EOFY Payroll Checklist for Hospitality Businesses
Payroll is where most hospitality venues carry the highest compliance risk at EOFY.
The combination of large casual workforces, complex penalty rates, annualised salary arrangements and the arrival of Payday Super on 1 July makes this a payroll-heavy end of year. The obligations are specific and the deadlines are firm.
This checklist covers what needs to happen before 30 June, what falls due shortly after, and what your payroll setup needs to look like from 1 July.
Key Dates
Date What's Due
28 June 2026 Last day to process bonuses and commissions to include in this year's income statements
30 June 2026 End of financial year. Last pay run of FY2026.
1 July 2026 Payday Super begins. New award rates take effect from first full pay period on or after this date.
14 July 2026 STP finalisation declaration due.
28 July 2026 Final quarterly super guarantee payment due (Q4, April to June).
1. Reconcile Your Payroll Before the Year Closes
Before you lodge your STP finalisation, your payroll records need to be accurate and complete.
Run a year-to-date payroll summary and check it against what has been reported to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll. The figures need to match across gross wages, PAYG withholding and super contributions.
Common gaps to look for in hospitality payroll:
Pay runs that were processed late or not at all
Incorrect penalty rate classifications (casual loading, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday)
Leave balances that do not reconcile with actual time taken
Manual adjustments made throughout the year that were not properly coded
Termination payments processed without correct PAYG withholding calculations
If you find discrepancies, lodge STP amendments before you submit your finalisation declaration. Corrections made after finalisation take longer to process and can delay your employees' tax returns.
2. Process Bonuses and Commissions by 28 June
Any bonuses, commissions or back-pay you want included in this financial year's income statements need to be processed by 28 June at the latest.
If a payment is processed after 30 June, it moves into FY2027. That affects both your deduction timing and the employee's income statement for their own tax return.
Do not leave bonus runs to the last day. Late processing creates errors and puts unnecessary pressure on an already busy payroll period.
3. Lodge Your STP Finalisation by 14 July
STP finalisation is how your employees access their income statements through myGov to lodge their own tax returns.
After your last pay run for the financial year, you need to submit a finalisation declaration in your payroll software confirming that all year-to-date figures for wages, PAYG withholding and super are complete and correct.
The deadline is 14 July 2026 for most employers.
Before you submit, confirm:
All pay runs for the year have been processed and posted
Year-to-date figures reconcile to your payroll reports
Super guarantee amounts match what was actually paid
Employee details are current including TFNs, addresses and fund information
Reportable fringe benefits and reportable employer super contributions are correctly coded if applicable
Late or inaccurate STP finalisation means your employees cannot lodge their tax returns and can attract ATO scrutiny.
4. Complete Your Annualised Salary Reconciliation
If you employ any non-managerial staff on annualised salary arrangements under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, you are required by Fair Work to conduct an annual reconciliation.
This means comparing the annualised salary paid to each employee against what they would have been entitled to if paid hourly under the Award, including all penalty rates and overtime based on actual hours worked.
The reconciliation must be done every 12 months from the date the arrangement commenced or upon termination of the arrangement, whichever comes first.
If the comparison shows a shortfall, you must pay the employee the difference within 14 days.
To complete the reconciliation you need:
Timesheets or records of actual start and finish times, signed weekly by the employee
The applicable Award rates and penalty rates for the period
A comparison of annualised salary paid versus what hourly entitlements would have totalled
Do not skip this. The Fair Work Ombudsman is active in hospitality and underpayment identified during an audit is more costly to resolve than a shortfall found and fixed at EOFY.
Note: Managerial Staff (Hotels) arrangements operate differently and do not have the same mandatory annual reconciliation requirement. Confirm which arrangement applies to each salaried employee.
5. Review Casual Employment Records
EOFY is a practical time to review your casual workforce records.
Casual employees who have been engaged regularly and systematically for 12 months or more have the right under the Fair Work Act to request conversion to permanent employment. While you are not required to convert, you are required to have assessed eligibility and responded appropriately.
Check that each long-term casual has:
A current and accurate engagement record
Correct casual loading applied to all hours (25% on top of the ordinary hourly rate)
Correct penalty rates applied for weekend, evening and public holiday shifts
Errors in casual pay calculations compound over a year. EOFY is the time to identify and correct them before they carry into FY2027.
6. Check Termination Payments Processed During the Year
If any employees left the venue during FY2026, confirm their final pay was processed correctly.
Termination payments in hospitality often include a combination of unused annual leave, annual leave loading, and in some cases long service leave. Each of these has different tax treatment under PAYG withholding rules.
Also confirm that super was paid on any termination entitlements where it was required. Unpaid super on terminated employees is one of the most common issues the ATO identifies through STP data matching.
7. Prepare Payroll for Payday Super on 1 July
Payday Super is the most significant operational change arriving at EOFY. From 1 July 2026, super must be paid at the same time as wages and received by the employee's fund within seven business days of each payday.
For hospitality venues, this changes the payroll process fundamentally. Super is no longer a quarterly task. It becomes part of every pay run.
Before the first July pay run, your payroll setup needs to be ready. That means:
Clear your clearing house
The ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closes on 30 June 2026. If you currently use it, you must have migrated to a SuperStream-compliant provider before 1 July. Do not leave this to the last week of June.
Confirm Payday Super compliance in your payroll software
Your payroll system needs to support Payday Super reporting. Most major platforms including Xero have released updates for this. Check that your software is configured correctly and test a pay run before 1 July if possible.
Rebuild your cashflow forecast
The quarterly super float disappears on 1 July. If your venue has relied on that balance to manage cashflow between quarters, your operating cashflow picture changes from 1 July. Model this now.
8. Update for New Award Rates from 1 July
The Fair Work Commission hands down its Annual Wage Review decision each year in early June, with new minimum rates applying from the first full pay period on or after 1 July.
For FY2025-26, the Commission delivered a 3.5% increase. The FY2026-27 decision is expected in June 2026. The outcome is not confirmed at the time of writing, but an increase is likely.
Once the decision is handed down, you need to update your payroll software with the new rates before your first pay run in July.
Check rates under the relevant award for your venue. Most hospitality operators fall under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (MA000009), though some restaurants may be covered by the Restaurant Industry Award (MA000003). Confirm which applies before updating rates.
Pay rates to review include:
Base rates for each classification level
Casual loading (25%)
Saturday and Sunday penalty rates
Public holiday penalty rates
Evening and overtime rates
Junior rates where applicable
9. Check Your Payroll Records Are Complete
Under the Fair Work Act, payroll records must be kept for seven years. EOFY is a practical prompt to make sure records for FY2026 are complete, stored correctly and accessible.
Records that must be kept include pay slips, timesheets, leave records, contracts, and records supporting any annualised salary arrangements.
Payroll Checklist Summary
Before 30 June
Year-to-date payroll reconciled against STP-reported figures
STP amendments lodged for any corrections found
Bonuses and commissions processed by 28 June
Q4 super payment initiated with enough lead time for fund receipt before 30 June (if claiming FY2026 deduction)
Super on terminated employees confirmed paid
Annualised salary reconciliation completed for relevant employees
SBSCH migration to new clearing house completed
By 14 July
STP finalisation declaration lodged
By 28 July
Q4 super guarantee payment received by funds
From 1 July
Payday Super running through new clearing house
Payroll software updated for new award rates
Cashflow forecasts updated to reflect weekly or fortnightly super payments
Payroll compliance in hospitality is complex, and the stakes at EOFY are higher than most operators realise. If you are not confident your payroll is accurate heading into 30 June, or your Payday Super setup is not ready, our hospitality payroll services and bookkeeping support are here to help.