2026 employment law changes in Australia: What frontline employers should expect

Australia’s employment landscape will continue to evolve in 2026, with several key reforms that will reshape how organisations manage, pay and protect their workers. For employers with large frontline workforces — those operating across Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare, Aged Care, and more — these changes will require more than policy tweaks. They’ll demand operational readiness, payroll precision and a renewed focus on wellbeing and fairness.

Below, we unpack the main reforms on the horizon, why they matter, and what employers can do now to prepare. This article is for informational purposes and was correct at the time of publication. Always seek legal, financial or industrial relations or other professional advice.

1. Payday Super: Superannuation paid with every pay cycle

From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay superannuation at the same time as employees’ ordinary pay, rather than quarterly. The “Payday Super” legislation, introduced in 2025, aims to ensure workers receive their super in real time and to close the compliance gap where contributions were delayed or missed.

For large frontline employers with weekly or fortnightly pay cycles, this shift will significantly increase the frequency and visibility of payments. Payroll systems will need to report both qualifying earnings and super liabilities through Single Touch Payroll, and the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) will be phased out and closed permanently on July 1, 2026.

These changes will shift superannuation into a near real-time system, supported by updated SuperStream standards. Faster payments, improved error messages and new tools, such as member verification requests, are designed to help employers fix issues quickly and ensure contributions reach funds within the new seven-day window.

The compliance environment will also become more immediate. With the ATO assessing late payments and applying daily compounding interest, employers will need reliable processes and accurate data at each pay cycle. Even small delays or errors will have faster consequences, making automation and strong payroll–fund connections increasingly important.

Why it matters

• Frontline employers often operate on tight margins and high headcounts, meaning more frequent super payments could affect cash flow

• Payroll accuracy becomes non-negotiable: a missed or late contribution could trigger penalties and reputational damage

• Labour-hire and contractor arrangements will need review to ensure all eligible workers receive timely contributions

What you can do to prepare

• Audit your payroll and super systems now to ensure they can process contributions each pay cycle

• Map your pay and remittance timelines to identify bottlenecks or manual steps that could cause delays

• Forecast cash-flow impacts and adjust budgets to account for the new payment rhythm

• Update employment contracts and payroll policies to reflect new definitions and payment terms

• Engage early with your clearing house, super fund or payroll provider to confirm readiness for the July 2026 start date

• For further information, visit the ATO website

• Contact Humanforce to learn more about how Humanforce Payroll can support this change

Keen to hear more about how payday super will impact your frontline business? Reps from Humanforce and our partner Prince Consulting chatted with Emma Rosenzweig, the ATO’s Deputy Commissioner, Payday Super Program, about the changes in a recent webinar. Listen to the on-demand webinar here.

2. Gender-based reclassification of Awards

The Fair Work Commission (FWC)’s gender-based undervaluation review of Priority Awards is reshaping pay and classification structures across several female-dominated sectors, including Aged Care, Early Childhood, Community Services, Pharmacy and Healthcare.

Following the Commission’s April 2025 decision acknowledging gender-based undervaluation in several priority awards, it mandated changes to minimum award rates to begin rectifying that undervaluation. Further determinations — including revised classification structures for other priority awards — are expected through 2026 or beyond.

These reforms are likely to result in increased minimum wages and altered job-classification structures in key frontline sectors. For employers, the impact could extend beyond wages, affecting enterprise agreements, supply-chain costs, contract pricing, staffing budgets and overall cost structures.

For readers looking for more details — including which awards are affected, the scale and timing of wage increases, and what employers should do to prepare — a good reference is the FWC’s own explanation: “Gender undervaluation – priority awards review”.

Why it matters

• Many frontline workforces are female-dominant, so reclassification could lead to immediate wage increases and structural pay adjustments

• Enterprise agreements referencing outdated award classifications may become non-compliant

• Labour-hire and contractor pricing may need revision as suppliers adjust to new award costs

What you can do to prepare

• Map which modern awards apply across your workforce and whether they are part of the review

• Benchmark current classifications and identify roles that may be re-rated or reclassified

• Model potential cost impacts and update financial forecasts accordingly.

• Review enterprise agreements, contracts and pay policies to ensure they align with any new award structures

• Engage with unions, employee groups or consultants early to anticipate and manage wage negotiations

• Contact Humanforce about our Awards & Compliance solution, which is fueled by a sophisticated pay conditions engine. This solution also contains an Awards Library, which can help employers keep track of pending changes to awards.

3. Psychosocial hazard management: Jurisdictional harmonisation

Psychosocial hazards — such as high job demands, aggression, bullying, fatigue and poor workplace support — have been formally regulated under WHS laws since 2022. With the release of the Model Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (2024) and its progressive adoption across jurisdictions, regulators now treat psychosocial hazards with the same enforceability as physical risks.

A major step occurred on 1 December 2025, when Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 commenced. These regulations require employers to identify psychosocial hazards, assess associated risks, implement control measures (preferably higher-order controls such as job design and workload management), and review controls whenever workplace changes or incidents occur. Together with codes already adopted in NSW and other jurisdictions, this marks a nationwide shift toward explicit, consistent psychosocial-risk obligations.

For frontline workplaces with volatile workloads or frequent customer interactions, these changes raise compliance expectations and sharpen regulator focus on psychological health. While these laws have been in place for some time now, their coverage and enforceability continue to increase — making this an important consideration for frontline businesses going into 2026.

Why it matters

• Frontline workers are statistically at greater risk of psychological injury due to high-pressure and customer-facing environments. An HRD Australia report on a survey of more than 21,000 frontline employees found that over half had recently faced abusive or threatening customers, and those workers were more likely to feel unsafe at work, physically unwell from stress and burned out

• The duty to identify and control psychosocial hazards now sits within core WHS obligations. Failure to comply can result in penalties such as fines and prosecution (in more serious cases)

What you can do to prepare

• Conduct a psychosocial-risk audit across your frontline operations to pinpoint high-stress or high-exposure environments

• Update your WHS management system so psychosocial hazards are identified, assessed and controlled like any other workplace risk

• Train leaders and managers in psychosocial risk awareness, early intervention and supportive supervision

• Integrate mental-health incidents into existing hazard and incident-reporting systems to capture near-misses and emerging trends

• Monitor developments in each jurisdiction and align your policies with the 2024 Code of Practice where applicable

4. Gender pay gap reporting & pay equity obligations

The expansion of gender pay gap transparency requirements is reshaping expectations for employers across Australia. Under the strengthened WGEA reporting rules, medium and large organisations must now submit detailed gender-segmented remuneration data, with portions of this data published publicly. This marks a move toward greater accountability, pushing businesses to confront structural inequities that have traditionally been hidden within aggregate workforce metrics.

For frontline employers — especially those with large award-covered, shift-based or casual-heavy teams — this reporting introduces new scrutiny. Sector-wide comparisons create reputational drivers for employers to show progress, not just compliance. The reforms also tie into broader government action on gender equality, including targets for large employers (500+ employees) and deeper analysis of pay composition, bonus distribution, role clustering and under-representation in higher-paid levels.

Why it matters

• Reporting increases transparency around pay equity and may influence employer branding, retention, and workforce trust

• For larger employers, published data could expose gender disparities which can increase pressure to address structural inequalities

What you can do to prepare

• Review your workforce data: gender, pay, role type, level, contract type and remuneration structure

• Benchmark your pay structure against industry and national data, paying attention to pay quartiles, total remuneration (including bonuses, overtime, superannuation), and role distribution

• Develop (or update) a pay-equity strategy: include policies, internal targets (especially if over 500 employees), and transparency measures for future reporting cycles

• Contact Humanforce about the full suite of reports available in our People Analytics solution. For example, our remuneration reports can provide an overview of annual spend on remuneration across the workforce, including information such as the gender pay gap.

• Visit the WGEA Reporting Guide for more information and resources to assist with Private Sector and Public Sector Gender Equality Reporting

What 2026 means for frontline employers
Expect greater scrutiny and accountability around gender equity. Aligning pay practices, role-allocation and remuneration within frontline workforces will be more important than ever, especially in sectors with large shift- or casual-based staffing.

Also on the radar: Other reforms to monitor and strengthen compliance towards

Right to Disconnect Laws

Employees now have a statutory right to refuse unreasonable work-related contact outside their ordinary working hours. This law came into effect on:

• 26 August 2024 for larger businesses (with more than 15 employees)

• 26 August 2025 for smaller businesses (with less than 15 employees)

This reform aims to reduce fatigue and safeguard wellbeing — an area particularly relevant to frontline settings where rostering, on-call arrangements and supervisor escalation pathways often blur boundaries.
For frontline employers, the practical impact will centre on:

• Clarifying when managers or schedulers can contact staff (e.g., shift swaps, emergencies)

• Setting expectations for response times, and

• Updating escalation protocols for after-hours issues

Useful government source:

• Fair Work Ombudsman — Right to Disconnect explainer:
  https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/legislation-changes/closing-loopholes/right-to-disconnect

Fair Work Act Review (ongoing through 2025–26)

The federal government is conducting a series of reviews and evaluations of recent Fair Work Act reforms, including definitions of employee vs contractor status, protections for gig workers, and the operation of multi-employer bargaining and flexible work provisions. More specifically, a formal review of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay, and Closing Loopholes amendments are underway.

While final outcomes are not yet released, the review is expected to influence award coverage, rostering flexibility, and pathways to collective bargaining — all of which may materially affect frontline-heavy industries such as Retail, Hospitality, Health and Services.

Useful government / legal sources:

• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations — legislative changes overview:
  https://www.dewr.gov.au/workplace-relations-legislation

• Parliamentary review commentary (general briefing): https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library

Disclaimer: This document contains general information only and is not intended to constitute legal, financial, industrial relations or other professional advice. While care has been taken to ensure accuracy at the time of publication, the information may not reflect the most current legal or regulatory developments. Employers should not rely on this content when making decisions and should seek independent professional advice regarding their obligations under applicable laws and awards. Humanforce accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on the information contained in this document.

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