1 · Super — and this is the one that changed
Super is 12% on top of their ordinary earnings, and since 1 July 2026 it has to be paid on every payday. Not quarterly. The old rhythm — bank it up, pay it four times a year — is gone. Under the payday super rules the contribution has to reach their fund within seven business days of you paying them.
Miss it and you are not simply late — you fall into the super guarantee charge, which is not deductible and is calculated on a wider base than the super you were meant to pay. It is one of the few bills in small business that gets meaningfully worse for being small and late.
2 · PAYG withholding — not a cost, but not your money either
You hold tax back out of their pay and send it to the ATO. It never belonged to you, and the trap is purely one of cash flow: the money sits in your account looking like income until the day it does not. How much you hold back depends on whether they have claimed the tax-free threshold, whether they have a HELP debt, and which schedule applies. Get the answer from the ATO's own tax tables rather than a rule of thumb — the difference between the two withholding schedules on a full-time wage is real money.
3 · Workers compensation — before their first day, not after
Every state and territory runs its own scheme, and the premium depends on where you are and what trade you are in, so there is no single number worth quoting here. What is the same everywhere: you need cover in place before they start work, and being between policies is not a defence if someone gets hurt on day one. Your own public liability policy does not cover your employees — that is a different thing entirely, and assuming otherwise is the expensive mistake in this section.
4 · Leave, or the loading instead of it
A permanent employee accrues annual leave and personal leave from their first day. That is not a bill that arrives each week — it is a liability building quietly, and it lands the week they take a holiday and you are paying two people to do one person's work. A casual gets a loading on their hourly rate instead of accruing leave, which is why the hourly figure looks higher; it is not generosity, it is the leave paid as you go.
5 · The award, which sits over all of it
Most trades sit under a modern award, and the award sets the floor: minimum rates by classification and year, allowances, overtime, when penalty rates start. An apprentice's rate moves as they progress. Paying "a fair rate" is not a defence if the award says a different number — the obligation is to the award, not to what feels reasonable, and underpayments are recovered with interest.
What Yamate does with all this
It runs the pay: withholding off the ATO's own schedule, super on the right earnings, overtime and allowances the way the rules treat them, and out comes a payslip that itemises what it has to. It tells you when the super has to reach the fund and nags you before it does, not after. Yamate does not report your payroll to the ATO, and does not claim to. You lodge; Yamate prepares.
FAQ
How much super do I pay an apprentice?
The same 12% of ordinary time earnings as anyone else. Age-based exemptions were removed for most workers, and under-18s have their own hours test — Yamate asks the questions that change the answer rather than assuming.
Do I still pay super quarterly?
No. Since 1 July 2026, super has to be paid on each payday and reach the fund within seven business days.
Can I just put them on as a subcontractor instead?
Only if they genuinely are one. Handing someone an ABN does not make them a contractor — the test looks at how the work actually runs, and getting it wrong means back-paying super, leave and entitlements. If they work your hours, with your tools, under your direction, that is an employee.
What do I need before day one?
Workers compensation cover, their TFN declaration and super choice, their fund details, and a way to produce a payslip within one working day of each pay.
Does a payslip have to be itemised?
Yes — a payslip has to show the specific things the regulations list, including how the pay is made up. "Total: $1,140" on its own is not a payslip.
More for tradies
General information for Australian employers, not tax, legal or industrial relations advice. Super and withholding obligations depend on facts this page cannot see, awards differ by trade and classification, and workers compensation is run separately by each state and territory. The 12% super guarantee rate and the payday super timing were checked on 13 August 2026; check the ATO, Fair Work and your state regulator before you act.