This product has already been purchased.
High-profile underpayment scandals, new wage theft laws and expanding personal liability place boards and directors firmly in the spotlight.
Presented by Yellow Canary
The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $358 million in unpaid wages for Australian workers in the 2024–25 financial year. Now, Yellow Canary’s 2026 State of Payroll Compliance report key finding adds to the concern — one in three employers are not fully confident they are paying employees correctly.
Together, these figures reveal a gap between regulatory enforcement and organisational confidence that boards cannot afford to ignore.
Moving forward, boards must act strategically to manage risk and guide long-term decision making. A single payroll error, especially if undetected or poorly governed, can quickly escalate into legal, financial and reputational consequences, with potential personal liability for directors.
The shift in compliance ownership
The report reveals HR (58 per cent) and finance (55 per cent) remain central to payroll reporting, yet board engagement has grown to 30 per cent overall and 40 per cent among the largest employers.
Even with greater oversight, confidence continues to lag. Interpreting modern awards and enterprise agreements is cited as the biggest compliance challenge by four in 10 organisations, highlighting the complexity and nuance directors must navigate alongside management teams.
.jpg)
Building payroll compliance confidence
Boards require consistent, independent and defensible visibility into payroll outcomes, supported by management teams delivering reliable, high-quality data. Traditional approaches such as manual reconciliations, audits and siloed reporting no longer provide sufficient insight to meet the expectations of regulators or the demands of governance frameworks.
Automated payroll compliance auditing has become strategically important. These systems continuously monitor payroll processes, analyse outcomes, flag variances, track award interpretations and surface exceptions early. This provides actionable insights that not only identify errors, but also reveal their root cause, allowing boards to make informed governance decisions and respond to emerging risks proactively. While technology automates routine compliance checks, true assurance depends equally on the people, processes and culture interpreting the data.
Boards that prioritise visibility, reinforce accountability and foster a compliance-driven culture — supported by structured processes, governance frameworks and clear escalation pathways — are positioned to manage risk effectively, sustain workforce trust and guide organisations through 2026 with confidence and clarity in payroll outcomes.
→ Read the 2026 State of Payroll Compliance report
Latest news
Already a member?
Login to view this content