Best Rostering Software Australia 2026: Prices Compared

For most Australian businesses with award-covered staff, the strongest rostering software is Deputy, Tanda or RosterElf, because all three apply modern award rules to shifts and publish AUD prices (from about $6 to $13 per user a month, as at 17 October 2026). ShiftCare suits disability and home care. Free plans suit small teams on simple pay rates.

The right choice depends on three things more than on features lists: which award your staff are on, how they clock in, and which payroll system the timesheets go to. This guide compares 12 products on published prices and features, explains what award interpretation actually does, shows what rostering mistakes cost, and finishes with a checklist and a two-week trial plan. We haven't tested these products hands-on; everything below comes from the vendors' published information.

Rostering software compared at a glance

Prices are per user per month in AUD unless stated, as at 17 October 2026. "Ex GST" means the vendor says GST is added.

How we chose and compared

We included products with real Australian availability: an Australian site or AUD pricing, and Australian customers or integrations. We checked each vendor's own pricing and feature pages on 17 October 2026 and compared them on:

1. Australian award interpretation, and which plan includes it.
2. Clock-in and verification: kiosk, phone GPS, geofencing, photo or facial checks.
3. Payroll integration with Xero, MYOB, Employment Hero or the vendor's own payroll.
4. Published AUD price, minimums and billing terms.
5. Compliance features: break rules, minimum engagement, overtime and qualification alerts.
6. Leave, availability and shift swaps, and whether staff can manage them in a mobile app.

We left out products that only publish US pricing and show no Australian focus, such as Sling, When I Work and Homebase, and 7shifts, whose Australian availability we couldn't confirm. Planday's site showed only UK (GBP) pricing when we checked. Ento now redirects to Humanforce.

What award interpretation actually does

Most Australian employees in shift-based businesses are covered by a modern award. If you're not sure which one, start with our guide to finding the right modern award.

An award sets more than an hourly rate. Award interpretation software takes each worked shift and applies the award's rules to it:

• Base rate for the employee's classification and age.
• Employment type: casual, part-time or full-time. The Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 adds a 25% casual loading, for example.
• Penalty rates for evenings, weekends and public holidays. See our 2026-27 minimum wage and penalty rates guide.
• Overtime once ordinary hours are exceeded.
• Minimum engagement. Under the General Retail Industry Award 2020, a casual's minimum daily engagement is 3 hours (1.5 hours in some circumstances) and a part-timer's is 3 consecutive hours. Under the Hospitality Award, casuals must be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours. Software can flag a 2-hour retail shift before you publish the roster.
• Breaks. Under the Retail Award, a shift of more than 5 but less than 7 hours earns a 10-minute paid rest break and an unpaid meal break of 30 to 60 minutes. Under the Hospitality Award, a shift of more than 6 and up to 8 hours earns an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes, taken after the first 2 hours and within the first 6.
• Allowances set by the award.

The result is a costed roster before the week starts and a pay-ready timesheet after it ends.

What it doesn't do

Award interpretation applies whatever you set up. If an employee is on the wrong classification, the software pays the wrong rate every week, accurately. It also won't tell you which award applies, decide whether someone is a casual or permanent employee (see casual vs part-time vs full-time), or make you compliant on its own. Ask each vendor how quickly it updates rates when awards change, and check a few pays against the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guides after every annual increase.

Fair Work also says that before changing an employee's regular roster or ordinary hours, you must give them information about the change, invite their views and consider those views. Awards and agreements can add rules about how and when rosters are given.

What rostering mistakes cost

Rostering errors usually turn into pay errors: a missed penalty rate, a shift shorter than the minimum engagement, an unpaid break that was never taken, or overtime nobody noticed.

• The regulator is recovering more. The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $453 million in unpaid wages and entitlements for more than 181,000 workers in 2025-26, up 27% on the year before. Its proactive investigations rose 86% to more than 2,680.
• Food businesses are a priority. In surprise inspections of 28 Hobart fast food, restaurant and cafe businesses, published in August 2026, 22 were non-compliant. Twenty had underpaid base rates and 18 had underpaid penalty rates. Seven had record-keeping breaches and five had pay slip breaches. The FWO recovered $129,674 for 180 workers and issued fines totalling $24,570. One owner said an earlier underpayment came from using the wrong classifications.
• Intentional underpayment is a crime. Since 1 January 2025, intentionally underpaying wages or entitlements can be a criminal offence. Honest mistakes aren't included. A small business employer (fewer than 15 employees) that complies with the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code can't be referred for criminal prosecution by the FWO, but civil penalties can still apply.
• Civil penalties are higher. For employers with 15 or more employees, the maximum penalty for an underpayment-related contravention can be 3 times the underpayment, in certain circumstances.
• Records matter. Time and wages records must be kept for 7 years, be readily accessible to a Fair Work Inspector, and can't be changed except to correct an error. A rostering system that keeps an audit trail helps; so does our guide to correcting timesheets without losing the original record.

The products in detail

Deputy

Deputy says it powers 390,000 shift-based businesses. Lite costs $6.75 per user a month, Core $8.75 and Pro $13 (AUD, excluding taxes, as at 17 October 2026). An All-in-One bundle of Core, payroll and HR costs $13.95. Annual billing saves 10%, and monthly plans have a minimum spend of $30 a month. You're charged for a full month for any user added or archived during it.

Lite includes basic award interpretation and Core adds advanced award interpretation. Deputy's award page names the Hospitality, General Retail, Restaurant, Clubs, Fast Food and Animal Care and Veterinary awards, and says it can remind staff to take breaks, flag missed breaks, apply penalty and overtime rates and allowances, and set maximum hours. The tablet kiosk uses facial verification with liveness detection (biometric clocking is on Core and above), and the mobile app records a GPS location, with geofencing to flag or block out-of-area clock-ins. It integrates with Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon and many other payroll systems, plus hospitality and retail POS systems including Lightspeed, Square, Shopify POS, Idealpos and SwiftPOS. Payroll is a $5 add-on in Australia; any payroll you add must report through Single Touch Payroll and pay super each payday under payday super.

Watch for: the $30 minimum and full-month charging for staff who start or leave mid-month.

Tanda

Tanda is a Brisbane-founded workforce management platform. A Thoma Bravo release dated 8 September 2026 says it operates internationally as Workforce.com, but the Australian product is still Tanda. Its only published price is $12.80 plus GST per user a month for a bundle of rostering, payroll and HR. Rostering on its own is priced on request.

Tanda lists more than 30 award templates, including Hospitality, Retail, SCHADS, Restaurant, Aged Care, Pharmacy and Children's Services, handles enterprise agreements and automates minimum engagement. It rosters breaks automatically and flags overtime and qualification risks. Tablet clock-in uses photo verification with a passcode, and GPS clock-in can block staff outside a set distance. It integrates with Xero, MYOB, Reckon, Employment Hero and other payroll systems, and with POS systems including Square, Lightspeed, Redcat and Bepoz.

Watch for: you need a quote unless you take the full bundle.

RosterElf

RosterElf has the lowest published price among the award-interpreting tools: Core is $6 per user a month on annual billing (minimum 10 seats) or $8 monthly (minimum 3 staff), ex GST. Full Suite is $7 or $10. It bills for every active employee whether or not they log in, and annual plans aren't refundable. There's a 15-day trial without a credit card.

Core includes award interpretation, GPS and photo clock-in, shift swaps, leave, labour cost forecasting and exports to Xero and MYOB. It also tracks certificates with expiry reminders. Other payroll systems take a CSV export. RosterElf publishes its own "best rostering software" ranking, in which it places itself first.

Watch for: only Xero and MYOB have direct payroll integrations.

Employment Hero

Employment Hero sells rostering as an add-on to its HR plans: $4 per employee a month with a $40 monthly minimum. HR Essentials is listed at $10 and HR Engage at $14, both with conditions and a 10-user minimum. The add-on includes rosters, shift bidding and swapping, time clocks, timesheets, geofencing and award-based costing. Rostering is included in the Employment Unlimited plan, which is priced on request.

Its rostering page lists automatic award interpretation and warnings for overtime, meal breaks and maximum hours, with staff clocking in through the Employment Hero Work app. It makes most sense if you already run Employment Hero Payroll. Our payroll software comparison covers that side.

MYOB Team

If you run MYOB Business Pro ($70 a month plus $3 per employee for payroll, rising to $5 from 1 November 2026) or AccountRight Plus ($165 a month), timesheets and rosters are included; MYOB Lite doesn't include them. The free MYOB Team app lets staff view rosters, log hours, clock on and off from their phone or a tablet kiosk (verified by photo or geolocation), apply for leave and see payslips. The MYOB Team page doesn't mention shift swaps or award interpretation. See our MYOB pricing guide for plan details.

ShiftCare

ShiftCare is built for disability support, home care and community services. Basic is $8 per user a month on annual billing ($9 monthly), Professional $13 ($15) and Premium $20 ($25), ex GST, with a 5-staff minimum and a 7-day trial. Every plan includes GPS-verified clock-in and integrations with Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, PayCat and Employment Hero. NDIS claim files are on Professional and above, and Premium includes all rostering features, including SCHADS award support. A certifications add-on costs $3.

Watch for: confirm which plan includes the SCHADS features you need, because the comparison table doesn't make it clear below Premium.

Connecteam

Connecteam's Australian site shows prices in US dollars. Its Small Business plan is free for up to 10 users. Paid Operations Hub plans cost US$29 to US$35 (Basic), US$49 to US$59 (Advanced) and US$99 to US$119 (Expert) a month for the first 30 users, with the lower figure apparently the yearly rate. Geofencing covers up to 10 sites on Advanced and unlimited sites on Expert, and kiosk clock-in uses a PIN or selfie. It integrates with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks.

We found no mention of Australian award interpretation on Connecteam's pages. It suits teams on simple rates, or businesses whose payroll system applies the award.

Square Shifts

If you already use Square POS, Shifts is free for up to 5 team members (including the owner) and Plus starts at $5 per team member a month. It lets you build rosters, lets staff swap shifts, and reports attendance and labour cost against sales. Its pricing page doesn't mention award interpretation or payroll integration. Our Zeller vs Square comparison covers the POS side.

Zenshifts

Zenshifts is a simple rostering tool: $30 a month for up to 10 staff, a 14-day trial and SMS at 9 cents per 160 characters. It covers rosters, availability, email and SMS notifications and a timesheet calculator, and connects to Xero, MYOB, Elmo Payroll and KINGpay. Its pricing page doesn't mention award interpretation or clock-in.

Roubler

Roubler sells workforce management with or without payroll, billed on active users month to month with no long-term contract. Prices are quote only. It offers kiosk clock-in with facial verification, optional mobile geolocation, AI auto-rostering, shift swaps and automated modern award updates at no extra charge.

Humanforce

Humanforce lists aged care, healthcare, hospitality and retail among the industries it serves. Its Core plan includes pre-built award interpretation and Pro adds enterprise agreement rules. Both are priced on request, and there's a free assessment instead of a trial. Ento's website now redirects to Humanforce.

Others worth knowing

• BrightHR includes shift and roster planning, open shifts, time-off requests and its Blip clock-in app in all plans, with a Xero Payroll integration. Its pricing page showed plans from $33.34 per employee a month on fixed 24, 36 or 60-month contracts, while its FAQ said prices start from $12 a month. Confirm before signing a long contract.
• Findmyshift is free for up to 5 staff, with Starter at $41 a month per team ($36 billed yearly) and a 3-month trial. Its pricing page doesn't mention GST or award interpretation.
• Xero's App Store has a rostering collection of apps that connect to Xero, including Deputy, Tanda, RosterElf, Connecteam and ShiftCare. It also lists trade job-management tools such as Fergus, ServiceM8, Tradify and AroFlo, which schedule jobs rather than staff shifts. Our Xero pricing guide covers what Xero itself costs.

Features side by side

Timesheets and clock-in

Payroll and accounting integrations

Compliance, leave and swaps

"Not stated" means the vendor pages we checked didn't mention it. Ask the vendor directly.

What it costs at 5, 10 and 20 staff

Illustrative monthly cost at published list prices, as at 17 October 2026, before GST where the vendor quotes ex GST. Introductory offers ignored.

Deputy's minimum spend of $30 a month applies to monthly plans. The Tanda, MYOB and Employment Hero rows include or need other modules, so compare them against the cost of a rostering tool plus your current payroll. For payroll prices, see our payroll software comparison.

Our picks by business type

The picks below follow the criteria above: an Australian award engine for the awards that business type typically uses, clock-in suited to the site, integration with common payroll, and a published price where possible.

Cafes, restaurants and hospitality

Pick: Deputy Core or Tanda. Budget pick: RosterElf Core. Hospitality rosters carry casual loadings, weekend and public holiday penalties, 2-hour casual minimums and meal break rules. Deputy names the Hospitality, Restaurant and Fast Food awards and integrates with hospitality POS systems for wage-to-sales reporting. Tanda rosters breaks automatically against the Hospitality Award and automates minimum engagement. RosterElf includes award interpretation at a lower published price but integrates directly only with Xero and MYOB. Starting a venue? See how to start a cafe.

Retail

Pick: Deputy or Tanda. Small Square-based shop on simple rates: Square Shifts. Retail rosters need the General Retail Industry Award's 3-hour minimum engagement and break rules. Deputy names the General Retail Award and integrates with retail POS systems such as Shopify POS, Lightspeed and Square. Square Shifts is free for up to 5 team members, but you'll need to apply award rates in payroll yourself. Our POS systems comparison covers the till side.

Healthcare, aged care and disability support

Pick: ShiftCare for NDIS and home care providers; Tanda for clinics, pharmacies and aged care; Humanforce if you want a quoted system with enterprise agreement rules. These businesses need SCHADS or aged care award rules, qualification tracking and client-based scheduling. ShiftCare combines GPS clock-in, NDIS claim files and SCHADS support (confirmed on Premium). Tanda has SCHADS, Aged Care and Pharmacy templates. Humanforce includes award interpretation in Core and adds enterprise agreement rules in Pro, both quoted on request.

Trades and field teams

Pick: Connecteam for crews on simple rates; Deputy if you need award rules with geofencing. Field teams need phone clock-in with geofencing and photo checks more than POS links. Connecteam is free for up to 10 users and has strong GPS features, but no Australian award interpretation that we found, and prices are in US dollars. If your work is job-based rather than shift-based, a job-management tool may suit better than rostering software.

Under 10 staff

Pick: the tool you already pay for, or RosterElf monthly. If you're on MYOB Business Pro, MYOB Team is already included. If your staff are award-covered, RosterElf's monthly plan ($8 per user, 3-staff minimum) or Deputy Lite ($6.75 per user, $30 minimum) give you award interpretation for $30 to $80 a month. If everyone is on simple rates, Connecteam (up to 10 users), Square Shifts and Findmyshift (up to 5) are free. Hiring for the first time? Start with our first employee checklist.

Selection checklist

Before you shortlist, write down:

• Every award and classification your staff are on, and their employment types and ages.
• Whether you need award interpretation in the rostering tool or your payroll already does it.
• How staff will clock in: shared tablet, their own phones, or both, and whether you need geofencing or photo checks.
• Your payroll system (Xero, MYOB, Employment Hero, KeyPay or other) and whether the integration is direct or a file export.
• Your POS, if you want labour cost shown against sales.
• Leave: does approved leave flow into payroll balances? See leave entitlements for what must be tracked.
• Availability, shift swaps and open shifts that managers approve.
• Alerts for breaks, minimum engagement, overtime, maximum hours and expired qualifications.
• Pricing basis: per active user or per location, minimums, annual lock-in, add-ons, and charges for staff who start or leave mid-month.
• Data export, so you can keep time and wages records for 7 years after you leave.
• Support hours that match your trading hours, including weekends.
• Number of locations and manager permission levels.

A two-week trial plan

Trials run from 7 days (ShiftCare) to 15 days (RosterElf) for most of these products, so plan before you start the clock.

1. Days 1 to 2: set up one site properly. Load 5 to 10 real staff with correct awards, classifications, employment types and ages. Connect your payroll in test mode if the vendor allows.
2. Day 3: build next week's real roster. Compare the costed roster with what your spreadsheet or current system says it will cost.
3. Days 4 to 10: run clock-ins in parallel. Keep your current method and have staff clock in on the new system too, on a kiosk and on phones.
4. During those days, test the awkward shifts: a public holiday, a split shift, a junior employee, a casual rostered under the minimum engagement, a missed meal break, a shift that runs into overtime, and a late finish that changes the penalty rate.
5. Day 11: check the pay. Export timesheets to payroll and compare three employees' pay with the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guides or Pay and Conditions Tool.
6. Day 12: test the staff experience. Have staff request leave, update availability and swap a shift from their phones, and a manager approve them.
7. Day 13: check reports and permissions. Look at labour cost reports and make sure managers can only see and change what they should.
8. Day 14: decide. Read the cancellation and refund terms, especially on annual plans, before you pay.

Key takeaways

• Deputy, Tanda and RosterElf publish AUD prices and include Australian award interpretation; most plans cost about $6 to $13 per user a month before GST, with specialist plans higher (as at 17 October 2026).
• Free plans exist (Connecteam up to 10 users, Square Shifts up to 5, Findmyshift up to 5), but none of the pages we checked mention Australian award interpretation.
• Award interpretation applies the rules you configure: classifications, casual loadings, penalty rates, minimum engagement and break rules. Wrong set-up still means wrong pay, and the employer stays responsible.
• The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $453 million for workers in 2025-26, and intentional underpayment has been a criminal offence since 1 January 2025.
• Price is per active user in most products, with minimums: Deputy has a $30 monthly minimum, RosterElf a 10-seat annual minimum and ShiftCare a 5-staff minimum.
• Trial with real staff and test public holidays, split shifts, juniors, short casual shifts and missed meal breaks before you commit.

Where to get help

• Fair Work Ombudsman: pay guides, the Pay and Conditions Tool, rosters, breaks and record-keeping. Fair Work Infoline 13 13 94.
• Fair Work Commission: the full text of each modern award.
• FWO Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code: what it requires.
• ATO: Single Touch Payroll and payday super, for the payroll your rostering tool feeds.
• Your bookkeeper or BAS agent: for setting up award classifications and payroll integrations correctly.

Related tasks

Find more guides on pay, leave and rosters in the pay, leave and rosters hub.