How To Digitise New Employee Forms And Records

Why Digitise New Employee Forms?

A paper new-starter pack of new employee forms is slow, error-prone and hard to find when you need it.

The same details get keyed in two or three times, forms go missing, and a year later nobody can prove the new employee received what the law says they must.

Digitising new employee forms fixes all this. The employee enters their details once, the data flows to payroll, and every document is stored, timestamped and retrievable.

For a growing business it is one of the highest-return admin changes you can make.

The Forms Every New Australian Hire Needs

Before you digitise new employee forms, be clear on what a compliant Australian onboarding actually involves. Some of these are forms the employee completes, and some are documents you must give them.

A Step-By-Step Digitisation Process

When you want to digitise new employee forms, that process shold not be complicated. Work through it in order.

1. Map the current pack: List every form and document a new starter receives or completes today. You will usually find duplication and a few things missing.
2. Point the government forms at their proper source: The tax file number declaration and super choice are handled through the ATO’s online commencement forms and the stapled super request, not a PDF you store yourself.
3. Build one online new-starter flow: Offer, contract e-signature, personal and bank details, policy acknowledgements and inductions, in a single sequence the employee completes before day one.
4. Connect it to payroll: The details entered once should flow to whatever system runs your payroll, so nothing is rekeyed and Single Touch Payroll stays accurate.
5. Set retention and access: Store records for at least the seven years Fair Work requires, with role-based access so only the right people see personal data.
6. Give the mandatory statements, and record that you did: The Fair Work Information Statement, and the Casual statement where relevant, with a timestamp proving delivery.

What Records You Must Keep, And For How Long

Digitising is not just convenience; it is how you meet record-keeping obligations cleanly.

Under Fair Work record-keeping rules, employee records covering pay, hours, leave and superannuation must be kept for seven years, be legible, and be readily accessible to a Fair Work Inspector.

Pay slips must be issued within one working day of payday.

A digital system keeps all of this in one place and produces it on request, which a folder of scanned PDFs rarely does.

Remember too that tax file numbers and bank details are sensitive, so store them with proper access control.

Getting The Mandatory Statements Right

This is the step most often missed, and it is the easiest to prove once digitised.

Every new employee must receive the Fair Work Information Statement, and every new casual must also receive the Casual Employment Information Statement, before or as soon as possible after they start.

A digital onboarding flow can attach both automatically and record the moment they were delivered and opened, so if you are ever asked, the proof is already there.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Digitising the mess: Do not just scan the old forms. Redesign the flow so data is entered once
• Forgetting the statements: The Fair Work and Casual statements are mandatory and routinely overlooked
• Storing tax file numbers and bank details without proper access control
• Leaving contractors and casuals on a separate, weaker process that quietly drops requirements
• No retention rule, so records are deleted early or kept forever without a reason

Where Sentrient Fits

Sentrient handles the HR side of digital onboarding within its Australian HR and compliance platform.

A new starter completes a single online flow through the onboarding management system, e-signs their documents, acknowledges policies and completes inductions and compliance training, all captured as records you can retrieve for the seven years Fair Work expects.

The onboarding forms management software is where the new employee forms themselves are built and stored, so the forms, the acknowledgements and the record all sit together.

Being straight about the split: Sentrient is not your tax or payroll system. The tax file number declaration and super choice are completed through the ATO and pay runs through your payroll system.

Sentrient handles onboarding, policy acknowledgement, inductions and the HR record, and integrates with payroll so the data is entered once.

It is the compliance-and-records layer, not the pay engine, and it says so.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What forms does a new employee need to complete in Australia?

A tax file number declaration and a superannuation standard choice, plus their bank and personal details. You must also give them the Fair Work Information Statement, and the Casual Employment Information Statement if they are casual.

2. Can new employee forms be completed online?

Yes. The tax file number declaration and super choice are completed through the ATO’s online commencement forms in myGov, usually within 28 days of starting. The rest of the pack, contracts, details and policies, can run through a digital onboarding system.

3. What is the Fair Work Information Statement?

A statement setting out an employee’s rights under the National Employment Standards. Employers must give it to every new employee before, or as soon as possible after, they start. Casuals must also receive the Casual Employment Information Statement.

4. How long do I have to keep employee records in Australia?

Seven years. Fair Work requires records covering pay, hours, leave and superannuation to be kept for seven years, kept legible, and be readily accessible if a Fair Work Inspector asks.

5. What is a stapled super fund?

An existing super account linked to an employee that follows them between jobs. If a new employee does not choose a fund, most employers must request the employee’s stapled fund from the ATO before paying into a default fund.

6. Are digital signatures valid for employment contracts in Australia?

Electronic signatures are generally recognised in Australia where both parties consent and the method reliably identifies the signer. Keep the audit trail the system produces and get advice for anything unusual or high value.

Sources

• ATO, New employees and commencement forms
• ATO, Stapled super funds for employers
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Information Statement
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Record-keeping and pay slips

Related Reading

• New Employee Induction Checklist: Everything You Need to Include
• Everything You Need to Know About Employee Onboarding
• Top 10 Employee Onboarding Software Solutions
• Sentrient HR Management System