Get ready for your end of financial year (EOFY)
The end of the financial year (EOFY) in Australia is on June 30th of each year. This is the official end of the accounting period, which runs from July 1st to June 30th.
This is a critical time for your employers to finalise their financial reports and payroll. However, for employees, there are 2 main things that you will need to prepare for. These are:
- Completing your tax return
- The possibility of receiving a wage increase
This guide will cover the essential steps you need to take to prepare for your tax return, as well as what to expect concerning possible wage increases and their timing.
For more information about the annual review or any other changes the increase may impact, please take a look at the Fair Work website.
Preparations for EOFY
Before the end of your last pay period, please take a moment to check and confirm that the following details are correct.
This helps your payroll manager ensure everything runs smoothly, allowing your payroll team to process things quickly so you can submit your return without any issues.
These include your:
Payment summary
In previous years, you may have received a summary of your yearly earnings from your employer, sometimes also called a Payment Summary, Group Certificates or PAYG Statement. This document was typically produced at the end of the financial year and was required for completing your tax return.
However, from the 1st of July 2019, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) no longer requires payment summaries to be produced by employers. Instead, your payment details will be sent directly to the ATO by your employer.
Once the ATO has finished processing your information, you will then be able to access your Payment Summary directly from your myGov account, which will show a status of 'Tax Ready'.
The Payment Summary is the first step in filing your tax return. If you need help, foundU has partnered with One Click Life. You can learn more about this here.
Annual wage increase (rate rise)
Every year, the Fair Work Commission reviews the National Minimum Wage and minimum rates of pay in awards to decide if they should be increased.
As part of this review, they can change minimum wages, including:
- The National Minimum Wage
- The National Training Wage
- The minimum wages in awards
- This can also affect minimum wages in enterprise and individual agreements
How much will it increase?
Each year, the amount of the increase and the minimum national wage are adjusted. If you are already paid above the national minimum award wage, your employer has no obligation to increase your wage. However, if you are paid the minimum, you should expect an increase.
Details of this increase for 2026 can be found here.
When does the increase start?
If your award wage is set to increase from July 1st, you might notice them appear on your payslip immediately.
This is due to your pay period, as the increased rates will apply to you from the first full pay period starting on or after July 1st. So, it's possible that the initial weeks of July will still be paid at your current rate, depending on your pay period.
For example, if your pay period is June 30 - July 6, your rates won't be increased for this period.
This is because it is not the first full pay period in July, as 1 day of it is in June. Your pay increase will apply for the period starting July 7, as all days of the period are in July.
Check out the Fair Work pay guide for the starting dates of each award, along with all the minimum rates. Use this link to find Fair Work's pay guides and your specific award.