How to Employ Someone in WA: Your First Employee Checklist 2026

Published: 5 November 2026

To employ someone in WA, first work out whether your business is in the national Fair Work system or the WA state system, then find the right award and pay rate, register for PAYG withholding, and take out workers compensation with a licensed insurer before the person starts. Set up Single Touch Payroll software, because super (12% of qualifying earnings) now has to reach the fund within 7 business days of each payday. On day one you collect a TFN declaration and super choice form and, in the national system, give a Fair Work Information Statement. WA payroll tax doesn't start until your Australian wages pass $1 million a year.

Last fact-checked: 4 November 2026, against the Fair Work Ombudsman, the ATO, WorkCover WA, RevenueWA, the WA Government's Wageline guidance and the Clerks and General Retail awards. Pay rates, rules and job numbers change; follow the linked source before you act.

Key points

Pty Ltd companies are in the national Fair Work system. Sole traders, unincorporated partnerships and trusts are in the WA state system, where the State Minimum Wage is $26.27 an hour (the national minimum is $26.44).
Register for PAYG withholding before your first payment, even if you'll withhold $0.
Workers compensation is compulsory. Being uninsured can cost up to $10,000 per worker in fines plus 5 years of avoided premiums. WorkCover WA's recommended minimum premium for 2026/27 is $325.
Since 1 July 2026, super must reach the employee's fund within 7 business days of each payday. A new employee's first contribution gets 20 business days.
Give the super choice form within 28 days of the start date, issue pay slips within 1 working day of payday and keep records for 7 years.
WA payroll tax is 5.5% of taxable wages, but only once your Australian wages pass $1 million a year ($83,333 a month).

How to employ someone in WA: the steps in order

Work through these 12 steps in this order. Steps 1 to 7 happen before the person's first shift: PAYG registration has to come before the first pay, and workers compensation has to cover them from day one.

Decide it's an employee, not a contractor. The test is the whole working relationship, not what the contract calls it (see below).
Work out your system. Company (Pty Ltd) = national Fair Work system. Sole trader, partnership or trust without a company = WA state system.
Choose full-time, part-time or casual and find the award that covers the job. The award sets the minimum rate, penalty rates and the casual loading.
Register for PAYG withholding with the ATO through Online services for business, your tax agent or the Australian Business Register.
Take out workers compensation with a licensed insurer, starting before the employee's first day.
Set up STP-enabled payroll software and a way to pay super each payday. The ATO's free Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is no longer available from 1 July 2026.
Write the job ad and the employment contract. The ad can't advertise pay below the award. Our WA employment contract template covers the clauses to include.
Check the right to work if the person isn't an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Use VEVO for organisations, with the visa holder's permission.
Collect day-one forms: TFN declaration, super choice form, bank details and emergency contact.
Give the information statements: the Fair Work Information Statement to everyone, plus the casual or fixed term statement where it applies.
Run a safety induction on the hazards, emergency procedures and how to report an injury.
Pay correctly from the first payday: report through STP on or before payday, issue a pay slip within 1 working day, and get super to the fund on time.

Fair Work also points first-time employers to the free business.gov.au hiring checklist and its Employment Contract Tool, which builds a contract for award-covered staff on hourly or weekly pay.

Is your business in the national or WA state system?

Your business structure decides which employment law applies. If you trade through a company, you're in the national system run by the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission. If you're a sole trader, an unincorporated partnership or an unincorporated trust, you're in the WA state system run by Wageline and the WA Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC).

Which employment system applies in WA (WA Government and WAIRC)
Business structure	System	Minimum adult wage from 1 July 2026	Unfair dismissal claims go to
Pty Ltd company (trading or financial corporation)	National (Fair Work Act)	$26.44/hr, $1,004.90/wk (or the award rate)	Fair Work Commission, within 21 days
Sole trader	WA state system	$26.27/hr, $998.30/wk (or the WA award rate)	WAIRC, within 28 days
Partnership or trust with no company partner or trustee	WA state system	$26.27/hr, $998.30/wk (or the WA award rate)	WAIRC, within 28 days
Incorporated association that isn't a trading or financial corporation	WA state system	$26.27/hr, $998.30/wk (or the WA award rate)	WAIRC, within 28 days

The tax, super, workers compensation and payroll tax steps are the same in both systems. Pay rates, leave rules and dismissal rules differ. Our WA state vs national system guide goes through the differences in detail.

Employee or contractor: which are you hiring?

You're hiring an employee if, looking at the whole relationship, the person works in your business rather than running their own. Since 26 August 2024 the Fair Work Act looks at "the real substance, practical reality and true nature" of the relationship, including how the contract works in practice, not just its wording.

Getting this wrong is expensive. Sham contracting carries a maximum of 60 penalty units under the Fair Work Act, 5 times that for a company, and a penalty unit has been $364 since 1 July 2026. That's up to $109,200 per contravention for a company with fewer than 15 employees. WorkCover WA can also treat a contractor paid for their personal labour as your "worker", and making someone get an ABN to avoid workers compensation can bring a fine of up to $5,000.

Unpaid trial shifts are only lawful if the trial is needed to see the person's skills, only covers skills for the job, lasts only as long as needed (usually an hour up to a shift) and is directly supervised the whole time. Otherwise pay the trial at the award rate.

What do you have to pay a new employee?

You must pay at least the minimum rate in the award that covers the job, or the national minimum wage if no award applies. Find the award with Fair Work's Find my award tool, then read the minimum rates clause. Award wages rose 4.75% from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.

Sample minimum rates from 1 July 2026 (casual = hourly × 1.25 under each award's clause 11.1)
Job (national system)	Award and clause	Full-time weekly (38 hrs)	Hourly	Casual hourly (+25%)
Office junior / admin assistant (Level 1, Year 1)	Clerks award, cl 16.1	$1,024.70	$26.97	$33.71
Admin officer (Level 2, Year 1)	Clerks award, cl 16.1	$1,119.10	$29.45	$36.81
Shop assistant (Retail Employee Level 1)	General Retail award, cl 17.1	$1,056.80	$27.81	$34.76
Award-free adult	National Minimum Wage	$1,004.90	$26.44	$33.05

These are base rates for adults. Weekends, public holidays, overtime and allowances cost more, and employees under 21 can be on junior rates only if the award has them. For live Perth pay by job, see our salary guides.

Your job ad must not advertise pay below the award. From 1 July 2026 the Fair Work Ombudsman can fine up to $2,184 per contravention for an individual or $10,920 for a company.

How do you set up workers compensation in WA?

You buy a workers compensation policy from an insurer licensed in WA, and it has to cover every worker from their first day. The insurer will ask for an estimate of the gross wages you'll pay over the policy period, usually 12 months, and assign your business an industry class.

WorkCover WA publishes recommended premium rates for each class each year. For policies starting from 4pm on 30 June 2026, the average is 1.931% of wages (up from 1.823%), and the recommended minimum premium is $325. Insurers don't have to charge these rates and can discount or load them on your claims history.

WorkCover WA recommended premium rates 2026/27 (Jobs In Perth arithmetic on $60,000 of wages)
Industry class (WorkCover WA code)	2026/27 recommended rate	Premium on $60,000 of wages
Accounting services (69320)	0.25%	$150, so the $325 minimum applies
Takeaway food services (45120)	0.99%	$594
Cafes and restaurants (45110)	1.52%	$912
Electrical services (32320)	1.66%	$996
Clothing retailing (42510)	1.90%	$1,140
Supermarket and grocery stores (41100)	2.24%	$1,344
Plumbing services (32310)	2.54%	$1,524

Being uninsured can bring fines of up to $10,000 per worker plus an amount equal to the premiums you avoided over the past 5 years. WorkCover WA also says individuals, including sole traders with an ABN, generally can't cover themselves under workers compensation.

How do you register for tax, super and Single Touch Payroll?

Register for PAYG withholding before you first pay an employee, then pay through Single Touch Payroll (STP) software that reports each pay run to the ATO on or before payday. The ATO requires PAYG registration even if the amount you withhold is $0.

PAYG withholding: withhold tax from each pay using the ATO tax tables, based on the employee's TFN declaration. If they've told you they've applied for a TFN, they have 28 days to give it to you; after that you must withhold at the top rate plus Medicare levy. If they haven't quoted a TFN, applied for one or claimed an exemption, the top rate applies straight away.
Super (Payday Super): 12% of qualifying earnings, received by the fund within 7 business days after each payday. A new employee's first contribution has 20 business days.
STP: each pay run reports tax, qualifying earnings and super liability to the ATO. By 14 July each year you make an end-of-year finalisation declaration.
Micro employers (1 to 4 employees) can only report quarterly through a registered tax or BAS agent in narrow circumstances, and super is still due within 7 business days of each payday.

If you have no payroll software yet, the ATO no longer keeps a separate list of low-cost STP products. Check its software product register for products aimed at micro employers.

What forms does a new employee fill in?

On or before day one, a new employee completes a TFN declaration and a super choice form, and you give them the Fair Work Information Statement. Have these ready before they arrive:

Tax file number declaration (NAT 3092), or the employee commencement forms in ATO online services. With STP software you keep it; you don't send it to the ATO.
Superannuation standard choice form (NAT 13080) within 28 days of the start date. If they don't choose a fund, request their stapled super fund from the ATO before using your default fund.
Fair Work Information Statement for every new employee, before or as soon as possible after they start.
Casual Employment Information Statement for casuals at the start. Small businesses give it again after 12 months.
Fixed Term Contract Information Statement if the job is for a set period.
Signed employment contract, bank details for pay and an emergency contact.

Then run a safety induction. WorkSafe WA says inductions should cover hazards and risks, safe work procedures, communication, emergency procedures and workplace facilities, and that the business must make sure the worker has understood the information.

Does this apply in the WA state system?

Mostly yes, with different pay, leave and dismissal rules. ATO, super, STP, WorkCover and payroll tax obligations apply the same way to sole traders and partnerships. What changes:

Pay: the WA State Minimum Wage ($26.27 an hour, $998.30 a week) or the rate in the WA award for the job, not the national award. Call Wageline on 1300 655 266 to find the right WA award.
Leave: the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act gives full-time employees 4 weeks' paid annual leave (up to 152 hours) and personal leave equal to their ordinary hours over 2 weeks, up to 76 hours a year.
Pay slips and records: pay slips within 1 working day of payday and employment records kept for 7 years, as in the national system.
Information statements: the Fair Work Information Statement is a Fair Work Act obligation for national system employers. Ask Wageline what applies to your business.
Dismissal: there's no 6 or 12-month minimum employment period. A state system employee, even on probation, can lodge an unfair dismissal claim with the WAIRC within 28 days.

Worked example. Priya runs a bookkeeping practice in Joondalup as a sole trader and hires her first part-time assistant for 20 hours a week. She's in the WA state system. If no WA award covers the job, the floor is 20 × $26.27 = $525.40 a week. Super on that is 12% × $525.40 = $63.05, due at the fund within 20 business days of the first payday and 7 business days after that. Her WorkCover premium at the accounting rate (0.25%) on about $27,300 of wages would be $68, so the $325 recommended minimum premium would apply (her insurer sets the final price).

When do you have to pay WA payroll tax?

Only when your total Australian taxable wages pass $1 million a year, or $83,333 in a month. The rate is 5.5%, and a diminishing threshold applies between $1 million and $7.5 million, so most first-time employers in Perth pay no payroll tax at all.

Our WA payroll tax guide explains grouping, which counts the wages of related businesses together.

For a specific situation, call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 (national system) or Wageline on 1300 655 266 (WA state system).

Hiring in Perth?

Once your registrations and insurance are sorted, the next job is finding the right person. You can post a job on Jobs In Perth from $29, or compare the Basic, Featured and Premium plans. Our guide to finding employees in Perth covers the free options too.

Frequently asked questions

How do I employ someone for the first time in WA?

Check whether you're in the national or WA state system, find the award rate, register for PAYG withholding, take out workers compensation, and set up STP payroll. Then collect a TFN declaration and super choice form on day one.

Do I need an ABN to employ someone?

Not necessarily. If you have an ABN, you add PAYG withholding to it. If you don't, the ATO lets you register a PAYG withholding account instead.

Do I need workers compensation for one part-time employee?

Yes. Every WA employer must insure all of its workers, part-time and casual included. WorkCover WA's recommended minimum premium for 2026/27 is $325.

When do I pay super for a new employee?

Super is 12% of qualifying earnings. The first contribution for a new employee must reach their fund within 20 business days of payday, then within 7 business days after each payday.

Can I give a new employee an unpaid trial shift?

Only if it's needed to show their skills, lasts no longer than that (usually an hour up to a shift) and is directly supervised. Otherwise you must pay them.

Do I pay payroll tax on my first employee in WA?

Almost certainly not. WA payroll tax only applies once your Australian taxable wages pass $1 million a year.