How Australian payslips work

Updated 13 October 2026

Your payslip is the record of what you earned, what was taken out, and what was paid into super. Here is what each line means, what the law says it must show, and how to check it.

A typical payslip, line by line

Here is a fortnight’s pay on a salary of $80,000 in 2026–27, for a full-time employee working 76 hours a fortnight who claims the tax-free threshold:

• Gross pay is your pay before anything is taken out: ordinary hours, plus any overtime, penalty rates, allowances or bonuses, each shown on its own line.
• PAYG withholding is the income tax your employer sends to the ATO for you. It includes the Medicare levy, and a HECS-HELP amount if you told your employer you have a study loan.
• Deductions are other amounts taken out at your request, such as salary sacrifice, union fees or a charity donation. Each must be named, with the account it was paid into.
• Net pay is what lands in your bank account.
• Super is paid by your employer on top of your pay, not taken out of it. It is shown so you can check it.
• Year-to-date (YTD) totals add up everything since 1 July. They are useful for checking your income statement at tax time.

What your payslip must show

Under the Fair Work Act, employers must give every employee a payslip within 1 working day of pay day. It must include:

• The employer’s and employee’s names.
• The employer’s ABN, if it has one.
• The pay period and the date of payment.
• Gross and net pay.
• For hourly-paid employees: the ordinary hourly rate, the hours worked at that rate and the amount paid at that rate.
• Any loadings, allowances, bonuses, incentive payments, penalty rates or other entitlements that can be separated from the ordinary rate.
• Each deduction, with the name (or name and number) of the fund or account it was paid into.
• Super contributions for the period, and the name (or name and number) of the super fund.
• On termination, the pay rate that applied on the last day of employment.

Employers must also keep time and wages records for 7 years (Fair Work).

How to check your payslip

1. Hours and rate. Check the hours match what you worked, and the rate matches your award, agreement or contract. The overtime and penalty rates calculator works out a week with weekend and overtime hours.
2. Tax. Put your gross pay into the tax withheld calculator. The amount should match within a dollar or so if your tax file number declaration is set up the way you expect.
3. Super. It should be 12% of your ordinary pay, including penalty rates but not overtime. From 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, it must reach your fund within 7 business days of each payday. Check your super fund’s app or statement to see it arrive.
4. Deductions. Every deduction should be one you agreed to.

General information based on ATO rules and rates, not tax advice. Figures are worked out by our calculators; see how we calculate.