Aurion vs Employment Hero – how they compare for AU/NZ payroll
For: Payroll Managers, HR Leaders, Finance Directors|11 min read|Last updated: August 2026
This comparison is published by Affinity. Vendor information is based on publicly available sources. Contact each provider directly for their current capabilities.
Summary
Aurion is an Australian-built payroll and HR platform. Employment Hero is a broad SME "Employment OS" spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. Affinity is shown here as a separate column: an AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist for organisations whose complexity is concentrated in Australia and New Zealand.
How Aurion and Employment Hero 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 and offers a broader HR suite spanning recruitment, performance, learning and WHS, delivered via SaaS, APaaS or MPaaS.
Employment Hero is an Australian-founded (2014) 'Employment Operating System' spanning HR, payroll, benefits, recruitment and workforce management, reportedly used by 300,000+ businesses across AU, NZ, the UK, Canada, Singapore and Malaysia. Its payroll engine originated as KeyPay (acquired 2022), and it holds ISO 27001/27017/27018 certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance.
The core distinction for a buyer is what each platform was built to optimise for: Aurion is an Australian-built payroll and HR platform, while Employment Hero is a broad SME "Employment OS" spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. AU/NZ payroll sits within each vendor's broader focus rather than as the sole product, which is where a specialist platform like Affinity differs from both.
Feature comparison
A neutral comparison of Aurion and Employment Hero across payroll and workforce capabilities, with Affinity shown as a separate AU/NZ specialist column. Vendor capabilities should be confirmed directly with each provider.
Native / strong: Native / strongAvailable / partial: Available / partialNot offered: Not offered
Capability
Aurion
Employment Hero
AU/NZ specialistAffinity
AU award & EBA interpretation
Native / strong: Established AU award interpretation engine
Available / partial: Timekeeper module (timesheets, work patterns)
Native / strong: Rostering, time & attendance, geofencing, shift swapping
Native / strong: Integrated WFM with real-time labour costing
Delivery / managed payroll
Native / strong: SaaS, APaaS, MPaaS (AU-focused)
Available / partial: Primarily self-service SaaS; separate managed/outsourced payroll option
Native / strong: SaaS, Supported & Fully Managed on one platform
Named local AU/NZ support
Available / partial: Australian support; NZ limited
Available / partial: Phone support on top-tier plans only; lower tiers AI-bot/email – confirm response times
Native / strong: Named AU/NZ contacts who know your configuration
Government / IRAP certification
Native / strong: IRAP, ASAE 3402 Type 2, ISO 9001 – government payroll
Available / partial: Not a stated focus – confirm directly
Available / partial: ISO 27001 framework; IRAP not a stated certification – confirm for government tenders
HR, benefits & hiring breadth
Available / partial: Not a stated focus – confirm directly
Native / strong: Broad SME suite – recruitment, onboarding, benefits marketplace, earned wage access
Not offered: Not offered – integrates with specialist HRIS/benefits providers
Where Aurion fits
Aurion is built for Australian organisations – particularly government and regulated-sector employers – that value certified local payroll alongside a broader HR suite. Its IRAP, ASAE 3402 Type 2, and ISO certifications, more than 35 years of Australian operating history, and modules spanning recruitment, performance, learning, and WHS make it a strong fit where Australian government-grade assurance and HR breadth matter more than multi-country reach or deep New Zealand coverage.
Where Employment Hero fits
Employment Hero is built for small-to-medium AU/NZ businesses that want HR, payroll, benefits and hiring bundled into one broad, self-service platform with AI-assisted tooling (Hero AI). Its benefits marketplace, recruitment and onboarding modules, and multi-country reach make it a strong fit for SMEs that value breadth and self-service over dedicated, high-touch AU/NZ enterprise payroll support.
Where Affinity fits
For organisations whose payroll complexity is concentrated in Australia and New Zealand, a specialist engine with pre-payslip intelligence, delivery-model flexibility, local data residency, and named local support is a different proposition to either Aurion or Employment Hero. Some organisations run Aurion or Employment Hero for their broader positioning and Affinity for a complex AU/NZ operation; others choose Affinity specifically because they need genuine cross-Tasman depth that neither platform is built to prioritise.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aurion or Employment Hero better for Australian payroll?
Aurion is an Australian-built payroll and HR platform. Employment Hero is a broad SME "Employment OS" spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. Which fits better for Australian payroll depends on which of those is closer to what your organisation actually needs. Confirm current AU award and EBA depth directly with both providers. For organisations whose complexity is concentrated in Australia and New Zealand, a specialist engine like Affinity is built specifically for that depth.
Do Aurion and Employment Hero handle New Zealand payroll?
Aurion: NZ tax updates & banking only; AU-focused. Employment Hero: Dedicated NZ product – Holidays Act, KiwiSaver, IRD payday filing. Confirm current NZ depth directly with each provider – Holidays Act, KiwiSaver and IRD payday filing all require genuine local engine work, not just tax-table updates. Affinity runs a purpose-built NZ payroll engine with 40+ years of Holidays Act experience and an NZ-based support team.
What is the main difference between Aurion and Employment Hero?
Aurion is an Australian-built payroll and HR platform, while Employment Hero is a broad SME "Employment OS" spanning HR, payroll, benefits and hiring. They overlap on core payroll compliance but differ in scope, ownership model, and the customer base each was built to serve.
How does Affinity compare to Aurion and Employment Hero?
Affinity is an AU/NZ enterprise payroll specialist. It does not try to match Aurion or Employment Hero on their own ground; it competes on depth of AU/NZ award and Holidays Act compliance, pre-payslip intelligence, delivery-model flexibility, local data residency, and named local support.
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