Australian leave laws are a whole different beast. Between long service leave, award coverage, and public holidays that change by postcode, generic HR tools just don't cut it. I've put together this guide covering 10 leave management solutions that actually work for Australian businesses, including what real users say about them online.
Watch the full breakdown of these 10 solutions in action:
Watch: 10 Best Leave Management Solutions for Australian Companies
Why Generic Leave Trackers Don't Work in Australia
It comes down to three words: modern awards interpretation. Australia has some of the most complex employment laws in the world. That includes casual loading, penalty rates for weekends and public holidays, different award rates for hospitality versus retail versus healthcare, Fair Work Act compliance, single touch payroll reporting to the ATO, and Superstream for super guaranteed payments.
A generic system won't fit all your needs and can cause you problems down the road. You need software that actually gets the Australian workplace unless you want to open yourself up to underpayment lawsuits or Fair Work audits.
Elmo Software: Enterprise HRIS Built for Australian Compliance
Elmo Software is an HRIS built by Australians for Australians. Over 3,000 organisations use it (including 2 million users), and it has a 4.5 rating on Capterra.
What users really like is that compliance is built in. All those laws I mentioned before (modern awards, Superstream) are all built in. It also has a modular system, so you can pick only what you need. If you only need time off management, this is a good choice for you. But it also covers the full employee life cycle, including HR, payroll, learning, and performance.
The downside? It's complex. If you purchase multiple modules, it could take months (not weeks) to get set up, and there's a steep learning curve. Users online have reported that support can be slow sometimes, ranging up to 48 hours for a ticket response. Because it's a large enterprise system, there's no public-facing pricing. You'll need to reach out for custom pricing, which can delay things.
If you're a 100+ employee Australian company and you want full compliance as well as a solution that can meet your growing needs when you want more modules, then this might be the right fit. But if you're small, need faster support, and are more budget-conscious, look at some of the other options.
Vacation Tracker: Simple Leave Management That Lives in Slack and Teams
Vacation Tracker is a best-in-class leave management solution. It has integrations directly with Slack or Teams, so everything happens within those two apps as opposed to needing an outside dashboard (which it does have as well). It's easily set up and can be done in minutes (not days), and is perfect for companies that have a more remote-first mindset.
In terms of pricing, plans range from $2 to $4 per user per month, depending on your needs, with a 14-day free trial. It has a 4.7 on Capterra, meaning users tend to be happy with the service overall.
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Some complaints you may hear online: it has limited advanced HR features (which makes sense given that it's only focused on leave management). Depending on your needs, you may need to go to the complete plan if you have a more complex leave policy system in place.
Bottom line: if you're a small to mid-size company with more of a focus on being remote-first, this is going to be a good choice. But if you're looking to adopt something that has other modules outside of leave management, you might want to look elsewhere or consider starting with Vacation Tracker and switching once you reach that point.
Employment Hero: All-in-One HRIS for Australian Businesses
Employment Hero is another all-in-one HRIS system based in Australia. Over 1 million employees and over 200,000 organisations rely on Employment Hero for their HR needs. This was built specifically for the Australian market, and they even have a mobile app for non-desk workers.
Some complaints you might hear from users online: it's complex to set up (to be expected with an HRIS), and support has been lacking in the last few years. Another thing to keep in mind is that they try to lock you into a yearly contract. So if you're looking for something you could play around with first before getting a feeling, it might be tough to start with Employment Hero.
On Capterra, they have a rating of 4.4 stars, which is quite high. This solution is geared towards medium to large-sized enterprises that want an all-in-one solution that's been built in Australia. But if you're looking for something with better customer support or that doesn't lock you into a yearly contract, I would skip this one.
BambooHR: User-Friendly HRIS with Leave Management Module
BambooHR is one of the bigger names in the HR space when it comes to software. Like the other two mentioned, they have a full HRIS system, but also have a leave manager module as part of their offering. They've been rated 4.6 on Capterra and have higher ratings across multiple review platforms.
Out of all the HRIS that will be on this list, this one is by far the easiest to use, as recognized by users and is consistently praised for its beautiful design, and something that employees actually enjoy using. They offer month-to-month contracts (great if you don't want to be locked into a year or more) and have a wealth of integrations (over 150 and counting).
Recently, users have been saying online that there have been some pretty intense price increases, and you do need to contact sales for a custom quote. There's no flat pricing available, and the time off performance module does cost a little bit extra.
But if you're a business that wants something easy to use, well-loved by your employees, and that could be used month-to-month as opposed to a yearly contract, this will be better for you. I would skip this one if you're looking for something you want to lock in for a multi-year contract, as you'll probably get a better deal if you know you'll stick with that software anyway.
Deputy: Mobile-First Scheduling for Shift Workers
Deputy is an HRIS focused primarily on shift workers or people in the hospitality, retail, and healthcare spaces. It has quite high reviews on Capterra (4.6 on five) and was founded in Australia as well.
The big allure of this software is how it's built specifically for those types of workers. It has all sorts of different modules and features geared towards that, including hourly tracking, payroll, time clock, etc. They also have Australian Modern Awards compliance built right in and function on a mobile-first GPS with facial recognition clock-in.
In terms of negatives, users tend to say online that the per-user pricing adds up quite quickly with large teams or if you happen to be a growing team. You'll need the premium plan if you want both the scheduling and the time tracking. Some users have also mentioned that they can't view multiple locations simultaneously.
If you're in the hospitality range or have shift workers, this is probably going to be best suited for you. But if you're more traditional when it comes to your business, or you have office workers, I would stick to some of the other options mentioned so far.
Tanda: Premium Compliance-Focused Solution
Tanda is the premium option when it comes to compliance. They have extensive modern award templates, single-click payroll export with penalties and allowances, and real-time wage cost visibility as you build your roster. There's also the ability to have remote clock-in with a pin code and facial recognition/selfie.
Tanda works with modules, and you can bundle them together for a saving. But if you just want the leave management, you can just purchase that module.
In terms of chatter online, users have noted that quality has dropped significantly in the last few years, and they tend to be aggressive when it comes to trying to lock you into a contract.
But if you're a medium to large organisation that has complex pay structures, it might be worth it to pay such a premium so you're not spending too much time on manual work and can have everything automated in one solution. On the flip side, if you're more budget-conscious, prioritise support, or if you're just a small business, I would skip over this one.
Leave Dates: Affordable UK-Based Leave Tracker
Leave Dates is another solution focused solely on leave management (no extra modules, no extra fluff). Similar to Vacation Tracker, it's very affordable and has different plans depending on your needs and the complexity of your leave policies.
With a 4.8 on Capterra, users have praised how visually pleasing the UI is and how easy it is to use and see who's away on any given day. Some things they've mentioned, though, are that it's quite UK-focused. So in terms of the holidays, it might not include all the different ones you need for the Australian market.
Bottom line: if you're migrating from spreadsheets and you want a different option that's not just a full HRIS, then Leave Dates might be worth your consideration. But if you need something more comprehensive when it comes to leave management in terms of advanced features, or you want a more comprehensive HRIS, I would avoid using Leave Dates.
LeaveBoard: Generous Free Plan for Small Teams
LeaveBoard is a dedicated solution to leave management with more of a focus on small businesses or startups. With LeaveBoard's free plan, you can use up to nine employees, and they're quite generous with the features they give you, including reporting, time off management, and an employee directory. Their automation is also quite good and can get you started very quickly.
Problems arise when you're looking for something with more depth when it comes to integrations. At the moment, they only integrate with email (no apps like Slack or Teams). Because of this, there are fewer customisation options when it comes to how you control time off in your organisation. They also have very few reviews online, so it's tough to get a general sense of how users are feeling about the solution.
Being realistic here, if you're a small enterprise or startup that's just getting started with leave tracking and you want to move away from an outdated spreadsheet, it's worth giving LeaveBoard a look and trying out their free plan, as it is quite generous. If you're looking for something that's going to grow with you or something that has deeper integrations because you want to work where you work the most, I would choose something else on this list.
Plan My Leave: Budget-Friendly Option with Extended Trial
Plan My Leave is another solution for the budget-conscious organisation. It's incredibly affordable, starting at $1 per user per month (just for leave management). They also have a more advanced plan at $2 per user a month that includes all sorts of things, including NPS surveys, engagement surveys, OKR performance management, and the list goes on.
The free trial period is also quite generous, giving you 60 days to test out Plan My Leave and see how it fits within your organisation. Within 60 days, that's plenty of time for you to invite your users, set up your policies, and try it out for a little while before making that decision.
Bottom line: as you can tell, it's a little bit less polished than some of the other solutions mentioned so far. But for such a generous free trial policy and for how cheap the plan is, it's worth giving it a shot and seeing how it fits within your organisation, especially if you're extremely budget-conscious. But if you want something that's a bit more premium feeling or something that's a bit more up-to-date with today's standards, I would leave this as is and look to the other solutions mentioned so far.
I should also mention that there's very little review testimony across different review sites online when it comes to Plan My Leave, so just keep that in mind when looking at this software.
ConnectTeam: All-in-One Platform for Deskless Workers
ConnectTeam is another mobile-first deskless worker-focused solution with a leave management component built in. Similar to Deputy, this was built specifically for non-desk employees with GPS time tracking with geo-fencing. It has everything you could need, including a time clock, scheduling, chat, tasks, and of course, all the functions of HR built right in.
ConnectTeam provides you with incredible value with not only with a free plan for up to 10 employees, but a basic plan that starts at only $29 per month. Because it's trying to be so broad and cover everything for the remote-first workplace, it might be too broad and not deep enough when it comes to solving your problems.
In the end, if you're a deskless operation (meaning you primarily work in hospitality or construction or some other industry that doesn't require your workers to be at a desk for 8 hours), then ConnectTeam is going to be a good choice for you. But don't take my word for it. On Capterra, they have a 4.0 with rave user reviews. You can skip this option if you're an organisation that primarily works in an office.
What to Look for When Choosing Leave Management Software
As you do your own due diligence and research on these vendors, keep in mind the following when picking a solution:
You should find one with great support (I'm sure you'll run into problems along the way). Preferably transparent pricing so you can allocate enough budget every year. Something easy to use (your employees will like using it just as much as you do). And of course, a mobile-first interface if that's something you need for your workers.
I would definitely try to avoid companies that overpromise on features and underdeliver, ones that try to force you into long-term contracts, and ones that don't even offer you any sort of demo or pricing and are just not transparent about what they do.
Once you've chosen and implemented your preferred solution, you'll still need to figure out how you actually manage your employees' time off because there's a lot more nuance than just setting up a solution and letting it run in the background. You always need to ensure that your policies are fair, employees are given appropriate amounts of time off, and you're ensuring that your workforce is healthy and always energized and productive.
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