How HR Can Prepare Employees For EOFY

It’s coming round again. Just take a breath and get yourself together. 

Yep, it’s the end of the financial year. 

As another year rolls around, it’s a perfect time for HR teams to ensure their organisation's HR matters and payroll processes are on point. But it’s also a brilliant opportunity for HR teams to make strategic progress for the year ahead and set up their people strategy for FY26.

But before you do that, it’s important to get the bread and butter right. In this blog, we’ll make sure you’re across new legislation to keep your organisation compliant, proactive, and ahead of the curve. We’ll also look at payroll and contract compliance before suggesting some strategic retention and recruitment opportunities.

Legislation 

This financial year brings in some major updates that HR needs to stay on top of.

Right to Disconnect—from August 26 2025, employees in small organisations (fewer than 15 employees) will have the legal right to disconnect from work-related communications outside their standard working hours. Before this, it only applied to large organisations. This means employees can now refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work-related contact, unless the refusal is unreasonable. Employers must ensure that after-hours contact expectations are clear and that policies are updated to reflect this change. 

Psychosocial hazards—if you’re in Victoria listen up! From December 1 2025, Victorian employers will be required to identify and manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace, such as bullying, harassment, and work-related stress. These regulations align with national Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws, emphasising that mental health risks are as significant as physical ones. We’ve come a long way on this, which is great to see. HR should begin reviewing their current policies and training programs to ensure compliance with the upcoming changes.

A ban on non-compete clauses—the Australian Government has proposed a ban on non-compete clauses for employees earning below the high-income threshold (currently $175,000 per annum), with the changes expected to take effect in 2027. This reform aims to enhance job mobility and wage growth by allowing workers greater freedom to change employers or start their own businesses without restrictive covenants. HR should monitor the progress of this legislation and prepare to adjust employment contracts accordingly. 

Criminalisation of intentional wage underpayments has already come into effect as of January 2025, and if you haven’t reviewed your payroll systems, get on to it now!

Payroll requirements

Payroll dues always sneak up faster than a Trump social media post, and finance teams are usually scrambling to make sure they’re ready for it. These requirements are all about communication and communicating early.

EOFY payroll dates—no one likes overcooked scrambled eggs. Let your teams know when EOFY payroll cut-offs are happening early. Remind them to submit expenses, leave forms, and timesheets before the final pay run. It’s a simple step that avoids chaos and ensures everything runs smoothly when it's crunch time. 

Super guarantee—the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is going up again. From 1 July 2025, SG will increase from 11.5% to 12%. Make sure payroll systems are configured to apply the right rate for all payments made on or after that date, even if the pay period started earlier. Get ahead of any compliance slip-ups now so you’re not scrambling post-June.

Organise employee receipts and invoices—Get ahead of the employee requests by organising all outstanding receipts, invoices and deduction documents now. This includes work-related travel, software, training, and tools. Proactive housekeeping helps finance teams maximise deductions and keeps audit trails clean. Less chasing, more claiming.

Employee contracts 

Whether it’s internal or external, July is prime time for contract changes, so do your homework before you have legal and compliance breathing down your neck.

Minimum wage increases—from 1 July 2025, the national minimum wage will rise from $24.10 to $24.95 per hour. Even if most of your employees earn above this rate, it’s still a good opportunity to confirm wage compliance across all classifications, especially casual, junior or award-covered roles.

Parental leave increase—government-funded parental leave pay increases to 120 days (24 weeks) from 1 July 2025. Use this as a prompt to review employee contracts, parental leave policies, and your internal messaging. It’s also a good time to consider how your own paid leave offering stacks up against evolving expectations and if your leave policy is in line with employee expectations.

Fixed-term contracts—recent reforms have tightened the rules around fixed-term contracts, limiting how and when they can be used. Now’s the time to audit any existing or upcoming contracts.

Recruitment and retention 

Up next is the juicy stuff. Once you’ve gone through the bread and butter, this is your moment to make a strategic HR mark on your organisation. Reset and get planning with other aspects of your organisation. 

Workplace planning—get ahead of the heads of department and do a workplace planning check. Do some organisations need more leads and needs? Confirm resourcing needs, align budgets, and identify any forecasted skill gaps. This proactive approach ensures that the organisation is well-prepared to meet its objectives and can adapt to any changes in the business environment.

Recruitment performance—identify what's working and where improvements can be made. Consider leveraging technology or AI solutions to streamline the recruitment process and enhance candidate experience.

Partner with leaders—lean on others and get the help you need to identify high-potential talent within the organisation. Develop succession plans and provide growth opportunities to retain top performers. Utilising data-driven approaches can help in making informed decisions about talent development and pipeline moves.

Streamline recruitment—now is the time to review and streamline your hiring processes. Look for inefficiencies and areas where technology can be implemented to improve speed and accuracy. Ensuring a smooth and efficient hiring process will position your organisation to attract and onboard top talent effectively.

About us

At Martian Logic, we support HR teams to stay sharp, strategic, and compliant, especially when the pressure’s on. Our all-in-one HRIS helps you manage everything from recruitment and onboarding to performance and payroll. But it’s more than just ticking boxes. We help you move fast on compliance, make smarter decisions with data, and turn big HR ideas into scalable action.