How to Read Your Payslip and Self-Check for Wage Underpayment

Reading Your Payslip and Self-Checking for Wage Underpayment

Everyone working in Australia is protected by award minimum wages, regardless of visa type. This guide shows you how to read your payslip properly and cross-check it against Fair Work's official calculator to spot underpayment yourself. Reporting and remedies are covered in the workplace problems and underpayment reporting guide, and pay-level comparisons in the salary guide.

What is a payslip and why does it matter?

A payslip is a legal document that shows, item by item, how your pay was calculated. In Australia, employers must provide one in paper or electronic form within one working day of payday. Rather than blatantly low hourly rates, underpayment often appears in forms you can only spot if you know how to read a payslip — missing penalty rates, unpaid super, unpaid training. This guide focuses on how to detect underpayment yourself.

How this guide relates to the other guides

This guide covers only how to read payslips and run a self-check. For the reporting and remedy process after you find underpayment (Fair Work Ombudsman, etc.), see the "workplace problems and underpayment reporting" guide, and to compare pay levels for your occupation, see the "salary" guide. In short: use this guide to check whether you are paid at least the legal minimum, and the salary guide to check whether you are paid the going market rate.

What payslips must legally include, and the duty to provide them

Fair Work legislation sets out the items that must appear on a payslip. If even one of the items below is missing, that is a breach in itself — and underpayment may be hiding alongside it. Open your own payslip and check them off one by one.

How to read gross, net, PAYG and super

Gross is your total pay before tax; net is your take-home pay after PAYG withholding tax and other deductions. PAYG (Pay As You Go) is income tax your employer withholds from your pay and remits to the ATO, and it is reconciled at tax time. Super is not deducted from your wages — it is retirement savings your employer pays on top of your wages, and from July 2025 the legal minimum contribution rate (Super Guarantee) is 12% of ordinary time earnings (OTE) (this can change from year to year — check the ATO for the latest). On weekends, nights and public holidays, penalty rates higher than the base hourly rate apply under your award, and casual employees usually receive a 25% casual loading.

The employer's name and ABN, the employee's name, the date of payment and the pay period it covers
The gross (pre-tax) and net (after-tax) amounts — if you are paid hourly, the hourly rate applied and the number of hours worked at that rate
The amount of each loading, allowance, bonus and deduction, plus the super contribution amount and the name of the fund it is paid into

Electronic payslips sent by email or app are valid, but not providing them at all, or only handing them over when asked, is a breach. Keep every payslip you receive — don't delete any.

What to prepare before your self-check

For an accurate check, you need to lay "what your employer gave you" and "your own records" side by side. Gathering the three things below first makes the PACT calculation and cross-checking much easier.

Every payslip you have received, your employment contract (offer letter), and the bank statements showing your pay deposits
Your own record of actual hours worked — roster photos, notes of start and finish times, Fair Work's free Record My Hours app, and so on
Your myGov account (linked to ATO services) and your super fund's online account — for verifying actual super deposits

If you don't know which award applies to you, you can search by industry and job with PACT's award finder. Also check that it matches the award or agreement named in your employment contract.

4 common signs of wage underpayment

Underpayment more often shows up in "looks-fine" forms like the four below than as an obviously low hourly rate. If even one applies to you, start the 5-step self-check in the next section straight away.

Cash in hand with no payslips

If you are paid in cash with no records and receive no payslips either, there is no way to verify whether tax and super are being handled. If your employer won't provide payslips even when asked, start keeping your own record of your hours and deposits.

Flat rate with no penalty rates

If you get the same hourly rate on weekends, nights and public holidays as on weekdays, penalty rates may be missing. A flat rate that falls short of award penalties without a basis such as a registered agreement is underpayment.

Unpaid probation or unpaid training

Conditions like "unpaid because you're on probation" or "half pay during training" are, as a rule, not allowed. Apart from a brief pre-hiring skills demonstration (unpaid trial), training time must also be paid.

Super shown on paper but not paid

Cases where super appears on the payslip but nothing arrives in the fund account are common. If deposits have been missing for a long stretch, suspect unpaid super and check via myGov (ATO).

The 5-step self-check procedure

Work through the steps below in order and you can get a rough read on whether you are being underpaid in a short time. The key tool is PACT (Pay and Conditions Tool), the Fair Work Ombudsman's official calculator.

Step 1 — Calculate with PACT — enter your industry, job, age and employment type at calculate.fairwork.gov.au to find your award minimum hourly rate and your weekend, night and public holiday penalties
Step 2 — Cross-check your payslip — compare hourly rate, hours, penalties, allowances and deductions against the PACT results and your actual work records item by item, and check that the net amount matches your bank deposit
Step 3 — Verify actual super deposits — check the actual deposit history in your fund account or myGov (ATO), not just the payslip line (super shown on paper but never paid is a frequent pattern)
Step 4 — Keep records — keep logging rosters, start and finish times, payslips and messages with the Record My Hours app or similar to build up your evidence
Step 5 — Tally the shortfall and take the next step — set out period, hours and shortfall in a table, raise it with your employer in writing, and if unresolved, follow the procedures (FWO, ATO) in the workplace problems and underpayment reporting guide

Cautions and common misconceptions

These are the mistakes and misconceptions that come up most often in self-checks. Misunderstandings about super and visas in particular can easily turn into real losses, so be sure to read them.

The misconception that "super is on my payslip, so it's been paid" — what's printed and what's actually deposited are two different things. Always verify in your fund account or via myGov (ATO).
Being asked to get an ABN when you are effectively an employee (possible sham contracting) — if you work the hours and in the manner your employer directs, minimum wage and super entitlements may apply to you as an employee regardless of the contract's form. If unsure, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Minimum wage and award rates rise every 1 July — check whether you are still being paid the pre-increase rate, and re-check your post-July payslips against the latest PACT figures.
Putting off record-keeping until the evidence disappears — capture and back up rosters and messages before they are wiped from apps or deleted. It's safest to make record-keeping a habit now, not after you start sensing a problem.
Staying silent for fear that "reporting will get my visa cancelled" — even on a temporary visa you have the same workplace rights, and protections are in place for visa holders. See the workplace problems and underpayment reporting guide for details.

Useful official links

Frequently Asked Questions

My employer doesn't give me payslips — is that illegal?▾

Yes. In Australia, employers must provide a payslip in paper or electronic form within one working day of payday — this is a legal obligation under Fair Work legislation. It applies even while the employee is on leave. If you ask and still don't receive them, that in itself is a classic sign of underpayment, so start keeping your own record of your work hours and pay deposits.

Is it illegal to be paid in cash?▾

Being paid in cash is legal in itself, but tax (PAYG) withholding, payslips and super contributions must still be handled in exactly the same way. Cash-in-hand payments that leave no records and come with no payslip often go hand in hand with below-minimum wages and unpaid super, so they call for particular caution.

I'm on a working holiday or student visa — do I still get the same minimum wage as Australian citizens?▾

Yes. Award minimum wages and penalty rates apply equally regardless of your visa type. There is no situation where a lower hourly rate is allowed because you are "on a temporary visa" or "your English isn't good enough". The Fair Work Ombudsman advises that even if you worked in breach of your visa conditions, you keep your right to be paid for the hours you worked.

If super appears on my payslip, can I assume everything is fine?▾

No. The super line on a payslip only shows the amount that should be contributed — it does not guarantee the payment was actually made. Always check the actual deposit history in your super fund account or via myGov (linked to ATO services). If contributions are missing, you can ask the ATO to investigate unpaid super.

I get the same hourly rate (flat rate) on weekends and public holidays as on weekdays — is that okay?▾

A flat rate is not automatically illegal, but it is only allowed where there is a proper basis such as a registered enterprise agreement and your overall pay is at or above the award minimum. Use the PACT calculator to work out your minimum entitlement including weekend, night and public holiday penalties, and compare it with what you are actually paid. A flat rate that doesn't reflect penalty rates is a common form of underpayment.

My employer says I'm unpaid because it's a "training period" — is that legal?▾

As a rule, training and induction time after you are hired is work time and must be paid. Unpaid arrangements are allowed only in very limited cases, such as a brief unpaid work trial to demonstrate your skills before a hiring decision is made. Unpaid training stretching over several days, or "unpaid/half-pay because you're on probation" conditions, are classic signs of underpayment.

If I discover I've been underpaid, who do I tell and how?▾

First, set out the period, hours worked and the shortfall, and ask your employer in writing to look into it. If it isn't resolved, report wage and entitlement issues to the Fair Work Ombudsman and unpaid super to the ATO. Detailed reporting steps and the protections available to visa holders are covered in the workplace problems and underpayment reporting guide.