Steve Jordan
Feb 4, 2026
Fair Work Record Keeping Obligations: What Australian Employers Must Keep for 7 Years
Essential 2026 Guide.
Introduction
The Fair Work Record Keeping Obligations: What Australian Employers Must Keep for 7 Years is a critical compliance topic for businesses across Australia. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, employers are legally required to maintain accurate employee records for 7 years. This ensures transparency in pay, hours, entitlements, and helps protect both employers and employees during disputes or Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) inspections.
Non-compliance can lead to infringement notices, civil penalties (with maximum amounts detailed on the FWO's litigation page, often reaching tens or hundreds of thousands for serious or repeated breaches), back-pay orders, and reputational damage. In 2025–2026, the FWO has continued strong enforcement, including record-keeping blitzes, inspections in sectors like food outlets and hospitality, and high-profile penalties (e.g., $213,120 against UNSW in early 2026 for systemic failures in casual academic records). Emphasis remains on accurate records for all employees, including salaried ones with offsetting arrangements.
This guide breaks down exactly what records you must keep, how to maintain them, and tips for staying compliant especially relevant if you're using time-tracking or payroll tools like BundyPlus.
- Introduction
- Why the 7-Year Rule Matters
- Key Employee Records You Must Keep
- Pay Slips: Closely Linked to Record Keeping
- How Records Must Be Kept
- How BundyPlus Time and Attendance Helps Employers Meet These Obligations
- Penalties for Non-Compliance
- Tips for Compliance in 2026
- Final Thought
Table of Content
Why the 7-Year Rule Matters
Section 535 of the Fair Work Act (and related Regulations) requires employers to make and keep employee records for 7 years from when each record is made. This applies across the employment period and continues after an employee leaves. Records must remain readily accessible to Fair Work Inspectors.
The core purpose is to verify employees receive correct wages, overtime, penalties, loadings, allowances, leave entitlements, and superannuation. Inadequate records hinder proof of compliance during audits, employee claims, or FWO investigations—often leading to assumptions of underpayment.
Verification of Entitlements and Compliance
The primary goal is to enable accurate verification that employees receive their correct pay and entitlements under awards, agreements, or the National Employment Standards. Records prove details like hours worked, overtime, penalty rates, loadings, allowances, leave accruals, super contributions, and any offsets for salaried staff. Without them, it's nearly impossible to demonstrate full compliance.
Protection During Disputes and Claims
Employees (or former employees) can make underpayment claims for up to 6 years after the entitlement arose (or longer in some cases under state laws). The 7-year rule provides a buffer, ensuring records are available for the full claim window plus time for investigations. Former employees retain the right to request their records upon reasonable notice, and employers must provide access. loadings, allowances, leave accruals, super contributions, and any offsets for salaried staff. Without them, it's nearly impossible to demonstrate full compliance.
Enabling Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) Inspections and Audits
Records must be readily accessible to Fair Work Inspectors at any time. The FWO conducts targeted campaigns (e.g., in hospitality, retail, or high-risk sectors) and can issue infringement notices or pursue court action. Inadequate or missing records trigger a reverse onus of proof in court: if records are absent or insufficient, the employer must disprove underpayment allegations - often leading to assumptions against the employer and orders for back-pay plus interest.
Preventing and Deterring Underpayments and Systemic Issues
Poor record-keeping is a red flag for broader non-compliance (e.g., sham contracting, cash payments, or award breaches). It helps uncover patterns of underpayment, false records, or misleading entries (prohibited under related provisions like s718A). The FWO's enforcement focus in 2025–2026 highlights this, with ongoing blitzes and litigation showing that weak records often compound into serious contraventions.
Supporting Transparency, Fairness, and Dispute Resolution
Accurate, retained records promote trust between employers and employees. They reduce disputes by providing clear evidence of what was paid and worked, and they help resolve issues quickly without escalation to the FWO or courts.
Mini-Tip:
Implement Robust Systems - Automate with tools like BundyPlus to capture real-time data.
Regular Audits - Review records quarterly; ensure 7-year archives are secure and accessible.
Key Employee Records You Must Keep
Fair Work Regulations outline mandatory details. Records must cover:
Employee Identification and Basics
- Employer's name and ABN
- Employee's full name
- Whether full-time, part-time, casual, temporary, or permanent
- Date employment commenced
- (For juniors) Date of birth if under 21
Pay and Wages Records (Time and Wages)
- Amount paid each pay period (gross and net)
- Any authorised deductions and details
- Pay rates applied, including ordinary hourly rate, overtime rates, penalty rates, loadings, allowances, bonuses, incentive payments
- Superannuation contributions (amount, frequency, fund details where applicable)
- For salaried/annualised wage employees: records of any payable loadings, penalties, allowances, and overtime hours where these must be paid separately or offset
Hours of Work
- Hours worked (start/end times where applicable)
- Overtime hours
- Total hours, especially for hourly, casual, or variable workers
- Piece rates (if applicable) and related hours
Leave Records
- Leave entitlements accrued and taken (annual, personal/carer's, long service, etc.)
- Any agreements to cash out leave
Other Specific Records
- Individual flexibility arrangements
- Guarantees of annual earnings (if used)
- For award/agreement-covered employees: details needed to verify compliance (e.g., rosters/shifts if relevant)
Note: Even for salaried employees under awards/agreements, records of overtime hours and any offset entitlements are required if loadings/penalties apply.
Mini-Tip:
Train Staff - Ensure managers and payroll teams understand obligations, especially for salaried/offset arrangements.
Pay Slips: Closely Linked to Record Keeping
Employers must issue payslips within 1 working day of payment (electronic or hard copy). Payslips must include:
- Employer’s and employee’s name
- Employer’s ABN (if applicable)
- Pay period and payment date
- Gross and net pay
- For hourly rates: ordinary rate, hours worked at that rate, total amount
- Any loadings, allowances, penalties, bonuses, incentives (separated where possible)
- Deductions (amount, details, and fund/account if applicable)
- Superannuation contributions (amount and fund details)
- (For terminating employees) pay rate on last day
Payslips help demonstrate compliance and overlap with record-keeping duties. Leave balances aren't mandatory on payslips but must be provided on request (except paid family and domestic violence leave, which has special non-disclosure rules).
How Records Must Be Kept
- Format: Legible, in English (preferably plain and simple), not false or misleading.
- Alterations: Only to correct genuine errors. No unauthorised changes.
- Storage: Readily accessible to Inspectors; digital or paper allowed, but digital (cloud-based) is efficient and common.
- Privacy: Comply with privacy laws; treat records confidentially.
Best practice: Use automated systems to capture data in real time, reducing errors and ensuring tamper-evident logs.
How BundyPlus Time and Attendance Helps Employers Meet These Obligations
BundyPlus, as Australia's leading provider of employee time and attendance solutions, is specifically designed to support Fair Work compliance through accurate, automated, and secure record-keeping. Here's how it directly helps employers stay on top of the 7-year requirements:
- Accurate, Real-Time Clocking and Timesheet Capture - BundyPlus offers multiple contactless options (e.g., mobile app, browser-based, face recognition, proximity cards) to record start/end times, breaks, and overtime automatically. This eliminates manual timesheets prone to errors or disputes, ensuring precise hours-of-work records that align with Fair Work's time and wages obligations.
- Automated Work Rules for Compliance - Configure rules for rounding, automatic breaks, overtime calculations, shift penalties, and loadings. These rules apply consistently to clockings, generating compliant pay data without manual intervention critical for award-covered employees and preventing underpayment risks.
- Audit-Ready Reports and Exports - Generate detailed reports on clockings, timesheet summaries, who's in today, employee approvals, and historical data. Export records easily for payroll integration or FWO inspections, with full audit trails showing who made changes and when helping prove records are accurate and unaltered over the 7-year period.
- Seamless Payroll Integrations - BundyPlus syncs directly with leading Australian payroll systems (e.g., XERO, MYOB, Pronto, ELMO), pushing verified time data into payroll for payslip generation and super calculations. This creates a single source of truth, reducing discrepancies and supporting compliant pay records.
- Secure, Cloud-Based Storage and Retention - Digital records are stored securely in the cloud (or hybrid/on-premise options), readily accessible, tamper-evident, and retained long-term. This supports the 7-year rule while complying with privacy laws no lost paper timesheets or manual archiving hassles.
- Employee Self-Service and Transparency - Employees can view their own clockings via the mobile app or browser, request approvals, or log leave reducing disputes and providing verifiable records for both parties.
By automating the capture and management of time and attendance data, BundyPlus minimises compliance risks, saves time on manual processes, and prepares businesses for FWO audits or employee claims. Many Australian businesses rely on it to avoid costly breaches related to inaccurate records.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Breaches (e.g., failing to make/keep records, false/misleading entries, or not retaining for 7 years) are civil remedy provisions. Penalties include:
- Infringement notices (fixed fines)
- Court-imposed penalties (higher for 'serious contraventions' if knowing/reckless)
- Recent cases highlight substantial fines plus back-pay, with ongoing FWO focus on systemic issues.
Tips for Compliance in 2026
Breaches (e.g., failing to make/keep records, false/misleading entries, or not retaining for 7 years) are civil remedy provisions. Penalties include:
- Implement Robust Systems - Automate with tools like BundyPlus to capture real-time data.
- Regular Audits - Review records quarterly; ensure 7-year archives are secure and accessible.
- Train Staff - Ensure managers and payroll teams understand obligations, especially for salaried/offset arrangements.
- Employee Access - Provide records to current/former employees on reasonable request.
- Stay Updated - Monitor fairwork.gov.au for any developments (enforcement remains active with no major legislative shifts noted recently).
- Seek Advice - Use FWO resources, helpline, or HR experts for award-specific guidance.
Final Thought
Accurate record keeping isn't just a legal requirement - it's key to fair pay, avoiding disputes, and protecting your business. With Australian-focused tools like BundyPlus, compliance becomes straightforward and efficient.For official details, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman's record-keeping and pay slips fact sheet or contact them directly. If you're looking to streamline your time and attendance for better compliance, explore bundyplus.com.au or get in touch!
Looking to streamline your time and attendance for better compliance?
Learn how BundyPlus helps payroll teams capture time accurately, integrate seamlessly, and take pressure off the pay run.👉 Book a BundyPlus demo today.
Meet the expert
Hi, I’m Steve—co-founder and CTO here at BundyPlus. I’ve spent over 20 years building workplace tech that helps Aussie businesses capture time and attendance without the admin headaches. I wrote this post because I’ve seen firsthand how much smoother things run when you expand your time capture setup across multiple devices.
Whether you're managing one location or many, the right tools make all the difference. If you’ve got questions or want help tailoring a solution for your business, feel free to reach out. I’m always up for a chat or follow me on Linkedin.
Far too many business owners ignore their staff record-keeping obligations until the Fair Work Ombudsman comes knocking with massive fines and directors suddenly find themselves personally liable for the mess.
This is the reality check every owner needs today. Stop for a minute and audit your setup right now.
What employee records are you actually keeping (time sheets, wages, leave, super details, pay slips, etc.)?
Where is everything stored securely, accessibly, and for the required 7 years?
Who in your business is truly responsible for maintaining and updating them?
- Steve Jordan
People Also Read
Fair Work Record Keeping Obligations: What Australian Employers Must Keep for 7 Years
This guide outlines exactly what records you must keep (e.g., hours worked, pay details, leave, super), how to maintain them accurately, accessibly, in English, and for 7 years, plus practical tips especially useful if you're using tools like BundyPlus for automated time-tracking, overtime, and payroll compliance.
Resilience in Payroll: The Quiet Skill That Keeps Businesses Running
Resilient payroll is critical to business stability. Explore practical ways to strengthen payroll and time & attendance processes and stay compliant.
Making Payroll Migration Easier: A Leader’s Guide to Planning, Implementing and Trust.
Make payroll migration stress-free with smart planning. Learn why businesses move from outdated systems like MYOB EXO ES and how BundyPlus helps leaders manage compliance, reduce downtime, and bring employees onboard with confidence.
Attendance Speaks Louder Than Words: How to spot silent quitting, rebuild trust, and re-engage teams
Discover why attendance speaks louder than words in the workplace. Learn how leadership habits shape morale, how to spot silent quitting, and why trust in time data matters—plus actionable tips and BundyPlus insights to re-engage teams.
Have Any Questions?
We are here to answer all of your queries