How The AH&MRC saved 312 hours a year partnering with PayGroup by Deel

The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC), a not-for-profit organization, is an advocacy group for 47 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHOs) across New South Wales.

The AH&MRC provides ACCHOs with a well-resourced, highly skilled workforce, helping ACCHOs deliver quality and comprehensive primary health care to Aboriginal communities.

Before 2023, the AH&MRC ran its payroll manually. Charlie Coyle, director of finance and corporate services and company secretary for AH&MRC, explains that, “We did it [payroll] in-house, using Excel spreadsheets for staff to record attendance and hours worked.” This method came with three major challenges.

First, it was difficult to ensure records were accurate. “As a not-for-profit, we rely on grants,” says Coyle. The organisation needed strong evidence of their staff’s output, so this data was key.

Secondly, ensuring compliance was complicated. With a total of 79 employees across three grant awards—the education award, the health professional award, and the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services award—it was a challenge to make sure the organization remained 100% compliant.

Lastly, the process was time-consuming and labor-intensive for the AH&MRC’s single payroll clerk. “If one person is doing the entire payroll on top of everything else, there’s a risk of making mistakes,” says Coyle. It was time to find a streamlined solution.

To overcome these challenges, the AH&MRC outsourced its payroll to PayGroup by Deel. Staff now record their work attendance digitally, increasing accuracy and transparency and providing plenty of evidence for grant applications.

PayGroup by Deel’s platform interprets awards automatically, removing uncertainty over compliance. “It’s just that assurance that we’re 100% compliant—in terms of salary packaging as well as tax and reporting at the end of the financial year,” says Coyle. “If there are any changes to an award, we can upload them directly, via a link.”

Meanwhile, digitised onboarding and expense management saved the organisation valuable time. “It’s fantastic,” says Coyle. “Each individual employee sets themselves up, and all we have to do is put in the partner they work for and their award rate.”

Coyle also calls out PayGroup by Deel’s customer service as an added bonus. “Communication is excellent,” says Coyle. "When you pick up the phone, you actually speak to someone—if you have any requirements or challenges, they’re great at getting back to you straight away.”

With payroll in the hands of PayGroup by Deel, the AH&MRC team is completely confident that its records are accurate and that its legal and financial obligations are being met.

Plus, hours and hours of precious time have been saved. “[PayGroup by Deel] does all the hard work, so all my clerk has to do now is review and confirm the payroll,” says Coyle. This has saved their staff six hours a week, which can be spent on tasks in other important areas of business. “We don’t have to think about the payroll too much anymore,” says Coyle.