Overtime Pay Australia: Rates, Rules & How Overtime Is Calculated

Whether you are asked to stay back after a shift, cover a busy weekend roster, or work beyond 38 hours in a week, understanding Australian overtime rules is essential. Underpayment of overtime remains one of the most common wage compliance issues reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

This guide explains what overtime pay is, how it differs from penalty rates, how award-based rates work, whether super applies to overtime, and what to do if you think you have been underpaid. Every rate example below is labelled as award-specific — there is no universal Australian overtime percentage.

What Is Overtime Pay?

Overtime pay is a premium hourly rate paid when an employee works beyond their ordinary hours. Ordinary hours are the standard hours an employee is rostered or expected to work under their award, enterprise agreement or contract — commonly 38 hours per week for full-time employees, though daily limits also matter under many awards.

Key concepts:

• Ordinary hours: Your normal rostered or contracted working hours, paid at your base rate (plus any applicable penalty rates for the time of day).
• Overtime hours: Hours worked beyond those ordinary limits.
• Overtime loading: The premium multiplier applied to your ordinary hourly rate for overtime hours.
• Penalty rates: Higher pay for working at specific times (e.g. Sundays). See our Sunday penalty rates guide for more detail.

How Overtime Pay Works in Australia

Australian pay entitlements follow a hierarchy:

1. Fair Work Act & National Employment Standards (NES) — set minimum floor rights.
2. Modern Award or Enterprise Agreement — set industry-specific overtime rules, multipliers and ordinary hour limits.
3. Employment contract — can provide additional rights but cannot reduce award minimums.

Most Australian employees are covered by a Modern Award or enterprise agreement. Before calculating overtime, you need to identify which instrument applies to your role. The Fair Work Ombudsman's award finder is the starting point.

Award-free employees (those not covered by an award or registered agreement) do not automatically receive overtime loadings under the Fair Work system unless their employment contract provides for overtime pay.

Australian Overtime Pay Rates

Overtime rates in Australia depend on multiple factors:

• Which Modern Award or enterprise agreement covers the employee
• Employee classification and pay level within that award
• Whether the employee is full-time, part-time or casual
• Which day the overtime is worked (weekday, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday)
• How many overtime hours are worked in the shift or week
• Whether weekend or public holiday rules interact with overtime rules

Under many awards, a typical weekday overtime structure is:

• First 2 hours: 150% (time and a half)
• After 2 hours: 200% (double time)

Sunday and public holiday overtime often attract higher multipliers. These are examples only — always verify against your specific award.

How to Calculate Overtime Pay

The basic overtime formula is:

Step 1 — Find your ordinary hourly rate. For salaried employees, divide your annual salary by 52 weeks, then by your ordinary weekly hours (often 38). For hourly employees, use your base classification rate from the award pay guide.

Step 2 — Identify the overtime multiplier.Check your award's overtime clause for the day and number of hours worked.

Step 3 — Multiply. Apply the formula to each overtime block if your award uses tiered rates (e.g. first 2 hours at 150%, then 200%).

Worked Example — Weekday Overtime (Illustrative)

Suppose a permanent retail employee covered by the General Retail Industry Award has an ordinary hourly rate of $28.00 and works 3 hours of weekday overtime:

• First 2 hours at 150%: $28.00 × 1.5 × 2 = $84.00
• Third hour at 200%: $28.00 × 2.0 × 1 = $56.00
• Total overtime pay: $140.00

This example uses rates consistent with the General Retail Industry Award structure. Your award may calculate differently.

Overtime Pay Rate Examples

All figures are illustrative. Use the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool or your award pay guide for authoritative rates.

Overtime Rates by Award

The Fair Work Commission maintains over 120 Modern Awards. Rather than listing every award, use the official resources below to find your entitlements:

For nursing-specific weekend and shift rules, see our nurse penalty rates guide.

Overtime Pay for Casual Employees

Casual employees can be entitled to overtime under their award, but the calculation is award-specific. Key points:

• Casuals receive a 25% casual loading in lieu of paid leave entitlements.
• Whether casual loading is included in or added to the overtime calculation depends on the award clause.
• Under some awards (e.g. Market and Social Research Award), casual loading is not paid again on overtime hours — the overtime rate is calculated on the base rate only.

Do not assume one award's casual overtime rule applies to your job. Check your specific award's overtime and casual loading clauses together.

Do You Get Superannuation on Overtime?

Generally, no. Employers pay super guarantee (SG) on Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE). The ATO guidance is that payments for work performed outside ordinary hours — which includes most overtime payments — are generally not OTE and therefore do not attract compulsory SG contributions.

Important distinctions:

• Ordinary hours on weekends: Penalty rates for ordinary rostered weekend hours generally do form part of OTE and attract super.
• Overtime hours: Extra hours beyond ordinary limits generally do not attract compulsory super.
• Voluntary employer super on overtime: Some employers pay super on overtime voluntarily, but this is not the legal default.

For more on how super is calculated on different pay components, see our superannuation guide.

Overtime Pay vs Penalty Rates

Awards can contain complex interactions between overtime and penalty rates. When both could apply, check whether your award pays the higher rate, combines them, or applies specific stacking rules.

Overtime Pay in NSW

Search interest in overtime rates NSW is common, but there is no standalone NSW overtime rate for most private-sector workers. NSW employees in the national Fair Work system receive overtime according to their federal Modern Award or enterprise agreement — the same framework applies in Victoria, Queensland and other states.

Exceptions exist for some state public sector employees (e.g. NSW Health nurses under state awards or EBAs), who may have different overtime rules from federal awards. Always identify whether you are on a state or federal industrial instrument.

Can Your Employer Refuse to Pay Overtime?

Employers cannot refuse to pay overtime that is legally owed under an award, enterprise agreement or contract. However:

• Employers can manage when overtime is required through rostering.
• Unauthorised overtime — working extra hours without approval — can create disputes. Some awards still require payment once work is performed; others allow employers to refuse unapproved overtime in advance.
• Employers must keep accurate time and wages records under the Fair Work Act.

If overtime is required by your award and not paid, this may constitute wage theft. Keep payslips, rosters and timesheets.

Time Off Instead of Overtime Pay (TOIL)

Time off in lieu (TOIL) allows an employee to take paid time off instead of receiving overtime pay. TOIL is only available where:

• The award, enterprise agreement or contract permits it
• Any required written agreement between employer and employee is in place
• The TOIL is taken within any time limit specified in the award

TOIL rules vary significantly between awards. Standard weekend penalty rates are usually paid as wages rather than banked as leave.

Salaried Employees and Overtime

Being paid a salary does not automatically mean you have no overtime entitlements. Key points for salaried workers:

• If you are award-covered, your salary must compensate for all award entitlements — including reasonable overtime if required by the role.
• Annualised salary arrangements in some awards set out how overtime and penalty rates are absorbed into a flat salary. These must pass Fair Work requirements.
• If your salary is below what you would receive under the award when overtime is properly calculated, you may be underpaid.
• Contract wording alone cannot remove minimum award entitlements.

How to Check If You Are Being Paid Correctly

Use this checklist:

1. Confirm your employment type (full-time, part-time, casual).
2. Identify your Modern Award or enterprise agreement.
3. Find your classification and ordinary hourly rate.
4. Check your ordinary hours per day and per week.
5. Count any overtime hours worked.
6. Look up the overtime multiplier for those hours in your award.
7. Check for weekend or public holiday interactions.
8. Compare your calculation to your payslip.
9. Cross-check using the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

What to Do If Overtime Hasn't Been Paid

If you believe overtime has not been paid correctly:

1. Keep records — timesheets, rosters, payslips, messages about extra hours.
2. Identify your award entitlements using Fair Work resources.
3. Raise the issue with your employer or HR in writing.
4. Contact your union if you are a member.
5. Report unresolved issues to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94).
6. Seek independent legal or workplace advice for complex cases.

This is general information only, not legal advice.