Payroll for Australian Businesses Operating in NZ

How is PAYG and Withholding Tax handled in NZ?

PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is the equivalent of PAYG in Australia. KeyLink works with New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to ensure that you meet your employer obligations.

The IRD is the NZ equivalent of the Australian Tax Office.

KeyLink will register your company with the IRD as an employer. Once this is done you won’t have to deal with the IRD for any payroll related matters.

What about Compulsory Superannuation?

The Ministry of Business, New Zealand doesn’t have compulsory superannuation, but does have KiwiSaver which is a voluntary workplace savings scheme administered by the IRD.

KeyLink will work with you to ensure that you meet your KiwiSaver obligations and can help you setup and operate a company super scheme if required.

KiwiSaver Employee Deductions and Employer Contributions are collected the IRD through the PAYE system.

What about Payroll Tax?

There is no equivalent to Payroll Tax in NZ.

Do I need a NZ bank account to make Employee and IRD Payments?

You don’t need a NZ bank account to pay your staff or the IRD.

• We can send you a report and you make the payments from your Australian bank account
• We can send you a report and you can make the payments through your preferred Foreign Exchange provider
• We can provide a Commercial Trust Account. You then fund that account and we make payments from it.

How will I know NZ Minimum Employment Rights?

KeyLink knows the minimum employment rights enforced by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

The Department of Labour (DoL) has been amalgamated into MBIE and is the equivalent of the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman.

KeyLink can advise you on the requirements of the MBIE with respect to employees’ holiday and leave entitlements and then track these for you.

Is there a NZ equivalent to Workers Compensation?

Whether you are entering the New Zealand market or right-sizing your presence here, KeyLink has a payroll processing solution for your Australian business.

KeyLink helps over a dozen Australian organisations manage their payroll requirements in New Zealand. We are experts at communicating NZ payroll requirements to Australian human resource and payroll professionals. Here are some of the questions we are commonly asked by Australian organisations setting up in NZ.

What about Payroll Authorisation?

KeyLink will tailor a Payroll Authorisation process to your requirements.

What reports are available?

KeyLink provides a wide range of reports to their customers. You can find out more here.

What if I have any questions?

Just call or e-mail us. For urgent attention after hours you can call +64 27 405 0023.

When you call you will be speaking to one of our payroll officers, not to a call centre. In short we can be the payroll department for your New Zealand business. We will provide all the local payroll knowledge you need and translate it into terms you can understand.