Senior Payroll Officer

Federal Court of Australia; Sydney; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Federal Court of Australia is seeking a Senior Payroll Officer to manage day-to-day payroll administration for staff and judges. You will work with the outsourced payroll provider (Aurion) to handle entitlements not calculated in the system and run essential reports for management.

You will interpret relevant legislation and internal policies, provide payroll advice to managers and staff, and contribute to continuous improvement of payroll processes.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering payroll services in a public sector environment.
• Ability to interpret legislation, guidelines and policies relevant to payroll.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Experience providing payroll advice and supporting payroll projects.

Responsibilities

• Calculate and process payroll transactions including leave, superannuation and packaging.
• Coordinate with outsourced payroll and judges’ entitlements.
• Provide accurate payroll advice and respond to staff inquiries.
• Liaise with superannuation providers and tax authorities as needed.
• Extract data and generate payroll reports for management.

Skills

Payroll processing

Public sector payroll

Aurion HRIS

Stakeholder engagement

Financial reporting

Tools

Aurion HRIS

Job description

The Senior Payroll Officer is responsible for the day-to-day administration of certain employees’ entitlements including leave, salaries and allowances, superannuation, compensation, redundancy calculations, and salary packaging requirements. Working with the Court’s outsourced payroll service provider (Aurion), the Senior Payroll Officer processes entitlements not calculated in the system or done by the service provider. The Senior Payroll Officer must also be able to run reports and interpret information in those reports.

Additionally, the Senior Payroll Officer is responsible for the administration and payment of certain judges’ entitlements.

The Senior Payroll Officer will deal with enquiries from judges and Court staff in relation to their entitlements and payments, as well as requests from management for information. The Senior Payroll Officer will also liaise with external agencies such as superannuation providers and the Australian Taxation Office in appropriate cases. The Senior Payroll Officer will also liaise with the Finance team and the People & Culture team in relation to the establishment and correct salary coding of positions in accordance with the Court’s chart of accounts.

The key duties of the position include:

Major Activities

• Calculate and process certain payroll transactions including cessations, superannuation, salary packaging, redundancies and certain leave types for employees including reviewing the calculation of long service leave for part-time and casual employees.
• Contribute to the processing and reconciliation of the outsourced payroll for employees on a fortnightly basis and for judges on a monthly basis.
• Interpret and apply a range of legislation and internal policies relating to Public Service employment and judicial remuneration (in accordance with Remuneration Tribunal Determinations).
• Provide accurate advice and support to managers and employees on payroll-related matters and on the interpretation of entitlements.
• Be a super-user of the Human Resource Management Information System (Aurion) including liaising with external payroll provider on enhancement and error rectifications.
• Provide training and assistance to managers and employees in relation to their use of the self-service portal used by them to administer certain processes (i.e. cessations, higher duties, part-time work arrangements, etc).
• Develop, review, implement and document procedures relevant to payroll processes.
• Extract data and produce reports from Aurion for management including annual reporting requirements and Senate Estimates.
• Contribute to and coordinate payroll-related projects and continuous improvement initiatives, including system enhancements, implementation of legislative and policy changes, business process reviews, testing activities, stakeholder engagement, and the development of supporting documentation and training materials.

Eligibility

Competencies & Attributes

We are seeking a driven team player, who is motivated to lead and enjoys working in a rapidly evolving and forward-thinking environment. Our ideal candidate is a highly motivated self-starter who is able to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders to maintain strong working relationships while providing advice and constructive feedback. You will be a fast learner, who can also use their current skill set to contribute to new ideas and improvements.

Formal Qualifications

Experience in the delivery of payroll services and human resource management services in a public sector environment is essential.

Experience with Aurion Human Resource Management Information System is desirable.

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated relevant experience in providing high-level accurate payroll advice and processing in a public sector environment.
• Demonstrated experience in interpreting and applying legislation, guidelines, procedures and practices relevant to payroll services.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain positive and productive working relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including senior staff.
• Well-developed oral and written communication skills, including proven ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels
• Demonstrated experience contributing to or supporting payroll, HRIS, or business improvement projects, including planning, stakeholder engagement, testing, implementation, and change management activities.

Employment with the Court is subject to the conditions prescribed in the Public Service Act 1999, and the following:

• Australian citizenship – the successful applicant must hold Australian citizenship;
• Security and character clearance – the successful applicant must satisfy a Police Records Check, and may also be required to complete security clearances during the court of their employment;
• Health clearance – the successful applicant may be required to complete a health declaration or attend a medical assessment to confirm their fitness for duty.

Interested candidates who have received a redundancy benefit from an APS agency are welcome to apply, but note that they cannot be engaged until their redundancy benefit period has expired.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recruitment

Candidates may use AI tools to assist with their participation in this recruitment process unless otherwise advised. Where AI tools are used, candidates are responsible for ensuring that all information submitted is transparent, accurate, and genuinely reflects their own skills, capabilities, and experience.

For more information, see: Principles for candidate use of AI in Recruitment

Diversity and Inclusion

Federal Court Australia is committed to supporting an inclusive and diverse workforce and welcomes and encourages applications from People with Disability.First Nations peoples, LGBTIQA+ people, people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds, Mature age workers, as well as young workers and supporting an inter-generational workforce and supporting gender equity and families.

Federal Court Australia will provide reasonable adjustments for candidates to participate equitably in the recruitment process and discuss workplace adjustments to fulfil the inherent requirements of the role.

Getting to know the Federal Court of Australia

The Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar of the Federal Court, together with officers and staff identified under the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 and the Native Title Act 1993, constitute a single Statutory Agency for the purposes of the Public Service Act 1999. Employees are engaged to work in support of the following courts or tribunal:

• Federal Court of Australia,
• Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and
• National Native Title Tribunal.

Employees are covered by the Federal Court of Australia Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027. The Federal Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court each maintain a distinct statutory identity, with separate functions and judicial independence.