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Bookkeeping for Melbourne businesses

Melbourne businesses can hand us their monthly bookkeeping and keep working in the Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file they have now. This page sets out ABS population and industry figures for Greater Melbourne, then the Victorian payroll tax and long service leave rules that employers follow.

  • By Book Keeping Pros
  • Sources checked 15 Oct 2026

Melbourne businesses in figures

Estimated resident population of Greater Melbourne, 30 June 2025 (preliminary)
5,435,590 peopleAustralian Bureau of Statistics. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
Growth in the estimated resident population of Greater Melbourne, 30 June 2024 to 30 June 2025
2%Australian Bureau of Statistics. Checked 15 Oct 2026.

Working with Melbourne businesses

  • Books kept in your own file

    We do the work inside your Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file. Nothing moves to another system, and you can open the file and see where things are up to whenever you like.

  • Bank feeds reconciled monthly

    Every month we reconcile each bank feed and match it against your bills and invoices, so the file reflects what has come in and gone out.

  • Behind by a few months?

    We start with the oldest missing month and work forward until the books are up to date, then move you onto the monthly routine.

Melbourne businesses by industry

The ABS may perturb small counts to protect confidentiality, so the figures need not add up exactly.

  1. Construction98,687 businesses
  2. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services82,161 businesses
  3. Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services67,719 businesses
  4. Health Care and Social Assistance46,837 businesses
  5. Retail Trade38,368 businesses
  6. Financial and Insurance Services32,956 businesses
  7. Administrative and Support Services30,610 businesses
  8. Other Services27,310 businesses
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses. Checked 15 Oct 2026.

Payroll tax and long service leave in Victoria

Each state and territory sets its own payroll tax and long service leave rules. The payroll tax figures are for the 2026-27 financial year. Regional employer discounts and payroll tax surcharges may apply. See the detailed rules and confirm your position with the State Revenue Office or your accountant.

Annual payroll tax threshold in Victoria, 2026-27
$1,000,000Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel Victoria. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
Standard payroll tax rate in Victoria, 2026-27
4.85%Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel Victoria. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
Long service leave in Victoria: years of continuous employment before leave is due, or paid on leaving for any reason
7 yearsOffice of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel Victoria. Checked 15 Oct 2026.

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The state

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Services for Melbourne businesses

What Melbourne business owners ask

What area do the Greater Melbourne figures cover?
The ABS's Greater Melbourne area, which stretches well beyond the city centre to the outer suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula. Geelong sits outside it and is counted with the rest of Victoria.
Why is there no business count for Greater Melbourne?
The ABS tables this page draws on leave some Greater Melbourne cells blank, so the page leaves those figures out rather than estimate them. The figures that do appear are listed with their sources at the foot of the page.
Does Victoria have its own long service leave rules?
Yes. Each state sets its own, and this page shows the years of service Victoria sets for the full entitlement. What a particular employee is owed depends on their own service, so check it with Workforce Inspectorate Victoria, which administers the Victorian law, or your accountant.
Our books are in Xero. Can you work with that?
Yes. Xero is one of the packages we work in, along with MYOB and QuickBooks, and we work inside your existing file, so there's nothing to move.
How do we get a price?
Tell us through the contact page which software you use, roughly how many transactions you have each month and how far behind the books are. We quote from that before any work begins.

Sources

  1. Population estimates by SA2 and above, 2001 to 2025 (32180DS0003_2001-25.xlsx)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. Estimated resident population at 30 June, 2001 to 2025 (2022 to 2024 revised, 2025 preliminary), released 31 March 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional population, 2024-25 financial year, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.

  2. Counts of Australian Businesses, data cube 8: Businesses by industry division by Statistical Area Level 2 by employment size ranges (8165DC08.xlsx)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. Actively trading businesses at 30 June 2025, released 16 December 2025. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, June 2021 to June 2025, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.

  3. Payroll Tax Act 2007 (Vic), Authorised Version No. 041

    Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel Victoria. Authorised Version No. 041, as at 1 May 2026, released 1 May 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.

    © State of Victoria (Government Printer) Licence: Victorian Legislation copyright notice: copyright, State of Victoria.

  4. Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), Authorised Version No. 006

    Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel Victoria. Authorised Version No. 006, as at 12 December 2025, released 12 December 2025. Checked 15 October 2026.

    © State of Victoria (Government Printer) Licence: Victorian Legislation copyright notice: copyright, State of Victoria.

  5. Correspondence, GCCSA 2021 to GCCSA 2026 (CG_GCCSA_2021_GCCSA_2026.csv)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. ASGS Edition 4, July 2026 to June 2031, released 22 July 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 4, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.