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than accidental. What it would mean if historical issues continued under the new framework. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s expanded investigative powers sharpened that awareness. If Fair Work came knocking, payroll knew exactly what would be under the microscope. And yet, alongside the anxiety, there was something else. A quiet sense of professional validation. Payroll accuracy wasn’t just administrative hygiene anymore; it was risk control, it was governance, and something boards needed to understand properly. Payroll had always carried this responsibility. Now the language had finally caught up. That urgency pushed teams to look backwards as well as forwards. Historical reviews. Deeper audits. Hard conversations about legacy practices that had survived simply because they always had. It wasn’t comfortable work. But then again, payroll rarely is.
We started the year knowing the rules had changed. The criminalisation of wage theft came into effect on 1 January 2025, and from day one, it shifted the tone of conversations across the business.
Reports still needed to be lodged. The calendar might say December, but in Australia, the year never really felt finished until the last EOFY loose end had been tied off. As she worked through the final checks and made notes for the year ahead, Fiona found herself pausing more often than usual. Not checking figures. Thinking. Looking back at the year that had just passed and trying to understand why it had felt heavier than most. 2025 hadn’t been an ordinary year for payroll.
had changed. The criminalisation of wage theft came into effect on 1 January 2025, and from day one, it shifted the tone of conversations across the business. It wasn’t because payroll professionals weren’t aware of the law; it was because the potential effects moved closer. Intentional underpayment of wages, superannuation, or entitlements now carries criminal weight. From Fiona’s seat, the concern wasn’t confusion about intent versus error. More so, it was how patterns would be interpreted. What would be seen as systemic rather
We started the year knowing the rules
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GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE ISSUE 19
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