Under Australian laws, employees work up to 38 hours in a week, or 7.6 hours (7 hours, 36 minutes) each day. These are classed as regular hours of work, and time worked outside of these hours can attract overtime, higher rates of pay (“penalties”), or be counted as time off in lieu to be taken later.
In Australia, the maximum number of ordinary hours a casual employee can work is 12 hours in a day or shift. A casual employee must have time off after this and there must be time for meal breaks. This averages about 38 hours over a 4-week roster cycle or a 9.5 hour week. This is relevant for all types of work.
An employee can work a maximum of 38 hours in a week unless an employer asks them to work reasonable extra hours.
Full-Time Employees Cannot Work More Than 10 Consecutive Days. As part of the hours of work that your full-time employees work, it's important to make sure that any full-time employees don't work more than 10 days in a row, regardless of the needs of the workplace.
Full-time employees working between 7 to 10 hours a day are entitled to 2 paid rest breaks of 10 minutes and one unpaid meal break of 30-60 minutes. Employees are also entitled to a minimum break of 12 hours between shifts, but it can be agreed between employer and employee to reduce the break to 10-12 hours.
If you work for more than 6 hours a day, you're entitled to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes - for example a tea or lunch break. You must be allowed to take it during the day rather than at the beginning or end.
Full-time employees usually work an average of 38 hours each week. They're usually employed on a permanent basis or on a fixed term contract.
Previous Student Visa Conditions of Work Rules for International Students. International students in Australia on a valid student visa can work for up to 20 hours per week while school is in session, and there is no limit on the number of hours an international student can work during recognized school vacations.
Meal breaks themselves are not provided for under the National Employment Standards (NES) and as such, there is no statutory minimum period for a lunch break to be provided or taken. Given this, agreeing to such an arrangement would not be in breach of the Fair Work Act 2009.
Employers can request employees to work on a public holiday but the request has to be reasonable. An employee can refuse a request to work if the: employee has reasonable grounds, or. request is unreasonable.
Presently, no OSHA standard to regulate extended and unusual shifts in the workplace exists. A work period of eight consecutive hours over five days with at least eight hours of rest in between shifts defines a standard shift. Any shift that goes beyond this standard is considered to be extended or unusual.
Australians work the longest hours in the developed world, with an average of 1855 hours at work each year, which is 200 hours more than employees in other countries, according to a study by the Australia Institute. Further, one-third of Australians do not use any of their annual leave.
Typically, you must give employees at least seven days' notice of a roster change. If they disagree with the change, the issue should be dealt with through a proper grievance procedure. If you do not have a grievance procedure policy in your workplace, please call us on (02) 9199 8597.
Depending on the type of job that you do and the industry that you are in, working 16 hours a day could be normal. You might work on shift work and put in 80 hours per week, for example. Or you might be gearing up for a big launch that requires long days. Whatever the reason, working 16 hours a day is achievable.
Under employment law, it isn't illegal for employers to refuse their employees' overtime payments if the award, enterprise agreement or other registered agreement that applies to an employee outlines that overtime rates do not apply.
There is no minimum age for children working in a family business. Despite popular opinion, 14 years and 9 months is not the minimum age of employment – to be employed without a permit, a child must be 15 years.
An unpaid break is not counted as part of an employee's ordinary hours of work; whereas, a paid break is included in ordinary hours. Because a meal break is unpaid, the employee is free to leave their work area or the workplace.
The same rest breaks as permanent workers, including at least a 30-minute unpaid break for every five hours of work. Minimum length of shifts.
Organisations usually consider the time spent commuting to work as part of the employee's personal time.
The National Minimum Wage
This is the minimum pay rate provided by the Fair Work Act 2009 and is reviewed each year. As of 1 July 2022 the National Minimum Wage is $21.38 per hour or $812.60 per week.
The average full time salary in Australia is $70,269 per year or $36.04 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $57,957 per year, while most experienced workers make up to $109,511 per year.
The new national minimum wage will be $23.23 per hour, and $882.80 per week, based on a 38-hour week. But that increase in the minimum wage comes with an important technicality.
Hours you can work
If you get DSP, you can have paid work up to 29 hours a week. You can do this without losing your DSP payment providing you meet the income test. You must tell us if you or your partner have started work within 14 days. You must also tell us the details of that work.
The course of the sun in the southern hemisphere makes the days in the middle of the year short and the days around Christmas long. With up to about 14:40 hours there is the longest daylight in December. In June, the days in Canberra last about 10 hours and start about 2 hours later.
Employees must get a minimum break of 10 hours between finishing work one day and starting work the next day. The finishing time must incorporate reasonable additional hours or overtime.