Childcare Centre Payroll Services
Childcare payroll is not like any other industry. The award is complex, the classifications are specific, and the consequences of getting it wrong are serious.
Most childcare operators we talk to are either processing payroll themselves and not entirely sure they are doing it right, or they have handed it to a bookkeeper who treats it like any other award. Neither situation ends well. The Early Childhood Education and Care Award has enough moving parts that errors are almost inevitable without specific experience in the sector.
Accounts Advantage has been running payroll for childcare centres since 2004. We know the award. We know the classifications. And we know what the ATO and Fair Work expect.
Why Childcare Payroll Is Different
The Early Childhood Education and Care Award covers a wide range of roles — early childhood teachers, educational leaders, room leaders, certificate III and diploma-qualified educators, cooks, administrative staff, and more. Each role has its own pay rate. Many have allowances on top of that.
Common allowances that often get missed include:
- First aid allowance for educators holding a current first aid certificate
- Diploma and degree qualification allowances
- Broken shift allowances for split shifts
- Penalty rates for weekend and public holiday work
- Casual loading of 25% for casual educators
Miss any of these and you have an underpayment issue. Fair Work takes underpayments seriously. Back-pay obligations, infringement notices, and reputational damage are all real consequences.
We apply the correct rates, allowances, and classifications from day one. If you are unsure whether your current payroll is compliant, we can review it.
What We Handle
We manage the complete payroll function for childcare centres, including:
- Weekly or fortnightly pay runs processed accurately and on time
- Correct award classifications and pay rates for every employee
- Allowance calculations including first aid, qualifications, and broken shifts
- Super calculations at the correct rate and submitted to the right fund
- Single Touch Payroll reporting to the ATO after every pay run
- Onboarding new employees with correct setup from day one
- Leave management including annual leave, personal leave, and long service leave
- End of year STP finalisation so employees can access their income statements
If you have staff across multiple rooms or multiple sites, we manage it all in one place.
Single Touch Payroll
Single Touch Payroll requires you to report every pay event to the ATO in real time. Every pay run you process, the ATO receives a report of wages, tax withheld, and super. It is not optional and it is not something you can catch up on at the end of the year.
We submit your STP report after every pay run as a standard part of our service. You do not have to think about it.
At the end of the financial year, we lodge your STP finalisation so your employees can access their income statements through myGov. There is no separate payment summary process anymore — but the finalisation has to be done correctly and on time.
Superannuation Compliance
The superannuation guarantee rate is 12% from 1 July 2025. Super must be paid at least quarterly, and many childcare operators choose to pay it monthly to stay on top of it.
Late super payments attract the Superannuation Guarantee Charge, which is more expensive than the super itself. The SGC includes a nominal interest component, an administration fee, and the original unpaid super — and it is not tax deductible.
We calculate super correctly on every pay run and make sure it goes out on time. We reconcile your super payments against your payroll records so there are no surprises at year end.
Onboarding New Educators
Childcare centres hire frequently. Casual educators, new room leaders, certificate III students, cooks, and admin staff all need to be set up correctly in the payroll system before their first pay run.
We handle the full onboarding process including:
- Tax file number declarations
- Super fund choice forms and stapled super fund checks
- Correct award classification based on qualifications and role
- Setting up the correct allowances from day one
Getting the setup right at the start avoids errors that compound over time.
Award Rate Updates
The Fair Work Commission reviews Modern Award rates every year. For the childcare sector, this typically means new rates coming into effect on 1 July. There have also been separate childcare-specific wage increases in recent years tied to government funding decisions.
We update your payroll system with the new rates before they take effect. You do not have to monitor the Fair Work website or calculate the changes yourself. We handle it and let you know what is changing and when.
What Software Do We Use for Childcare Payroll?
We work with Xero Payroll, MYOB Payroll, Employment Hero, FoundU, and Tanda. Each platform handles the ECEC Award differently and we know how to configure them correctly for a childcare centre.
Employment Hero is increasingly popular in the childcare sector because of its rostering and HR features. We work with Employment Hero regularly and can set up the award templates, leave policies, and pay conditions correctly so that payroll runs cleanly from your roster.
If you are currently using a payroll system that is not set up correctly for your award, we review and fix the configuration as part of getting started.
Common Questions
Do you understand the Early Childhood Education and Care Award?
Yes. We work with childcare centres exclusively in this area. We know the classifications, the allowances, and the pay conditions under the ECEC Award. It is not an award we occasionally encounter — it is the one we work with every week.
Can you review our current payroll to check if it is compliant?
Yes. If you are not confident your payroll is set up correctly, we can review your current classifications, rates, and allowances and let you know where the gaps are. Many centres we work with have found underpayments or missed allowances once we look at their setup properly.
What happens if we have made payroll errors in the past?
It is more common than you think. We help you work out the extent of any underpayments, advise on how to rectify them, and help you put a compliant process in place going forward. Fixing it proactively is always better than waiting for a Fair Work inquiry.
We have casual educators who work irregular hours. Can you handle that?
Yes. Casual educators on irregular hours are one of the more complex parts of childcare payroll. We make sure casual loading is applied correctly, that hours are tracked accurately, and that the correct penalty rates are applied for weekend or public holiday work.
How often do you process pay runs?
Most of our childcare clients run payroll weekly or fortnightly. We work to whatever schedule suits your centre and your staff.
Are you a registered BAS Agent?
Yes. Accounts Advantage is a registered BAS Agent as a firm and many of our individual team members hold their own BAS Agent registration too. Your payroll and tax obligations are handled by qualified, accountable professionals.
What does it cost?
For childcare centres we offer a fixed monthly fee from day one. The price is based on your headcount and pay frequency. We give you a clear price before we start so there are no surprises.
Ready to get your payroll off your plate?
Call our Loganholme office on 07 3209 8266 or 1300 400 105