Payroll software · Australia · Head-to-head
Deputy vs Employment Hero Payroll (formerly KeyPay)
Two Australia payroll software options, compared side by side for Australia trades.
Which should you choose?
Deputy and Employment Hero Payroll (formerly KeyPay) are both Tier S: our check found each one's prices published on its own website, so you can compare their costs before talking to sales. The tier is not a quality ranking: weigh the pros, cons, pricing and Australia-specific notes below against your trade and region.
Deputy
Tier S · Published pricesSydney-founded rostering, time clock and award interpretation, with an optional Deputy Payroll add-on
Deputy is a workforce management platform founded in Sydney in 2008 by Steve Shelley and Ashik Ahmed; it says more than 390,000 workplaces worldwide use it. Its plans cover rostering, timesheets, time clocking and award interpretation, and approved timesheets can flow to Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks or Reckon, or to Deputy's own Payroll add-on. Deputy says its regularly updated award templates auto-fill employee entitlements, which suits award-covered trade crews.
Pros
- + Award interpretation included from the Lite plan, with regularly updated award templates
- + Deputy Payroll add-on designed for STP Phase 2 reporting, Deputy says
- + Timesheets connect to Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks and Reckon
- + Published per-user AUD prices; 30-day free trial on the Payroll add-on
Cons
- − Payroll is a paid add-on ($5 per user per month) on top of a base plan
- − Minimum spend of AUD $30 a month per invoice on monthly Lite, Core and Pro plans since 1 September 2025
- − Per-user pricing grows with the crew, and HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ cost extra below Pro
- − SMS charged at 5c per 160 characters
Australia note
Deputy says Deputy Payroll is designed to support Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 reporting, and its payroll page notes that under Payday Super, super must be paid on each payday rather than quarterly. Award interpretation is included from the Lite plan (Core adds advanced award interpretation); AU prices are in AUD excluding taxes.
Employment Hero Payroll (formerly KeyPay)
Tier S · Published pricesEmployment Hero's payroll (formerly KeyPay): award-rate automation, STP Phase 2 and built-in super clearing
Employment Hero Payroll is the former KeyPay, which HR software company Employment Hero acquired in February 2022 and rebranded in May 2023. Employment Hero says its payroll updates pay rates automatically for modern awards and penalty rates, pulls in rostering and timesheet data, and reports through Single Touch Payroll Phase 2. It is sold as a Payroll plan or inside the Employment Unlimited HR and payroll bundle, and Employment Hero says it has more than 350,000 customers.
Pros
- + Pay rates update automatically for modern awards and penalty rates, Employment Hero says
- + STP Phase 2 reporting to the ATO
- + Built-in super clearing (HeroClear) for Payday Super
- + Rostering and time data sync into pay runs
Cons
- − Minimum of 10 Users, so a 3-person crew pays for 10
- − Payroll page shows no billing period or GST basis for the $10 price
- − Rostering & Time is a paid add-on
- − The full HR and payroll bundle (Employment Unlimited) is quote-only
Australia note
Employment Hero calls its payroll 'ATO-recognised' for STP Phase 2 reporting. For Payday Super (from 1 July 2026 super must be paid every pay cycle), its HeroClear clearing house validates, pays and tracks super contributions from payroll.
More Australia options
See all Australia payroll software vendors and the rest of the Australia directory.