Payroll Officer - Contractor

The Opportunity

We’re looking for an experienced payroll contractor to own our payroll function end-to-end and run it with genuine autonomy. Reporting into Finance, you’ll be responsible for accurate, compliant and on-time payroll across three entities and around 200 employees, spanning full-time, part-time and casual staff, in a fast-paced environment where attention to detail is everything.

You’ll also help lead an important piece of work: transitioning us from Xero onto a more comprehensive, purpose-built payroll platform. It’s a chance to bring your award interpretation expertise to a complex multi-entity group and build processes that will support the business as we scale.

The Engagement

• Contract rate: $40 per hour
• Hours: 2 days per week
• Duration: Ongoing
• Location: Remote Australia

What You’ll Be Doing

• Own end-to-end payroll processing across three entities for approximately 200 employees, covering full-time, part-time and casual staff on a fortnightly cycle.
• Interpret and apply modern awards, enterprise agreements and employment conditions correctly, including funeral industry awards, to ensure accurate base pay, penalty rates, allowances, loadings and casual entitlements.
• Manage all payroll compliance obligations: PAYG withholding, superannuation and SuperStream, multi-state payroll tax, Single Touch Payroll (STP Phase 2) reporting, and workers’ compensation.
• Process new starters, terminations, leave, back-pays and adjustments, and maintain accurate, well-organised employee records and payroll data.
• Reconcile payroll, superannuation and PAYG each pay run and at month end, and support end-of-financial-year processing and finalisation.
• Support the transition from Xero to a new payroll system, including scoping, data migration, parallel runs, testing, and documenting new processes and controls.
• Respond to payroll queries from employees and managers promptly, professionally and with discretion.
• Identify and recommend process improvements that strengthen accuracy, controls and efficiency.
• Work closely with Finance, People & Culture and external stakeholders such as super funds, the ATO and state revenue offices.

What We’re Looking For

Essential

• Substantial hands-on experience running end-to-end payroll, ideally in a complex, multi-entity environment.
• Strong award and enterprise agreement interpretation skills, including calculating penalty rates, allowances, loadings and casual entitlements.
• Solid working knowledge of Australian payroll legislation: PAYG, superannuation, multi-state payroll tax, STP Phase 2, Fair Work and the National Employment Standards.
• Hands-on experience with Xero payroll.
• Exceptional attention to detail, with the discipline to self-check and reconcile your own work.
• Ability to work autonomously and manage competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong numerical, problem-solving and communication skills, and sound judgement with confidential information.
• An active ABN.

Ideal

• Experience with funeral industry awards (highly regarded).
• Experience supporting or leading a payroll system implementation or migration.
• Exposure to modern payroll platforms such as Employment Hero, Rippling or Workday.
• A relevant accounting or payroll qualification or certification.
• Experience processing payroll across multiple states and territories.