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2025 Deel Australia Payday Expectations Report

Global payroll

How a quiet crisis is shaping Australian payroll expectations

The Australian workplace is at a turning point. Amid rising costs of living, economic uncertainty, and evolving workforce expectations, one thing is clear: employees want—and need—more from their employers.

They want flexible, transparent pay structures. They want to understand their compensation. And they want support that matches today’s financial realities.

But many feel those needs are going unmet.

The 2025 Deel Australia Payday Expectations Report explores the experiences of over 1,000 full-time office employees. It uncovers how financial stress, inflexible pay cycles, AI concerns, and benefit gaps are creating a quiet crisis, and what forward-thinking companies can do to respond.

Report overview
  • Introduction
  • What workers really want
  • How the rising cost of living is reshaping the workplace
  • Payroll stress is rising and AI could make accuracy concerns even worse
  • Lack of understanding
  • Methodology

This report reveals a quiet crisis unfolding in workplaces, and the urgency for businesses to evolve—from modernising payroll to supporting financial resilience in Australia.

—Shannon Karaka,

Country Leader for Australia, Deel

Key findings

  • The call for customisable compensation packages: The vast majority of Australian workers (93%) want to ditch one-size-fits-all packages for personalised pay options and benefits tailored to their unique needs
  • Faster access to earnings: Almost 3 million Australian full-time office workers (52%) have used at least one financial service while waiting for their pay, including cash advances, short-term payday loans, and earned wage access (EWA)
  • AI in payroll concerns: Two in three employees (64%) are very concerned about AI taking control of their payroll data, with Gen Z being the most anxious about this shift
  • More support needed: There’s a lack of understanding surrounding compensation and payroll among workers, with 64% wanting more programs supporting financial literacy for employees

Why employers should be paying attention

Understanding and responding to workers' evolving needs is more important than ever. This report highlights compensation trends in Australia that will shape how you manage payroll, benefits, and overall employee well-being in the years to come. The impacts are clear:

  • Gain a competitive edge: Offering flexible, tailored compensation options is becoming essential. Employers who can offer this kind of workplace flexibility in Australia will have a competitive edge in attracting and retaining top talent, especially as the demand for more personalised work arrangements grows

  • Increase retention: As employees face rising costs and financial pressures, they expect faster access to their earned wages. Businesses that provide solutions like EWA can reduce Australian employees’ financial stress

  • Build trust while enhancing efficiency: While AI is becoming an integral part of payroll systems, employees still value transparency and human oversight. Employers must be mindful of these concerns and choose payroll systems that balance efficiency with trust

  • Improve engagement: Financial wellness and employee morale are deeply intertwined. By providing employees with knowledge and tools to better manage their pay, deductions, and benefits, you can help enhance your employees’ satisfaction in Australia

Download the full report

These findings are just the beginning. By downloading the full 2025 Deel Australia Payday Expectations Report, you’ll gain deeper insights into how Australian employees are responding to changing expectations, such as:

  • What Australian job benefits employees value most
  • How AI and automation are shaping payroll
  • What employers can do to reduce the financial pressures workers face in Australia

Get your copy now to understand the full scope of these trends and how they can shape your business strategy moving forward.

FAQs

Pay transparency in Australia has undergone major reforms in recent years. Employees now have the legal right to discuss their pay and employment conditions with others, and employers are prohibited from including pay secrecy clauses in new or varied employment contracts since December 2022.

Additionally, large employers—those with 100 or more employees—must report annually on their gender pay gaps to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), and this data is made publicly available.

For even larger employers (500+ employees), there are extra requirements to set and report on gender equality targets. These laws aim to improve workplace fairness, close the gender pay gap, and foster a more open and equitable work environment.

The report highlights several major hurdles facing Australian employers when it comes to payroll:

  • Lack of flexibility and customisation: Workers are demanding options beyond traditional pay cycles and fixed benefits—think on-demand pay in Australia or equity options

  • Delayed or inaccurate payments: 34% have experienced payroll issues in the last 12 months, such as payment delays, underpayments, or incorrect deductions

  • Low payroll literacy: Many employees don’t fully understand their payslips or deductions, or don’t know who to contact for payroll questions

  • Scepticism toward AI: Many workers are concerned about AI managing payroll data, and few fully trust AI to handle pay issues without human oversight

  • Financial stress and pay gaps: More than half of workers are using financial services while waiting for their salary, while economic pressure on workers is increasing the demand for on-demand payroll

  • Lack of transparency: Half of employees feel there’s a lack of transparency in how salaries are determined, and a lack of financial education in the workplace

These challenges signal a pressing need for businesses to modernise their payroll systems, prioritise employee financial wellbeing, and balance automation with trust.

Payroll in Australia involves several key steps to ensure employees are paid correctly and employers meet their legal obligations:

  • Calculation of wages: Based on hours worked, applicable awards or enterprise agreements, and any relevant allowances or penalties
  • Tax withholding: Employers must withhold Pay As You Go (PAYG) tax from employee wages and remit it to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
  • Superannuation: Employers are required to pay superannuation contributions into employees’ nominated super funds
  • Single Touch Payroll (STP): Employers must report payroll information (wages, PAYG tax, superannuation) to the ATO in real time each pay cycle using STP-compliant software
  • Record keeping: Employers must maintain accurate payroll records and provide payslips to employees

Read more in our guide to running payroll in Australia.

Earned wage access (EWA) allows employees to access a portion of their earned wages before the traditional payday. While not yet regulated by specific federal laws, EWA is gaining traction as part of broader workforce reforms and digital payroll solutions.

Providers typically integrate with payroll systems to calculate accrued earnings and enable employees to withdraw funds on demand, with the final payroll reconciliation occurring at the end of the pay cycle.

Employers offering EWA in Australia must ensure compliance with all relevant payroll, tax, and superannuation obligations, and should use STP-compliant systems to maintain accurate reporting.

Yes. Deel is an all-in-one payroll and HR solution for teams in Australia and beyond. With Deel Global Payroll, you can consolidate and streamline global payroll operations into one centralised system. Plus, Deel’s real-time payroll feature enables instant gross-to-net calculations for faster, more accurate payroll processing.

You can also hire workers in Australia with Deel EOR or Deel Contractor, manage worker performance and planning, automate IT operations, and more—all without switching platforms.

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