- From 1 July 2026, Payday Super will require employers to pay superannuation at the same time as wages, with contributions generally required to reach the employee’s fund within seven business days.
- Flexible work, parental leave and the right to disconnect continue to reshape how employers manage working arrangements and employee expectations.
- Workplace compliance is moving from reactive policy management to proactive risk prevention, particularly in relation to sexual harassment and psychosocial safety.
- Employers should review payroll systems, employment contracts, flexible work processes and workplace risk controls before the 2026 changes take effect.
Australian workplace law is entering a more operationally demanding phase.
For many employers, compliance has historically meant maintaining policies, responding to employee complaints and correcting issues once they arise. That approach is becoming increasingly insufficient. The current regulatory direction is clear: employers are expected to prevent risk, document decision-making and integrate compliance into day-to-day business systems.
So, what does this mean in practice? It means workplace compliance is becoming less about what sits in a folder and more about what actually happens across payroll, HR, leadership and daily decision-making.
For leaders, 2026 is not just another year of employment law updates. It is a timely reminder to review whether workplace systems, contracts, policies and leadership practices are keeping pace. So, what should employers be doing this year? We have set out the practical next steps at the bottom of this article.
Payday Super: a significant payroll shift
From 1 July 2026, the Payday Super regime commences.
Employers will no longer be able to rely on quarterly superannuation payment cycles. Instead, superannuation guarantee contributions must be paid at the same time as salary and wages, and generally received by the employee’s superannuation fund within seven business days of payday.
Is your payroll process ready for that change? For many businesses, the answer will depend on whether their systems, clearing house arrangements and internal approvals can keep up with the shorter timeframe.
This change has practical implications for cash flow, payroll processing and governance. Employers should ensure their payroll software, clearing house arrangements and internal approval processes are capable of meeting the shorter timeframe.
Late payments may expose employers to the Superannuation Guarantee Charge, interest and penalties. Directors should also be conscious that systemic or intentional underpayment issues may have broader consequences, particularly in an environment of increased scrutiny around wage compliance.
Personal rights and flexible work
Employee rights around family responsibilities, flexibility and working hours continue to expand.
From 1 July 2026, the Government Paid Parental Leave scheme increases to 26 weeks. The scheme also continues to encourage shared care through reserved “use it or lose it” days for each parent in a couple.
At the same time, flexible working arrangements are receiving closer scrutiny. Employers who refuse flexible work requests should ensure they have clear, role-specific evidence to support their decision. General preferences, broad return-to-office policies or assumptions about productivity may not be enough.
A useful question for employers is this: if challenged, could we clearly explain why a flexible work request cannot be accommodated in this specific role? If the answer is unclear, the process may need attention.
The right to disconnect is also now operational across businesses of all sizes. Employees may refuse to monitor, read or respond to out-of-hours contact unless that refusal is unreasonable. This does not prevent all after-hours contact, but it does require employers to be clear and sensible about when contact is genuinely necessary.
Positive duty and psychosocial safety
A further shift is occurring in how workplace harm is regulated.
Under the positive duty framework, employers must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, workplace sexual harassment, sex discrimination and related victimisation. This is not a complaint-driven obligation. Employers are expected to take proactive steps, even where no formal complaint has been made.
In other words, waiting for a complaint is no longer enough. Employers need to ask whether risks are being identified early, managed consistently and addressed at a leadership level.
Psychosocial safety is also now a core work health and safety issue. Risks such as excessive workloads, poor role clarity, inadequate support, bullying, harassment and exposure to traumatic material should be treated with the same seriousness as physical safety risks.
Importantly, lower-order controls such as policies, training and Employee Assistance Programs should not be the only response. Employers should also consider whether work design, resourcing, reporting lines, workloads and leadership practices are creating or reducing risk.
Gender equality and restraints
Large employers should also be aware of the new WGEA gender equality target-setting requirements. Employers with 500 or more employees are now required to select and make progress against gender equality targets, including at least one numerical target.
Looking further ahead, proposed reforms to non-compete clauses are expected to change the way employers approach post-employment restraints. Employers should ensure any restraint clauses are carefully drafted, commercially justified and no broader than necessary to protect legitimate business interests.
Are your employment contracts still fit for purpose, or have they simply been carried forward from year to year? With restraint clauses under increasing scrutiny, this is a good time to check.
What should employers do now?
Employers should use 2026 as an opportunity to conduct a practical workplace compliance review.
This should include reviewing payroll systems, superannuation processes, parental leave policies, flexible work procedures, employment contracts, workplace behaviour policies and psychosocial risk controls.
The key question is no longer simply, “Do we have a policy?” It is, “Can we show that our systems, leaders and workplace practices are actively managing the risk?”
If you would like to discuss how these workplace changes may affect your business, or would like assistance reviewing your employment arrangements, please contact Adam Doughman or a member of the RedeMont Employment law team.
