The Payroll Leadership Institute of Australia (PLIA) has today issued a strong warning to Australian organisations: fragmented HR and payroll systems are no longer sustainable in an era of rising compliance demands and employee expectations.
A recent article published in HR Future highlights the risks of disconnected systems, pointing to payroll errors, missed superannuation obligations, and reputational fallout when basic employee data is misaligned across departments. According to Remote.com, 40% of professionals experienced a payroll error in the past year - a staggering figure that underscores the scale of the problem.
“Payroll errors are not just operational hiccups… they’re breaches of trust,” said a spokesperson for the PLIA. “When employees are underpaid or leave balances are wrong, it impacts more than compliance. It damages engagement, confidence, and ultimately the employer brand. In today’s environment, that’s a risk no business can afford.”
PLIA notes that Australian businesses face an especially complex regulatory landscape, where compliance spans Fair Work awards, superannuation, Single Touch Payroll (STP), WHS obligations, and visa requirements. Without a unified source of truth, businesses double-handle data, miss audit trails, and struggle to scale.
The Institute points to new findings showing the shift of payroll from transactional processing to strategic insight. Deloitte reports that 56% of organisations now use payroll data to inform workforce planning and budgeting. Yet this evolution is only possible when payroll and HR systems are integrated.
As the Australian Payroll Association notes, “Payroll has evolved far beyond its traditional role of processing wages. Savvy organisations are beginning to recognise that payroll data is a treasure trove of insights, offering strategic value that can drive decision-making across business and HR functions.”
The PLIA stresses three key features every business should demand from their workforce systems: Role-based data access to ensure HR, finance, and line managers see the information they need without compromising privacy. Leave and payroll synchronisation to eliminate one of the most common error points in Australian payroll. Centralised records with audit trails to make compliance and investigations faster, simpler, and more transparent
PLIA’s indicates that Australian businesses using integrated HR and payroll platforms reduce payroll error rates by up to 35%, while cutting reconciliation time by half.
Beyond technology, PLIA also emphasises the role of policy reform. “We know small and mid-sized businesses in particular are struggling to keep up with overlapping obligations,” said the PLIA. “We’re committed to working alongside government and regulators to simplify payroll legislation and reduce red tape, while ensuring employees are paid correctly and on time. The goal should be legislation that protects workers without overwhelming employers.”
The Institute also applauds vendors that are building compliance-ready platforms within the Australian context, citing recent examples such as Rippling, ELMO Software and ClockOn’s all-in-one systems with award interpretation and WHS checks, which demonstrate how integration directly addresses local compliance requirements.
“In a tightening labour market, accuracy and trust are as important as flexibility and cost efficiency,” added PLIA. “The organisations that thrive will be those who treat integration not as a feature, but as the foundation of their workforce strategy.”
About the Payroll Leadership Institute of Australia
The Payroll Leadership Institute of Australia (PLIA) is an emerging independent body dedicated to elevating payroll as a profession. Through research, training, and advocacy, PLIA equips payroll professionals and business leaders with the knowledge and tools to ensure compliance, accuracy, and strategic impact.
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For more information about Payroll Leadership Institute of Australia, contact the company here:
Payroll Leadership Institute of Australia
PLIA
info@plia.au
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
