Outsourced HR services cost in Australia sits at an indicative $150–$350 per hour ad hoc, or roughly $800–$4,000 per month on retainer, depending on headcount and award complexity. Employment Star (employmentstar.com.au) prices outsourced payroll from $350 per month ex-GST for up to 20 employees, and Employment Hero implementation from $2,340 ex-GST as a fixed one-off.
Most pricing pages in this market say “it depends” and then ask you to book a call. That’s not useful when you’re building a budget.
So this page gives you the numbers we’d give you on the phone: what each pricing model actually charges, what the trap is inside each one, what a comparable in-house arrangement costs once you add on-costs, and — the part almost nobody publishes — what is normally inside the fee and what gets billed on top.
Every figure below marked “indicative” is a planning estimate for an Australian SMB, not a quote. Our own prices are fixed and stated as such.
What drives outsourced HR services cost in Australia
Two businesses with the same headcount can be quoted double the difference. Five things explain almost all of it.
Headcount. The obvious one, and the one providers price off first. Twenty staff is a different administrative load to fifty, but it isn’t 2.5 times the load, so per-head cost usually falls as you grow.
Award complexity. This matters more than headcount. A twelve-person professional services firm on the Clerks Award is straightforward. A twelve-person disability services provider on the SCHADS Award, with broken shifts, sleepovers, client cancellations and multiple classifications, is not. Award-complex payroll is where the hours go.
Industry risk profile. Healthcare, construction, aged care, disability and hospitality carry heavier record-keeping and safety obligations. Providers price the risk in.
Scope. Advice-only is cheap. Advice plus documentation is more. Advice plus documentation plus running payroll plus handling investigations is a different service entirely.
Response expectations. Same-day is priced differently to next-business-day. If you don’t ask about this, you’ll find out at the worst moment.
Outsourced HR services cost by model: hourly, retainer and project
Australian providers use three pricing models. Most use two of them at once.
| Model | Indicative AUD range | What it suits | The trap in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly / ad hoc | $150–$350 per hour ex-GST; senior IR specialists $350–$550 | Businesses with occasional, discrete questions. A termination, a contract review, one award query a quarter. | You hesitate to call. The meter running is exactly the wrong incentive when you’re deciding whether to sack someone. Costs also spike without warning in the month something goes wrong. |
| Monthly retainer | $800–$2,000 per month ex-GST for roughly 10–30 staff; $2,000–$4,000+ for 30–100 | Businesses wanting a predictable line item and unlimited-ish advice. Most SMBs land here. | “Unlimited support” is almost never unlimited. Check what falls outside — investigations, on-site attendance, Fair Work Commission matters and document drafting are the usual carve-outs. Also check the exit terms. |
| Project / fixed fee | Policy suite $1,500–$4,000 · Contract set $800–$2,500 · Payroll or award audit $2,000–$6,000 · System implementation from $2,340 | A defined piece of work with a defined end. Cleaning up documentation, fixing an award mapping, implementing a system. | Scope creep in reverse — the fee is fixed, so anything not written into the scope becomes a variation. Get the deliverable list in writing, item by item. |
Ranges are indicative planning estimates for the Australian SMB market as at August 2026. They are not quotes and will vary by provider, state and industry.
Which model to pick
If HR is genuinely occasional for you, stay hourly and accept the volatility. If you’re touching HR most weeks, or if the thought of an hourly rate stops you picking up the phone, a retainer costs less in practice — not because the rate is lower, but because you’ll actually use it before a problem becomes a claim.
Project fees are for work with a finish line. Don’t put ongoing advice on a project fee and don’t put a system implementation on a retainer.
What's included, and what's usually extra
This is the section that decides whether the quote you’re comparing is actually the cheaper one. Two retainers at $1,200 a month can differ by thousands over a year depending on where the line sits.
Normally inside a monthly retainer
- Phone and email advice during business hours
- Modern award interpretation and classification queries
- Standard letter templates — warnings, variations, probation, termination
- A core policy set and annual review of it
- Employment contract templates for standard roles
- Onboarding and induction documentation
- Notification of legislative changes that affect you
Normally billed on top
- On-site attendance and travel
- Workplace investigations (bullying, harassment, misconduct) — often $2,000–$8,000 per matter
- Representation at the Fair Work Commission, including conciliation
- Redundancy and restructure programs
- Enterprise agreement negotiation
- Bespoke policy or contract drafting beyond the template set
- Recruitment and candidate management
- Payroll processing itself — this is a separate service in most agreements
- Software subscriptions (Employment Hero and similar are billed by the vendor, not the adviser)
- Historical payroll reconstruction and back-pay calculations
- Out-of-hours and urgent turnaround
The two that catch people out are investigations and payroll processing. A retainer quoted as “full HR support” that excludes both is a support line, not a HR function. Ask directly, and ask for it in the agreement.
In-house vs outsourced: the cost picture for a 20-person business
A cost comparison only — the wider decision about which model fits your business is a separate question, and headcount isn’t the only variable.
Assume a 20-person Australian business that needs HR and payroll covered, and compare a part-time internal HR resource at 0.6 FTE against an outsourced arrangement.
| Annual cost line | In-house (0.6 FTE HR generalist) | Outsourced |
|---|---|---|
| Salary / service fee | $54,000–$66,000 (pro rata on an indicative $90k–$110k full-time base) | HR retainer $9,600–$24,000 |
| Superannuation | $6,480–$7,920 (12% from 1 July 2025) | Included in fee |
| Payroll processing | Included in the role | $4,200 (Employment Star, from $350/mo ex-GST up to 20 employees) |
| Payroll tax | Applies if total Australian wages exceed your state threshold — in NSW, $1.2 million (Revenue NSW) | Not applicable to a service fee |
| Workers comp, leave loading, recruitment cost amortised | $4,000–$8,000 | Not applicable |
| HR/payroll software (20 staff) | $2,400–$4,800 | $2,400–$4,800 (billed by the vendor either way) |
| Training and CPD | $1,000–$2,000 | Included |
| One-off system implementation | Varies | From $2,340 ex-GST, year one only |
| Indicative annual total | $67,880–$88,720 | $16,200–$33,000 ongoing · $18,540–$35,340 in year one |
| Indicative monthly equivalent | $5,657–$7,393 | $1,350–$2,750 |
All figures are indicative estimates for planning, not quotes or guarantees. Salary bands vary by state, industry and experience. Payroll tax thresholds and rates differ in every state and territory.
The honest caveat
That table flatters outsourcing, and you should know why before you use it.
An internal person is available all day, absorbs ad-hoc work nobody scoped, sits in on meetings, and builds relationships with your team that an external provider can’t replicate. The outsourced column assumes a defined scope. Complex employee relations matters, investigations and Commission appearances sit outside it and get billed separately.
The comparison holds well for compliance, payroll and documentation. It holds less well the moment your people issues become people-heavy rather than process-heavy.
Want a number instead of a range?
We’ll scope your actual requirement — headcount, awards, current system, what’s already working — and give you a fixed price in writing. We’re a certified Employment Hero implementation partner, so the payroll side comes with the platform expertise attached. No charge for the scoping call.
Where our pricing sits
We publish our prices because we’d rather you self-qualify than sit through a discovery call to find out we’re outside your budget.
| Service | Price (ex-GST) | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Outsourced payroll processing — up to 20 employees | From $350 per month | No lock-in, no per-employee fees |
| Outsourced payroll — 21 to 50 employees | $500 per month | No lock-in, no per-employee fees |
| Employment Hero setup and award configuration | From $2,340 one-off | Live in 14 business days; 20–25 business days for complex multi-award |
| HR consulting for small business | Quoted per scope | Fixed fee, agreed before we start |
What’s inside the payroll fee: pay run processing, modern award interpretation, STP Phase 2 lodgement, superannuation processing under the Payday Super rules that commenced 1 July 2026, leave accruals, payslip distribution, and termination calculations.
What isn’t: the Employment Hero subscription itself, which Employment Hero bills you directly; historical payroll reconstruction; and employee relations matters, which we quote separately.
No per-employee surcharge, no lock-in contract, and the price on your first invoice is the price we quoted.
Five questions to ask before you sign anything
- What is excluded from the retainer? Ask for the list in writing. If the answer is “nothing”, ask again more specifically about investigations, Commission representation and payroll processing.
- What’s your response time, and what happens when my consultant is on leave? Single-point-of-contact is a feature until that contact takes annual leave.
- Who owns the data and documents? If you leave, do your employee records, contracts and payroll history come with you, in what format, and at what cost?
- Is the software fee inside or outside the price? Platform subscriptions are usually billed by the vendor. A quote that quietly excludes $300 a month of subscription isn’t the quote you thought it was.
- What are the exit terms? Month-to-month, 30 days’ notice, or a twelve-month minimum with a termination fee? This is the single biggest difference between two otherwise identical proposals.
Frequently asked questions
How much does outsourced HR cost in Australia?
As an indicative range, $150–$350 per hour for ad-hoc advice, or $800–$4,000 per month on retainer depending on headcount and award complexity. Payroll processing is usually priced separately — ours starts at $350 per month ex-GST for up to 20 employees. Project work such as a policy suite or payroll audit is quoted as a fixed fee.
Is outsourcing HR cheaper than hiring in-house?
For most Australian businesses under about 50 staff, an outsourced arrangement costs less than a part-time internal HR resource once you add superannuation, workers compensation, leave, training and software. Our indicative comparison above puts a 0.6 FTE internal resource at roughly $68,000–$89,000 a year against $16,000–$33,000 outsourced. These are estimates, not guarantees.
What are HR consulting fees in Australia per hour?
Generalist HR consultants typically charge an indicative $150–$350 per hour ex-GST. Senior industrial relations specialists and employment lawyers charge more, commonly $350–$550 per hour and upwards. Rates vary by state, seniority and the urgency of the matter.
Do I have to sign a lock-in contract?
Not with us. Our outsourced payroll is month-to-month with no lock-in and no per-employee fees. Other providers do use minimum terms of six or twelve months, so check the exit clause and the notice period before you sign — it’s the term that most often surprises people.
Does outsourced HR pricing include payroll software?
Usually not. Platform subscriptions such as Employment Hero are billed to you by the vendor, and the HR provider’s fee covers their service only. Always confirm which side of the line the subscription sits on, because for 20 staff it can add several thousand dollars a year to the real total.
What does an Employment Hero implementation cost?
Ours is from $2,340 ex-GST as a fixed one-off, covering award configuration, pay categories, data migration, STP Phase 2 setup and Payday Super settings, with go-live in 14 business days. Complex multi-award environments take 20–25 business days and are quoted before we start.
Get a fixed price, in writing, before you commit
We’re a certified Employment Hero implementation partner based in Parramatta, NSW. Tell us your headcount, your awards and what’s currently broken, and we’ll quote a fixed scope — outsourced payroll from $350 per month ex-GST, implementation from $2,340 ex-GST.
Weighing up whether to do this at all? Read the benefits of outsourcing HR, including the three trade-offs worth knowing about.
Call +61 466 614 475
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. Pricing figures marked indicative are planning estimates, not quotes. Obligations vary by business, industry, state and applicable modern award. Check your circumstances with the ATO, the Fair Work Ombudsman, your state revenue office, or a qualified adviser.
About Employment Star — We’re a certified Employment Hero implementation partner based in Parramatta, NSW, working with small and medium businesses across Australia. We handle outsourced HR for Australian businesses, Employment Hero setup, modern award configuration, data migration, STP Phase 2 and Payday Super — fixed price from $2,340 ex-GST, live in 14 business days.
Published 10 July 2026 · Last updated 3 August 2026