Australian rostering software is shaped by one thing above all: modern awards. Penalty rates, minimum engagements, breaks and overtime differ by award, and getting them wrong is expensive. So the first question for any Australian employer is whether the rostering tool should also interpret awards and run pay, or hand clean, approved hours to a payroll system that does.
We make TDS Workforce Management, which takes the second approach, so weigh our view accordingly. The other products are described from their own websites and help centres as checked in October 2026. Features change, so confirm with each vendor.
At a glance
| Product | Award interpretation | Payroll | Built around |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deputy | Yes, plus custom pay rules | Its own payroll software | Scheduling for shift-based businesses of every kind |
| Tanda | Yes, with award templates maintained by its compliance team | Pay runs and STP filing from Tanda | Hospitality, retail, healthcare, early learning and similar |
| Humanforce | Yes, an engine covering modern awards and enterprise agreements | Ask the vendor | Award-heavy workforces, including healthcare |
| Employment Hero | Yes, applied to timesheets in payroll | Its own payroll, with STP Phase 2 | HR and payroll first, with rostering and time in its Time module |
| TDS Workforce Management | No, but the overtime, weekend, night and public holiday rates you set | Earnings statements; approved hours export to Employment Hero, Xero or a spreadsheet | Teams on client sites: licences, geofenced clock-in, proof of service |
Deputy
Deputy says it automates award interpretation and custom pay rules with real-time alerts, and pairs AI-assisted, demand-based scheduling with a time clock app, leave management, HR and its own payroll. It suits businesses that want one vendor from roster to pay.
Tanda
Tanda calls its award interpretation industry-leading, with templates for modern award pay conditions kept up to date by a compliance team. It offers demand-based rostering, compliance checks before rosters go out, an employee time clock, leave management, and pay runs with STP filing from Tanda itself. Its industry pages focus on hospitality, retail, healthcare, early learning, pharmacy and clubs.
Humanforce
Humanforce markets an award interpretation engine that it says covers all standard industry and modern awards in Australia, and enterprise agreements, with rostering and time and attendance around it. It is aimed at employers whose pay rules are complicated, such as healthcare.
Employment Hero
Employment Hero starts from HR and payroll. Its Time module covers rostering, leave and attendance; staff clock in from its mobile app with optional photo and location tracking, and each clock-in becomes a timesheet that syncs to payroll, where award and enterprise agreement rules are applied. It supports STP Phase 2 and Payday Super, which from 1 July 2026 has employers paying super with each pay run rather than quarterly.
TDS Workforce Management
TDS Workforce Management doesn't interpret awards. It records who worked, where and when, checked against the site, and turns approved hours into timesheets. It pays the rates you set (overtime after daily or weekly hours, and Saturday, Sunday, night and public holiday rates) and exports the hours to Employment Hero, Xero or a spreadsheet for the payroll system that applies your award. It also tracks annual and sick leave balances, and lets staff claim open shifts and swap shifts with a manager's approval. Where it's stronger is the work before pay: licences enforced per site (security licences, white cards, working with children checks, NDIS screening, RSA and more are built in), clock-ins with photos, duty checklists and signatures, clients told about their roster and attendance, and data hosted in Sydney.
Which approach suits you
- Your biggest risk is underpaying an award, typically in hospitality, retail or health: pick one of the payroll-led tools above and check its award set covers yours.
- Your biggest risk is an empty post, an unlicensed worker or a client dispute about attendance, typically in security, cleaning or field service: TDS Workforce Management, paired with the payroll you already run.
- Both: ask each vendor how approved hours reach payroll, and test it with a real fortnight of shifts, including overnights and public holidays.
Our month-end checklist works whichever you choose, and a demo of TDS Workforce Management takes half an hour.
Deputy, Tanda, Humanforce and Employment Hero are trademarks of their owners. This comparison isn't endorsed by any of them, and it isn't payroll or legal advice.