About

Join an independent federal government agency that acts as the national watchdog for tax administration in Australia. The Office of the Tax Ombudsman investigates complaints about the Australian Taxation Office and the Tax Practitioners Board, working to improve the fairness, transparency, and efficiency of the national tax system.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced and qualified Payroll Manager to lead the delivery of accurate, compliant, and efficient payroll services. This senior position provides strategic oversight of payroll governance, system improvements, and key initiatives, ensuring best-practice processes that reflect the agency's high standards of accountability and service.

The role will also support strategic payroll system enhancements, lead audit implementation, and contribute to business case development for future payroll solutions, engaging with stakeholders across government to benchmark and optimise payroll operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic oversight of end-to-end payroll operations to ensure legislative, industrial, and policy compliance.

• Reconcile employee leave balances, including long service, parental, personal, cultural, and reservist leave.

• Validate superannuation contributions across multiple funds and employee groups.

• Oversee compliance for salary sacrifice arrangements (vehicles and superannuation).

• Approve coding for public holidays and Christmas shutdown periods.

• Lead or support implementation of internal payroll audit recommendations.

• Manage the onboarding of a new payroll provider (pending scope).

• Review and develop cost-benefit analyses and business cases for payroll service delivery models.

• Benchmark Aurion capabilities with other agencies and explore alternative payroll platforms.

• Commission comparative analyses of payroll systems, staffing models, and associated risks.

• Identify and document missing Aurion functionalities and assess operational impacts.

• Oversee closure of outstanding payroll tickets, monitor resolution times, and implement process improvements.

• Establish governance for new employee payroll requests and associated processing times.

• Lead fortnightly payroll reconciliations and maintain high standards of end-to-end payroll processing.

Mandatory Requirements

• CPA, CA, or equivalent professional accounting qualification.

• Strong knowledge of payroll legislation, enterprise agreements, and compliance frameworks.

• Australian citizenship, with ability to obtain and maintain a Baseline security clearance.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Extensive experience with Aurion or similar payroll systems.

• Demonstrated leadership in managing payroll audits, system transitions, or shared services arrangements.

• Strong analytical skills to support strategic business cases and process improvement initiatives.

• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with the ability to influence at senior levels.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Drake, we are committed to fostering diversity, inclusion, and equity. While our journey is ongoing, our shared goal is to create an environment where every individual is respected and valued. We are a community that recognises the strength of diversity.

Right to Work

The above position is open only to applicants who have a current right to work in Australia. Applicants who do not have a current right to work In Australia will unfortunately not be considered and are respectfully asked not to apply.