What does a new casual need to provide before their first shift?

Four things: their Tax File Number, their residency status (Australian resident, foreign resident or working holiday maker), their bank account details, and their super fund and member number. They also confirm their personal details and home address, and the employment terms you've set. Most people finish it in a few minutes on their phone.

Can I roster someone before onboarding is complete?

Yes. Once a new starter is in your people list they can go straight on the roster, whether or not they've opened the onboarding link. Onboarding runs alongside the roster rather than in front of it, so hiring in the morning and working that night is normal. You only need their details finished before you pay them.

Does it work for working holiday and student visa staff?

Yes. The tax declaration covers Australian residents, foreign residents and working holiday makers, along with country of residence, TFN exemptions and study or training loan debts, so the right withholding is applied from the first shift. Rostering them is a separate question, and visa hour caps are worth reading up on before you build the roster.

How does paperless onboarding work?

You send an onboarding link by email from your people list. The new starter opens it without creating an account and works through a step by step flow covering their personal details, employment terms, tax declaration, bank account and super. Each question carries an explanation, with links to the ATO where the right answer depends on their circumstances.

How long does onboarding take?

A few minutes. The flow asks only for what payroll actually needs, and the new starter can do it on a phone. The four things worth having handy before they start are their TFN, their residency status, their bank details and their super fund.

How do I know whether they've done it?

Your people list shows where each new starter is up to, including whether the onboarding email was delivered, opened or clicked. That tells you the difference between a casual who is ignoring it and one who never received it, and you can send a reminder from the same list in one click.

Do you collect certificates like RSA?

Not in the onboarding pack, which covers the details payroll needs. Qualifications such as RSA or a barista ticket are set as requirements on the position itself, so the requirement is recorded against the role you're rostering rather than collected as a file upload.

Does onboarding sync to Xero?

Yes. When a new starter submits, their details are validated and synced to Xero for payroll, so nothing is re-keyed between systems and your Single Touch Payroll records stay clean. Onboarding also works on its own if you don't use Xero, with the details kept in Shiftly.

Yes. Paperless employee onboarding is part of Shiftly's free plan for every business, with no per-employee fees.

Features

Paperless onboarding for hospitality staff: hired today, rostered tonight

Trials on Tuesday, on the roster by Friday. Add your new cafe or bar casual, email them one link, and they fill in their own tax declaration, super fund and bank details in a few minutes. Nothing to print, nothing to chase, and nobody typing it in twice.

Hired this morning, on the roster tonight

Onboarding runs alongside the roster, not in front of it.

Add them to your team

Put the new starter in your people list with their position, employment basis and start date, then send the onboarding link. It goes out by email, and they don't need a Shiftly account to open it.

Roster them straight away

You don't have to wait for the paperwork. A new casual can go on tonight's roster while their onboarding is still open, so someone hired on a Friday morning can work the Friday night.

They finish it on their phone

Personal details, tax declaration, bank account and super fund, in a few minutes, wherever they are. Their details land in Shiftly ready for their first pay run.

What a new casual actually fills in

The whole pack, in a few minutes

Send the link and they work through it themselves, on their phone, in their own time. Every question explains what it means, with links to the ATO wherever the right answer depends on their circumstances, so you're not talking a nineteen year old through a tax declaration on the pass.

Personal details, date of birth, phone and home address
The employment terms you've set, to confirm: casual or part time, start date and award
Tax declaration: TFN, tax free threshold, residency status and study or training loans
Bank account for their pay: account name, BSB and account number
Superannuation: their own fund and member number, or your default

Live status, reminders and full control

See who has finished and who hasn't

Your people list shows where every new starter is up to, including whether the onboarding email was delivered, opened or clicked. That is the difference between a casual who is ignoring it and one who never got it, and a reminder is one click from the same list.

Delivery tracking on every onboarding email
Send a reminder from the staff list in one click
Sync errors shown against the person, with the reason

Payroll, when you're ready for it

Syncs to Xero, and works without it

If you run payroll in Xero, a completed pack is validated and synced straight across, so tax, super and bank details land in payroll without re-keying and your Single Touch Payroll records stay clean. If you don't use Xero, onboarding still works on its own and the details stay in Shiftly.

Digital TFN and super collection
Tax residency and withholding declarations
Works with or without a payroll connection

Built for the people venues actually hire

Most hospitality starters are casuals, students and working holiday makers, filling this in on a phone between shifts. The pack handles Australian residents, foreign residents and working holiday makers, and explains each answer as they go.

Connect with Us

Join us and start onboarding right away

Create your account in minutes, add your venue, and send your first onboarding link the same day.

Features

Explore more of Shiftly

Award-based timesheets

Pay is calculated from your configured award rates, approved hours are captured, and everything syncs to Xero ready for your pay run.

Employee rostering

Easily plan shifts, publish rosters, sync timesheets and export in seconds, with no spreadsheets and no stress. Stay in control and keep payroll running smoothly with Shiftly.

Award interpretation

Our smart, automated system calculates wages, penalties, allowances, and overtime using configured award rules to support your payroll processes.

Let us show you around

We'll walk you through how Shiftly works and help you see if we're the right fit for you.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Four things: their Tax File Number, their residency status (Australian resident, foreign resident or working holiday maker), their bank account details, and their super fund and member number. They also confirm their personal details and home address, and the employment terms you've set. Most people finish it in a few minutes on their phone.