Aurion vs ConnX – how they compare for AU/NZ payroll

How do Aurion and ConnX differ?

Aurion is an Australian-built and -operated payroll and HR platform with 35+ years of history, owned by RGF Staffing ANZ (part of Recruit Holdings, Japan). It holds IRAP, ASAE 3402 Type 2, ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications, offers recruitment, performance, learning and WHS alongside payroll, and is delivered via SaaS, APaaS or MPaaS.

ConnX is an Australian HR software vendor with its head office in Milton, Brisbane. Company profiles list a 2003 founding, and ConnX says it has 20+ years of experience and 500+ clients. It is a modular, web-based HR system covering core HR, payroll self-service, recruitment, paperless onboarding, performance management, learning, leave, workplace health and safety, workflow automation and timesheets with award interpretation. The structural point is that ConnX does not calculate or process pay, lodge STP or pay super. Those happen in the connected payroll system, with ConnX passing data to and from payroll through an interface. ConnX lists MicrOpay (database or API integration) as its main and best-documented integration, a database integration with HR3 Payroll (ReadyTech), an API integration with Definitiv, and file-based import and export for other payroll systems; some integrations may need the payroll vendor to install additional software. Aurion is not among the payroll systems named in ConnX's published integration details that we found – confirm directly if you were considering the two together.

For a buyer, the core distinction is structural. With Aurion, payroll and HR modules are within one vendor's platform. With ConnX, payroll lives elsewhere. Running two systems means two vendors, an interface to maintain, data that has to stay in sync, and a support boundary between HR/self-service and payroll. When something breaks between the two, it can be unclear which vendor owns the fix. That is not a criticism of either product – it is simply how a layered model works, and it is worth pricing in.

Where does Aurion fit?

Aurion fits Australian organisations, particularly government and regulated-sector employers, that value certified local payroll alongside HR breadth in a single platform. IRAP and ASAE 3402 Type 2 assurance, 35+ years of Australian operating history and date-centric processing matter where those are procurement conditions. NZ depth is limited to tax updates and banking interfaces, so confirm directly if you have NZ employees.

Where does ConnX fit?

ConnX fits organisations that already have a payroll system and want to add HR and self-service rather than replace payroll – recruitment, paperless onboarding, performance, learning, WHS, workflow and timesheets with award interpretation. It suits buyers who prefer a modular, web-based HR specialist, and who are comfortable maintaining an interface to payroll.

Where does Affinity fit?

Affinity is a different shape of answer: an AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist where self-service is included with every plan and runs on the same data model as payroll, so approving leave in self-service is the same action as updating the payroll record. It handles Modern Awards, EBAs and leave entitlements natively, adds pre-payslip anomaly detection through Payroll IQ, and can be delivered as SaaS, Supported or Fully Managed. One honest gap: Affinity does not offer recruitment, performance, learning or WHS – it integrates with specialist HRIS products for those. Some organisations keep a payroll-plus-HR-layer stack; others consolidate payroll, workforce management and self-service on Affinity and integrate a specialist HRIS where recruitment or learning is needed.