Payroll Officer

Why work with us?

At Council, we’re proud of our region. We collaborate with community to achieve truly sustainable outcomes, enhance our enviable lifestyle, and create award-winning places and spaces that are uniquely Sunshine Coast. So, if you love it here as much as we do, and you want to shape our region for the future – you’ll want to join our team!

With the vision to be Australia’s most sustainable region - Connected. Liveable. Thriving, our region is a model of sustainability, where caring for our environment, creating vibrant communities and growing our local economy is a way of life.

About the Role

The People & Culture Branch partners with the organisation to build strong leadership, capability and a positive employee experience. The Branch provides professional advice and services across payroll, workforce operations and people practices supporting Council’s strategic goals. With a strong focus on service excellence, continuous improvement and collaboration, the Branch plays a critical role in enabling Council to deliver for the Sunshine Coast community.

As a Payroll Officer, you will contribute to the accurate and timely delivery of Council’s fortnightly payroll, ensuring compliance with legislation, awards and organisational policy. This role is essential to maintaining employee trust, operational integrity and data accuracy. Working closely with payroll colleagues and internal stakeholders, you’ll support payroll processing, reporting, client enquiries and continuous improvement initiatives in a high‑volume, customer‑focused environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Process payroll transactions including salary payments, leave and adjustments
• Support accurate payroll reporting, reconciliations and quality control checks
• Assist with taxation, superannuation and statutory payment obligations
• Prepare payroll data and documentation for processing and audit purposes
• Provide responsive advice and support on payroll enquiries
• Investigate payroll discrepancies and implement corrective actions
• Maintain data integrity across payroll and HR systems
• Deliver high‑quality administrative support to the People & Culture Branch
• Contribute to payroll process improvements and service reforms
• Promote service excellence, teamwork and strong internal relationships

This position is based at  Sunshine Coast City Hall, in the heart of Maroochydore CBD. This state of the art and sustainable building is designed to achieve an innovative and collaborative workspace.

About you

To succeed in this role, you:

• Bring payroll experience from a medium to large organisation.
• Have strong payroll legislation knowledge, including tax, super and awards.
• Are confident working in high‑volume, deadline‑driven environments.
• Have exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy.
• Enjoy delivering high‑quality customer service with professionalism and discretion.
• Are comfortable resolving complex enquiries using sound judgement and tact.
• Work well independently while contributing positively to team outcomes.
• Have strong numeracy skills and enjoy reconciling payroll data.
• Are proficient with payroll systems and advanced in Microsoft Excel.
• Are adaptable, quick to learn and open to new systems and ways of working.

Criminal History Check Required

Appointment to this position is subject to the satisfactory completion of a Criminal History Check. 

Our Culture & Employee Benefits

Council is committed to creating an inclusive, culturally diverse, healthy, skilled and dedicated workplace culture. As an employee you will enjoy a range of benefits and working styles to suit you:

• Wellbeing: Your wellbeing is important to us therefore we offer several different initiatives such as discounted health related memberships, fitness passport, employee assistance program and development opportunities. 
• Extras: Those extras make a difference therefore we offer salary packaging options on novated leases, superannuation, smartphones and devices.

How to apply

Your written application should include:

• A 1-2 page cover letter demonstrating your ability to fulfil the mandatory and desirable requirements on the Position Profile. Keep the key responsibilities in mind when addressing these criteria; and
• A current resume or curriculum vitae.

Once you have these two documents ready, click ‘Apply Now’ and follow the prompts to complete your application.

Further Information

Helpful information to assist you in completing your application is available on the Sunshine Coast Council website.

To learn more about Council’s vision and projects, you can view the Corporate Plan 2025-2030.

For specific enquiries contact Remii Watts-Smith during business hours on 0411 805 478.

We're working hard to create an inclusive workplace that reflects the diverse community we serve. If you require adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out to the Recruitment Team [email protected].

At Sunshine Coast Council, we embrace differences in gender, age, ethnicity, race, cultural background including First Nations, disability, religion and sexual orientation. To deliver the best service to our region we want a workforce that reflects the diverse community that we serve. Sunshine Coast Council strongly encourages all suitable applicants to apply for this role.