AO3 Payroll Officer

Randstad Australia; Gold Coast City; On-site; AUD 58,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits portal discounts

Job summary

Randstad Australia is seeking an experienced Payroll Officer to join a well-established public sector organisation in the civil-construction sector. This on-site, full-time temporary role is Nerang-based and runs from now through to 30 June 2027, with potential extension.

You will deliver end-to-end payroll services weekly for employees and labour hire contractors, ensuring accuracy, compliance with awards, and timely payments in a high-volume environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in high-volume payroll environments.
• Exposure to shift work and timekeeping processes.
• Understanding of construction-related awards (advantageous).
• Experience with SAP is advantageous.
• Australian work rights (citizenship, permanent residency or valid visa).
• Engagement screening including Criminal History Check may be required.

Responsibilities

• Process weekly payroll and timekeeping for employees and contractors across multiple awards.
• Review timesheets and leave approvals, ensuring submissions are complete.
• Ensure accurate interpretation of awards, allowances, overtime, and entitlements.
• Conduct leave and schedule changes, substitutions as needed.
• Perform payroll reconciliations, project expense accruals, reporting and compliance reviews.
• Escalate and resolve complex payroll issues and discrepancies.
• Maintain payroll records for audit readiness and provide guidance to staff.
• Support wider finance functions including accounts payable/receivable and procurement.

Skills

High-volume payroll

Award interpretation

SAP experience

Timekeeping

Analytical skills

Stakeholder engagement

Discretion/confidential

Independent work

Tools

SAP

Job description

Randstad is currently seeking an experienced Payroll Officer to join a well-established public sector organisation operating in the civil-construction sector. This is an ongoing full-time temporary assignment, requiring 5 days per week on-site at the client’s Nerang location, paying $51.13 per hour plus super. The role is starting immediately through to the end of June 2027, with the potential for further extension.

The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering accurate, efficient end-to-end payroll services for employees and labour hire contractors on a weekly basis, which would suit someone who has strong experience in a high-volume payroll environment. In this role, you will ensure workers are paid accurately and on time, maintain strict compliance with payroll policies, industrial instruments, and audit requirements, while providing effective payroll support across operational teams and assisting with broader finance functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Process weekly payroll and manage timekeeping for employees and contractors across multiple awards and agreements.
• Process and review Daily Dissection Sheets, employee timesheets, and contractor timesheets, actively monitoring and following up on missing submissions.
• Ensure accurate interpretation and application of relevant awards, certified agreements, allowances, overtime, and leave entitlements.
• Review and process leave applications, work schedule changes, and substitutions.
• Conduct regular payroll reconciliations, project expense accruals, reporting, and statutory compliance reviews.
• Act as the key point of escalation to investigate and resolve complex payroll issues and discrepancies promptly.
• Maintain accurate payroll records and documentation to ensure audit readiness.
• Provide clear payroll guidance, advice, and training to employees, management, and operational teams.
• Assist the wider finance team with ad hoc duties, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, procurement, and daily project expense accruals.

Key Skills and Experience

• Proven experience in high-volume payroll environments, ideally with exposure to shift work, overtime, timekeeping processes, and multiple industrial instruments.
• Strong understanding of award interpretation. Experience with relevant construction-related awards (e.g., Building and Construction or BEMS) is highly desirable.
• Proficiency in using various payroll systems; experience with SAP is advantageous.
• Strong analytical, organisational, and record-management skills, with a keen eye for detail.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with a proactive, solutions-focused approach.
• Comfortable managing challenging conversations, handling sensitive information with discretion, and resolving payroll queries professionally.
• Confident working both independently and as part of a collaborative team, with a commitment to continuous improvement.
• To be eligible for this role, you must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or hold a valid visa with no work restrictions.
• Engagement is subject to a satisfactory employment screening process; applicants must be willing to undergo a Criminal History Check.

Benefits

• Undertaking a temporary contract through Randstad will give you exclusive access to our candidate benefits portal. This includes many discounts across health insurance, phone plans, grocery stores, and other retail stores, as well as many other perks. You will be able to access this directly through our easy-to-use timesheet portal upon commencement of your assignment.

At Randstad, we are passionate about providing equal employment opportunities and embracing diversity to the benefit of all. We actively encourage applications from any background.