The Small Business Compliance Checklist: Every Obligation in One Place

Running a small business in Australia means carrying compliance obligations across at least five major regulatory domains — simultaneously. Employment law, ATO obligations, WHS compliance, privacy, and corporate/business registration all demand attention, and none of them pause while you're busy running the business.

This checklist is designed for small business owners (1-50 employees) who want a single reference covering all their key compliance obligations. It's structured by domain, with frequency guidance so you know what to check when.

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Domain 1: Employment Law (Fair Work)

Staff Setup

• [ ] Every employee has a written employment contract
• [ ] Employment basis (full-time, part-time, casual) is correctly documented
• [ ] The applicable modern award is identified for each employee
• [ ] Classification level is correctly assigned and documented
• [ ] Part-time hours are agreed in writing
• [ ] Fair Work Information Statement provided to all new employees at commencement
• [ ] Casual Employment Information Statement provided to new casuals
• [ ] The applicable award is accessible to employees

Pay and Entitlements

• [ ] Base pay rates are at or above the current award minimum for each classification (updated 1 July each year)
• [ ] All penalty rates are applied correctly (Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, overtime)
• [ ] Casual loading (25%) applied to every hour for casual employees
• [ ] All allowances required by the award are paid
• [ ] Annual leave loading (17.5%) paid when permanent employees take annual leave
• [ ] No unauthorised deductions are being made from wages

Leave

• [ ] Annual leave is accruing correctly for permanent employees (4 weeks per year, pro-rated for part-time)
• [ ] Personal/carer's leave is accruing correctly (10 days per year, pro-rated)
• [ ] Leave balances are tracked and up to date
• [ ] Public holidays are correctly observed for your state/territory

Superannuation

• [ ] Super guarantee is being paid at 12% of ordinary time earnings
• [ ] Super is paid on the correct earnings base (including penalty rates, casual loadings, allowances)
• [ ] Super is paid on time (quarterly until 30 June 2026; payday super from 1 July 2026)
• [ ] Employees have been given the option to nominate their preferred super fund

Casual Conversion

• [ ] Regular and systematic casuals at 12 months have been assessed for conversion eligibility
• [ ] Conversion offer has been made (or valid grounds for not offering documented)

Record-Keeping

• [ ] Employment records maintained for all current and former employees for 7 years
• [ ] Records include: employment basis, classification, hours, pay rates, leave balances, super
• [ ] Pay slips issued within one working day of each pay period
• [ ] Pay slips include all required information (ABN, gross/net pay, deductions, super)

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Domain 2: Tax and ATO Obligations

Registration

• [ ] ABN registered and details current (address, contact, business activities) with the ABR
• [ ] GST registration current if turnover exceeds $75,000 (or $150,000 for non-profits)
• [ ] PAYG withholding registration in place if you have employees

BAS and GST

• [ ] BAS lodged on time (monthly, quarterly, or annually — as per your registration)
• [ ] GST calculated correctly on all taxable supplies
• [ ] GST-free and input-taxed supplies correctly identified

STP Phase 2

• [ ] STP Phase 2 configured in payroll software
• [ ] Income types are disaggregated (ordinary pay, overtime, allowances, leave separately)
• [ ] Year-end finalisation completed by 14 July each year
• [ ] Employee TFN declarations on file

Payday Super (from 1 July 2026)

• [ ] Payroll software confirms it will support payday super from 1 July 2026
• [ ] SBSCH or alternative clearing house ready for more frequent super payments

TPAR (Building and Cleaning Industries)

• [ ] TPAR lodged annually by 28 August if your business makes contractor payments in the applicable industries

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Domain 3: Work Health and Safety

Core Obligations

• [ ] WHS hazard register documented
• [ ] Risk assessments conducted for significant hazards
• [ ] Safe work procedures in place for hazardous activities
• [ ] Emergency procedures documented and communicated
• [ ] First aid kit current and accessible; trained first aider available
• [ ] Workers compensation insurance current

Workers

• [ ] New workers inducted before commencing work
• [ ] Workers trained in relevant safe work procedures
• [ ] Workers consulted on WHS matters

Incidents

• [ ] Incident reporting system in place
• [ ] Notifiable incidents reported to the WHS regulator (death, serious injury/illness, dangerous incident)
• [ ] Incident records maintained

Psychosocial Hazards

• [ ] Psychosocial hazards identified (bullying, harassment, excessive work demands, fatigue)
• [ ] Controls in place for identified hazards
• [ ] Anti-bullying and harassment policy communicated to all workers

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Domain 4: Privacy (Privacy Act 1988)

Note: The Privacy Act's $3 million turnover exemption excludes healthcare providers (all sizes) and certain other entity types.

• [ ] Privacy Policy is current and publicly available
• [ ] Personal information collected only for legitimate purposes
• [ ] Client/customer data is stored securely (encrypted systems, access controls)
• [ ] Data breach response plan exists
• [ ] Staff trained on privacy obligations
• [ ] Patient/client access requests handled correctly

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Domain 5: Corporate and Business Registration

• [ ] Business name registration current (renewed 1 or 3 yearly via ASIC)
• [ ] Company annual review fee paid (for companies — due on registration anniversary)
• [ ] ASIC details up to date (registered address, directors)
• [ ] ABN details current with ABR

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Compliance Calendar: What to Do When

| Frequency | Obligation | | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Each pay run | Pay slips, STP reporting | | Monthly (if registered) | BAS lodgement | | Quarterly | BAS lodgement (if quarterly), super payments (until June 2026), WHS hazard review | | 1 July each year | Award rate increases take effect — update payroll | | 14 July | STP year-end finalisation | | 28 August | TPAR lodgement (if applicable) | | 21 May | FBT return (if applicable) | | Annually | Workers comp renewal, business name renewal, company review, Privacy Policy review | | As needed | New employee onboarding, casual conversion assessment, licence renewals |

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The Challenge of Managing It All

Even this checklist — which covers the core obligations — runs to more than 60 items. And these are just the universal ones. Layer on industry-specific obligations (liquor licensing, AFSL, AHPRA, building licences), and the picture gets considerably more complex.

Most small businesses manage compliance reactively — responding to notices, paying fines, and scrambling to fix problems after they've been identified. That's an expensive and stressful way to operate.

Reguladar is built to change that. It gives Australian small business owners a personalised compliance dashboard showing exactly which obligations apply to their specific business, when they fall due, and what they need to do next.

One dashboard. All your obligations.

Start your free compliance check at Reguladar →

This checklist is general information only. Requirements vary by industry, state, and business type. Seek professional advice for your situation.