Employee onboarding checklist
Every document you must give, every detail you must collect and every payroll step that has to be done before the first shift — then the first day, first week and first month. Ordered by when each task has to happen.
Employee onboarding checklist
PDF format • 3 pages • Ready to print
By downloading, you agree to our template disclaimer
This onboarding checklist is a general HR template and is not legal advice. Obligations vary by award, registered agreement, contract and state or territory law. Check your obligations, or seek advice, before relying on it for a specific hire. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
Generate a compliant contract
Draft an employment contract for the role in a couple of minutes, with Australian conditions built in — free, no signup.
What's in the checklist
Six stages, ordered by deadline rather than by department
Documents you must give
The Fair Work Information Statement for every new employee, the Casual Employment Information Statement for casuals, and a Fixed Term Contract Information Statement where it applies.
Details you must collect
Contact and emergency details, tax file number, super fund choice, bank account, right-to-work evidence, and licences with their expiry dates.
Payroll and rostering setup
Award and classification confirmed, pay template assigned, STP configured, and the employee added to the roster with their positions and availability.
First day
Team introductions, site tour, WHS induction, emergency procedures, uniform and equipment issued, and system access created.
First week
Role and mandatory training started, the first timesheet walked through together, and the first pay run checked line by line.
First month and probation
A structured 30-day check-in, probation review date confirmed in writing, training gaps scheduled, and the employee file completed.
What is an employee onboarding checklist?
An employee onboarding checklist is the list of everything that has to happen between someone accepting a job and being fully set up — the documents you give them, the details you collect, the systems they need, and the training they have to complete. It exists so nothing is discovered late, when it is expensive to fix.
In Australia it carries specific legal weight. Some items are obligations rather than good practice: the Fair Work Information Statement must go to every new employee, the Casual Employment Information Statement to every new casual, and a Fixed Term Contract Information Statement where the engagement is for a fixed term. All three must be provided before the employee starts or as soon as practicable afterwards.
The deadline is the first pay run
Tax file number, super choice, bank details and award classification all have to be right before the first pay, not after it. That is why they sit in the pre-start section.
Classification is the costly one
An employee placed a level too low under the award accrues an underpayment from day one, and it compounds every pay run until somebody notices.
Records run seven years
Onboarding paperwork becomes part of your employee records — legible, in English, kept seven years, and not altered except to correct a genuine error.
How to onboard a new employee
Four steps that keep the first pay run clean
1. Send the paperwork early
Issue the contract, the information statements and the details form as soon as the offer is accepted — not on the first morning, when there is no time to chase a missing bank account.
2. Set up pay before the roster
Confirm the award and classification, assign the pay template, and configure Single Touch Payroll. Rostering someone you cannot pay correctly just moves the problem.
3. Induct on day one
WHS induction, emergency procedures, site tour and system access. Assign a buddy for the first few shifts so questions have somewhere to go.
4. Check the first timesheet and pay
Walk through the first timesheet with them and verify the first pay line by line. Errors caught here are a conversation; caught in month three they are a back-payment.
Who it's for
Written for businesses that hire hourly and shift-based staff
Hospitality and retail
High-volume casual hiring where the same onboarding happens dozens of times a year and consistency is the only defence.
Healthcare and care services
Roles where licences, checks and mandatory training have to be sighted and their expiry dates tracked from the start.
Any first-time employer
If this is your first hire, the checklist is the fastest way to see what Australian law actually requires of you.
Stop onboarding from memory
A checklist handles one hire at a time. RosterElf's HR Hub runs the same onboarding for every new starter — documents issued and acknowledged, licences and expiry dates tracked, and the employee set up on the roster and pay template before their first shift.
Forms that go with it
The paperwork this checklist asks for
New employee details form
Collect contact, tax, super and bank details in one place before the first pay run.
Learn morePolicy acknowledgement form
Record that the employee received and read each workplace policy.
Learn moreAvailability form
Capture when a new starter can and cannot work, before the first roster is built.
Learn moreIT access form
Request and record the systems and access a new starter needs.
Learn moreJob offer letter
Put the offer in writing, with the position, rate and start date.
Learn moreEmployee offboarding checklist
The mirror of this one — every step from notice given through to final pay.
Learn moreGuides
The process behind the checklist
How to onboard a new employee
The full process, step by step, with the Australian obligations at each stage.
Learn moreEmployee onboarding checklist for Australia
What each stage involves and why the order matters.
Learn moreThe cost of poor onboarding
What it actually costs when a new starter is set up badly, and where the money goes.
Learn moreDefinitions
Terms used in the checklist
Employee onboarding checklist FAQs
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Six things, in this order: the documents you must give the employee, the details you must collect from them, payroll and rostering setup, the first day, the first week, and a 30-day review. Ordering by deadline rather than by department is what stops the payroll items being left until after the first pay run.
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They overlap. Induction usually means the first day — site tour, safety, introductions. Onboarding is the whole arc from accepted offer to the end of probation, and includes the paperwork and payroll setup that happen before anyone arrives. This template covers both.
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Yes. It is a free PDF you can print and work through, and you should adapt it — different industries need different licences, training and equipment. Add the items specific to your roles and remove the ones that do not apply.
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Yes. No signup, no email required. Download it, print it, and use it for every new starter.
Before you download
General information only — not legal advice
This document is a general HR template provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and may not reflect the latest changes in legislation or apply to every workplace situation. Roster Elf Pty Ltd and the template provider accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this document. Users should seek independent legal advice and customise the template to ensure it complies with all relevant laws, awards and workplace requirements.