Overtime Calculator Australia

How overtime pay works in Australia

Overtime is work performed outside your ordinary hours — the hours set out in your modern award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract. For a full-time employee, ordinary hours are generally capped at 38 hours per week, or 7.6 hours per day under many awards. Once you exceed that threshold, overtime rates apply to the extra hours worked.

Overtime rates are set by your specific modern award or enterprise agreement — not the National Employment Standards directly. The NES sets the maximum ordinary hours and the right to refuse unreasonable additional hours, but the actual overtime multiplier (150%, 200%, etc.) comes from your award. For the full formula walkthrough with step-by-step worked examples, see How Is Overtime Calculated in Australia?

Weekday tiered overtime — worked example

Jordan is a permanent employee earning $32/hour, working 4 hours of overtime on a Tuesday under an award with a 2-hour first tier:

• First 2 hours at 150%: 2 × $32 × 1.5 = $96.00
• Remaining 2 hours at 200%: 2 × $32 × 2.0 = $128.00
• Total overtime pay: $96.00 + $128.00 = $224.00

Compare this to Jordan's ordinary rate for those same 4 hours — just $128.00. The overtime premium adds an extra $96.00 for the same hours worked.

Casual employee overtime rates

Casual employees are entitled to overtime just like permanent employees — a common misconception is that casual loading replaces overtime entitlement, but it does not. Casual overtime is typically paid at a higher multiplier than permanent overtime, because the higher rate incorporates both the overtime premium and continues to account for the casual loading on those hours.

A typical casual overtime structure is 175% for the first two hours (versus 150% for permanent) and 225% after that (versus 200% for permanent). This is not universal — some awards calculate casual overtime differently, so always check your specific award.

Weekend and public holiday overtime

Overtime worked on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday often follows a flat rate rather than the tiered weekday structure — there is usually no "first two hours" distinction on weekends. Common rates:

• Saturday: typically 150% flat, for all hours worked
• Sunday: typically 175–200% flat, for all hours worked
• Public holiday: typically 250% flat (double time and a half) — the highest standard overtime rate in the award system

Working a public holiday specifically also interacts with your Public Holiday Rate Calculator entitlements — some awards treat public holiday work as overtime, others treat it as a separate penalty rate category. Check your award for the exact interaction.

Can your employer force you to work overtime?

Under section 62 of the Fair Work Act 2009, an employer can only request or require an employee to work additional hours if those hours are reasonable. Factors used to assess reasonableness include:

• Any risk to your health and safety, including fatigue
• Your personal circumstances, including family and caring responsibilities
• The genuine needs of the workplace
• Whether you are being compensated fairly for the additional hours
• How much notice you were given
• The usual patterns of work in your industry or role

If a request does not meet these reasonableness factors, you can refuse to work the additional hours without breaching your employment obligations.

Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) instead of overtime pay

Some awards allow employees to take paid time off instead of receiving overtime pay — this is called Time Off In Lieu (TOIL). Critically, TOIL requires your genuine written agreement — your employer cannot unilaterally direct you to take TOIL instead of paying overtime.

TOIL is usually accrued at the overtime rate, not hour-for-hour. This means one hour of overtime worked at time and a half (150%) entitles you to 1.5 hours of time off — not just 1 hour. Most awards require TOIL to be used within a set period (commonly 6 months); if unused within that period, the employer must pay out the accrued overtime at the applicable overtime rate.

Overtime and tax

Overtime pay is taxed as ordinary income at your normal marginal rate — it is not taxed at a special overtime rate. Because overtime is added to your regular pay in the same pay period, PAYG withholding for that period may be higher than usual (since the payroll system annualises that period's higher income to estimate tax). This evens out over the full financial year when you lodge your tax return. Use the PAYG Withholding Calculator to estimate the tax impact on a pay period that includes overtime.