If the business has employees, closing down triggers a specific set of entitlements under the Fair Work Act and relevant awards — this needs to be worked through before the company can genuinely be called debt-free.
Final pay
Final pay needs to include all wages up to the last day worked, any accrued but unused annual leave, and, depending on the applicable award or agreement, potentially unused long service leave. Get the calculation and payment done and documented before you consider the employment relationship closed out.
Notice of termination
Employees whose positions are being made redundant are generally entitled to notice (or payment in lieu), with the minimum period set by the National Employment Standards based on length of service, unless a longer period applies under an award or contract.
Redundancy pay
Genuine redundancy — where the business no longer needs the role performed by anyone, which is exactly the situation when a business is closing — generally triggers redundancy pay under the National Employment Standards, scaled by years of service. There's a small business exemption: employers with fewer than 15 employees are generally not required to pay redundancy pay under the NES, though awards or contracts can still impose their own requirements.
Superannuation on final pay
Superannuation guarantee still applies to ordinary time earnings included in final pay — see our guide on super guarantee obligations when closing for what needs to be paid before the business can be considered clear.
Why this matters for eligibility
Unresolved employee entitlements count as an outstanding liability for voluntary deregistration purposes, the same as unpaid trade debt. If there's any uncertainty about what's owed to former employees, that needs to be resolved before you consider the company eligible to close.
This is general information, not legal or HR advice — check the specific award or agreement that applied to your employees, or get advice from Fair Work or an employment lawyer if anything is unclear.