Work & You

Beginning a new job is exciting – but with new roles come new responsibilities for making sure you are managing and protecting the money you earn.

To begin with, you'll need to determine whether you are defined as an employee or a contractor – there is a distinct difference! Or perhaps you like the idea of contracting, and want to find out more about it. You can do so, here.

As important as earning an income is building your 'nest egg'. It's never too late to begin thinking about superannuation, and saving for the future. There's also something called government co-contribution, where the government encourages us to put extra money into our super by chipping some in as well. Find out more about that here.

You may also be interested in finding out about salary sacrificing, which can be a great way to get a part of your remuneration in a form other than cash.  Similarly, many workplaces are willing to offer certain items or benefits in place or part of your normal salary, such as giving you a laptop computer or mobile phone, protective clothing or tools of trade. These are called 'fringe benefits' and you can find out more about them, here.

There may come a time when your employer asks you to work overseas – and in this case, the implications of paying super in two countries needs to be considered.  Australia has agreements in place with particular countries which eliminate the need for you to pay super twice. These are called bilateral agreements, and you can find out more about them, here.

To find out how much tax you can expect to pay, or to calculate your superannuation, see the Rates and Tables page, with links to the member-only complete dollar break-down of income tax rates, and more.

Last reviewed 2/08/2012