Editorial Policy & Methodology
WorkCalc Australia publishes free calculators and guides about pay, tax and workplace entitlements. People use them to make decisions about real money, so every figure has to come from an official source and every calculator has to give the answer the law gives. This page explains how we do that.
Who writes WorkCalc content
WorkCalc content is published under the editorial byline Nathan Rowe and reviewed by the WorkCalc editorial team. The byline covers workplace pay, tax and entitlements, including annual leave, redundancy, long service leave, termination payments and the National Employment Standards.
WorkCalc is independent. We're not part of, and not endorsed by, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Fair Work Commission, the Fair Work Ombudsman, Services Australia or any state or territory regulator.
Our sources
We take every rate, threshold and rule from the primary source that sets it: the legislation itself, or the government body that administers it.
| Topic | Primary sources we use |
|---|---|
| Income tax and PAYG withholding | ATO resident, foreign resident and working holiday maker tax rates; Schedule 1 (withholding formulas); Schedule 8 (study and training loans); Schedule 7 (unused leave on termination); ETP caps; Medicare levy and surcharge thresholds |
| Wages and employment conditions | Fair Work Act 2009 and the National Employment Standards; Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review decisions and the national minimum wage order; modern awards; Fair Work Ombudsman guidance |
| Superannuation | ATO super guarantee rate, maximum super contribution base and contribution caps |
| Long service leave | Each state and territory's long service leave Act and its regulator's guidance |
| Public holidays | State and territory public holiday legislation and official government announcements |
| Workers compensation | Each state and territory's workers compensation Act and regulator, e.g. SIRA and icare (NSW), WorkSafe Victoria, WorkSafe Queensland, WorkCover WA, ReturnToWorkSA |
| Paid parental leave | Services Australia and the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 |
News articles and other websites can help us find where a rule is published, but we never use them as the source of a figure. If we can't confirm a figure from an official source, the page says so instead of guessing. For example, a threshold for the new financial year may not be published yet.
How we build and test calculators
- We use the official formula. Calculators follow the formula exactly as it's published, including rounding. The PAYG withholding figures, for example, use the coefficients and rounding rules in the ATO's Schedule 1 and Schedule 8.
- We test against official examples. Before a calculator is published or updated, we check its results against the worked examples and sample data published by the ATO, Fair Work or the relevant regulator. We also test edge cases such as thresholds, caps and part-time hours.
- We show our assumptions. Each calculator states what it assumes. For example, it may assume Australian residency, a 38-hour week, or a worker who can't work at all. Each calculator page also explains the formula behind it, so you can check the working yourself.
- We keep calculators private. WorkCalc calculators run in your browser. The figures you enter aren't sent to us or stored.
How we write guides
- Answer first. Each guide starts with the direct answer, then explains the detail.
- Worked examples. Every example is recalculated with the same formulas the calculators use, so a guide and its calculator always agree.
- State and award differences. Where the rules differ between states, awards or types of employment, we say so. We also say when your award, agreement or contract may give you more than the minimum.
- Plain English. We explain legal and tax terms in everyday language, and we name the law or ATO schedule a rule comes from.
Our review process
Before a new page is published, and whenever a page is updated:
- Every rate, threshold and date is checked against its primary source.
- Calculators are tested against official worked examples and edge cases.
- The WorkCalc editorial team reviews the page for accuracy, clarity and consistency with our other calculators and guides.
- The page's “checked” or “updated” date is refreshed, so you can see when its figures were last confirmed.
When we update content
Pay and tax rules change on fixed dates, so we review the affected pages when they do.
| When | What we review |
|---|---|
| 1 July each year | Income tax rates and withholding schedules, super guarantee settings, national minimum wage and award rates, HECS/HELP repayment thresholds, Medicare levy surcharge thresholds, termination payment caps |
| Indexation dates set by each scheme | Workers compensation caps and amounts, e.g. the NSW maximum weekly compensation amount and Queensland's QOTE |
| When governments announce changes | Public holiday dates and new holidays, changes to long service leave laws, new legislation such as tax cuts or workplace reforms |
| When readers report a problem | The page and calculator concerned (see corrections below) |
Corrections
If you think a figure, rule or calculation on WorkCalc is wrong, please tell us through our contact page. Include the page and, if you can, the official source. We check every report against the primary source. If there's an error, we correct the page and calculator and update the page's checked date.
What our content is, and isn't
WorkCalc calculators and guides are general information and estimates based on the standard rules. They're not financial, tax or legal advice, and WorkCalc isn't a registered tax agent, financial adviser or law firm. Your actual entitlements can depend on your modern award, enterprise agreement, contract, residency and personal circumstances. If money or a dispute is at stake, check with the ATO, the Fair Work Ombudsman, your state regulator, a registered tax agent or a lawyer.
Advertising and independence
WorkCalc is free to use and is supported by display advertising. Advertisers have no input into our content, calculators or results, and we don't publish paid or sponsored content. Ads are clearly separate from our content. See our privacy policy for how advertising cookies work.