. Actual 2025-26 remuneration is certified by 23 October 2026 for large employers and 19 March 2027 for small employers.

Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic); 2026-27 premium year.

Sources WorkSafe Victoria, how remuneration works WorkSafe Victoria, industry rates and key dates Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)

The 85% test turns on home addresses.

Hybrid staff who live in Melbourne count as metropolitan, so work locations in your payroll file need to be current every month.

Set by Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic), s 3(1)

An employer pays the regional rate of 1.2125% only if at least 85% of its Victorian taxable wages go to regional employees, who must do more than half their work in regional Victoria. For staff working from home, the State Revenue Office looks at where the home is.

Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic), s 3(1); regional rate of 1.2125% from 1 July 2021.

Sources State Revenue Office Victoria, regional employers State Revenue Office Victoria, application of the regional rate Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic)

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 Melbourne

Where the rules change across Victoria.

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

Eastern Beach in Geelong, with its promenade, pavilion and palms beside Corio Bay. — Photo: Ziyao Xiong, Unsplash License

Geelong and regional Victoria

Outside Melbourne, a business can qualify for a quarter of the payroll tax rate, and its councils can move a public holiday.

Greater Geelong is on the State Revenue Office list of regional councils. An employer pays the regional rate of 1.2125%, not 4.85%, if at least 85% of its Victorian taxable wages go to staff who do more than half their work in regional Victoria. Staff who live in Melbourne and work from home count as metropolitan.
Greater Geelong takes Geelong Cup Day, Wednesday 21 October 2026, as a full-day public holiday in place of Melbourne Cup Day, so Tuesday 3 November is an ordinary working day there. A business with sites in both pays the holiday on different days.
Other councils declare their own days too, such as Warrnambool on Thursday 7 May 2026 and Wodonga for the Wodonga Gold Cup on Friday 27 November 2026, so each site needs its own holiday calendar.

How it works from anywhere

Head office in Melbourne. A team across Australia.

Visory’s head office is at Level 42, 600 Bourke Street, Melbourne, and its team works across Australia, so a Melbourne business gets a team close to home and the reach of a national one.

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.

Victorian rules, built in

Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and its team works across Australia, with businesses throughout Victoria. 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne

What customers say

A Victorian business on working with Visory.

Customer story Burchy’s Meats A Victorian specialty butcher wanted timely, accurate internal reports. Kathryn Harvey on what changed when Visory took on the books. Read the story

Common questions

Questions Melbourne businesses ask.

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

What does a Visory pay run for a Melbourne business include?

Your Payroll Officer prepares each pay run with Delphi AI, and you approve it before anyone is paid. The Payroll Officer handles new starters, leave, variations and terminations, reports the pay run through Single Touch Payroll and posts it to your books, so wages, super and leave balances agree every month.

What hours does my payroll team work in Melbourne time?

Your payroll team works 9am to 5pm Melbourne time, all year round, on business days. That is 9am to 5pm on the Melbourne clock in every season, including the daylight saving months. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your payroll information is there whenever you need it.

Do you check award conditions in each pay run?

Yes. Your Payroll Officer sets each employee up on the award or agreement that covers them, then checks penalty rates, overtime, allowances and leave in every pay run. Changes to award rates, such as the annual wage review each July, are applied when they take effect. Questions about which award applies are raised with you before the pay run.

How does Single Touch Payroll work with Visory?

Every pay run is reported to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll from your payroll software on or before payday. Your Payroll Officer checks the report before it goes, and finalises the year’s payroll data after 30 June so employees can see their income statements. The same figures post to your books, so the two never drift apart.

When does super have to be paid now?

Since 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, super guarantee contributions must reach the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. Visory calculates super in every pay run, so it can be paid on payday rather than at the end of a quarter, and the books show what has been paid and what is still owed.

How do Victorian payroll tax returns fit with payroll?

Victorian payroll tax returns are due by the 7th of each month once wages pass $1,000,000 a year, and the annual reconciliation by 21 July. Each return draws on the wages your Payroll Officer has already reconciled to the books, so the monthly figures and the July reconciliation match without a separate exercise.

Does the Victorian portable long service scheme apply to my organisation?

It applies if your workers do community services, contract cleaning or security work. Employers register with the Portable Long Service Authority, lodge a return every quarter and pay a levy of 1.65% of ordinary pay for community services or 1.80% for cleaning and security. Your payroll keeps ordinary pay coded so each return agrees with your books.

How are Melbourne Cup Day and Grand Final Friday handled?

Both are Victorian public holidays, so anyone rostered on them is paid under the holiday terms of their award or agreement. Your Payroll Officer checks those rates in the pay run. Some regional councils swap Cup Day for a local day, such as Geelong Cup Day, so staff at regional sites follow their own calendar.

What does payroll have to do with my WorkCover premium?

WorkCover premiums are set on rateable remuneration, so the figures you certify each year should come straight from payroll. An estimate that falls 20% or more short has to be updated. Visory keeps remuneration reconciled every month, so the certification, due by 23 October 2026 for large employers, draws on numbers you already trust.

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

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