Payroll Officer

Find out what it takes to become a payroll officer in any given industry. Look into information on salary, job prospects and required skills.

Similar job roles

The current average salary of a payroll officer is $60,000 - 74,000 per annum

Overview

Payroll officers prepare payrolls and keep records of employees’ hours worked to disburse salaries/wages. The job is likely to be stable over the next 5 years, with 13,000 job openings.

Read more about the accounting and finance industry.

Key skills

Payroll officers need to monitor a company’s payroll information, ensuring it is accurate so as to pay each employee correctly and on time.

Accuracy while tracking each employee’s working hours, overtime, leave taken, entitlements, superannuation, etc.
Strong head for numbers to perform calculations with commissions, bonuses, taxes and other deductions
Clear communication skills to answer employees’ questions and convey information on changes to benefits or salary structure
Adept at using computer software to do accounting, time-tracking and human resource management
Interpreting industrial award rates and applying them accordingly
Strong organisational skills with the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines

Quick facts

Working as a payroll officer means you can work in a wide range of industries since most companies require a payroll officer. This role is skewed towards the female population with 85.4% of workers being women.

Outlook

Average Hours Worked

36 full-time hours per week vs. all jobs average of 40 hours

*Source
Main Industries

Public administration and safety; retail trade; and health cCare and social assistance
Average qualification level

26.1% Bachelor degree

* All information on this page has been complied using figures from payscale.com.au and the Australian Government's joboutlook.gov.au - all figures are indications only, and are accurate at time of publication. Please do your own research before selecting a course or career.

Study pathways