How FIFO Pay Is Worked Out
Most FIFO jobs in mining, oil and gas and construction pay an hourly rate set by an enterprise agreement. The roster decides how many hours you work, and the agreement decides which of those hours are ordinary time and which are overtime. Many agreements average the 38-hour week across the roster cycle, and that is what this calculator does:
- Hours per cycle: days on site × hours per shift (14 × 12 = 168 on a 2:1).
- Ordinary hours: 38 a week across the whole cycle, including your days off (38 × 3 weeks = 114).
- Overtime: the rest (168 − 114 = 54 hours) at your overtime rate.
- Loadings and allowances: shift or night loadings on ordinary hours, plus site, remote or district allowances for each day on site.
- Annual pay: cycle pay × cycles in a 52-week year, then tax on the total.
Your agreement may pay overtime in steps (for example time and a half for the first hours and double time after), pay travel days, or set a flat annualised salary instead. If so, use your agreement’s figures or put your salary into the take-home pay calculator.
What Common FIFO Rosters Pay
Gross annual pay for 12-hour shifts, overtime at time and a half past 38 hours a week, no loadings or allowances. Every figure is worked out by the calculator above, not taken from job ads.
| Hourly rate | 2:1 (14 on, 7 off) | 8:6 (8 on, 6 off) | Even time 7:7 | 4:1 (28 on, 7 off) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $45/h | $152,100 ($111,711 net) | $124,020 ($93,814 net) | $102,960 ($79,493 net) | $191,412 ($135,579 net) |
| $55/h | $185,900 ($132,329 net) | $151,580 ($111,393 net) | $125,840 ($95,051 net) | $233,948 ($158,122 net) |
| $65/h | $219,700 ($150,571 net) | $179,140 ($128,205 net) | $148,720 ($109,650 net) | $276,484 ($180,666 net) |
| $75/h | $253,500 ($168,485 net) | $206,700 ($143,681 net) | $171,600 ($123,606 net) | $319,020 ($203,211 net) |
Gross a year, with take-home after 2026-27 income tax, Medicare levy and LITO in brackets. Resident, no HECS, with private hospital cover.
For a benchmark, the ABS’s Average Weekly Earnings survey puts full-time adult ordinary time earnings in mining at $3,224.20 a week in May 2026 ($167,658 a year), the highest of any industry and well above the all-industry $2,083.70. That figure excludes overtime, which is where long FIFO rosters add most. See the average salary in Australia for every industry.
How FIFO Allowances Are Taxed
| Payment | Taxed as your income? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Site, remote, district or shift allowance | Yes | Paid for working, so it's salary and wages; tax is withheld from each pay. |
| Travel allowance | Yes | The ATO treats a travel allowance as assessable income, not a fringe benefit. |
| Living-away-from-home allowance (LAFHA) | No | It's a fringe benefit: your employer pays FBT on it, not you. |
| Flights, camp accommodation and meals your employer provides | No | Not paid to you in cash, so not part of your wages. Any FBT is your employer's. |
Sources: ATO LAFHA fringe benefits and FBT guide chapter 11, read 24 September 2026.
LAFHA. An allowance that compensates you for living away from your normal home is a LAFHA fringe benefit. For a FIFO or drive-in drive-out worker who gives the employer a living-away-from-home declaration, the employer can reduce its taxable value by the accommodation component and the food component above a statutory $42 a week per adult ($21 per child). The ATO counts you as FIFO when you work a regular rotating roster, go home on your days off, and daily travel would be unreasonable.
Travel to site. Getting from home to your regular work site is private travel, even when it’s a flight and even if you live a long way away (ATO). A cash travel allowance for that trip is taxed and there is no deduction to offset it.
Reportable fringe benefits. Some fringe benefits over $2,000 in an FBT year appear on your income statement as a reportable fringe benefits amount. It doesn’t add income tax, but it counts for income tests such as HECS repayments and the Medicare levy surcharge.
FIFO and the Zone Tax Offset
The ATO bases the zone tax offset on where you usually live, not where you work. If you fly from Perth, Brisbane or another city to a remote site, you can’t claim it, however many days you spend on site (ATO). If your own home is in a zone (the ATO’s example is a worker who lives in Darwin and drives to a mine at Kununurra), you can. The calculator above doesn’t apply the offset; use the zone tax offset calculator if you live in a zone.
Super on FIFO Pay
Your employer pays Super Guarantee on ordinary time earnings: ordinary hours, shift loadings and allowances paid for ordinary hours. Overtime is excluded, so on a long roster a large share of your pay earns no super. The calculator shows the estimate separately; it isn’t taken out of your pay. Check what you’re owed with the superannuation calculator.
Why a FIFO Payslip Looks Over-Taxed
Most FIFO workers are paid fortnightly whatever the roster, so a fortnight with a full swing of overtime can be much bigger than one on break. Tax is withheld as if you earned that pay every fortnight, which pushes big pays into higher brackets. Across the year it evens out, and any over-withholding comes back when you lodge. Check a single pay with the fortnightly pay calculator or the overtime pay calculator.
Related Calculators and Guides
- Mining & FIFO Pay Guide: rosters, roles and allowances
- Zone Tax Offset Calculator: if you live in a remote zone
- Overtime Pay Calculator
- Construction & Trades Pay
- Take-Home Pay Calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
FIFO pay questions and answers
How is FIFO pay calculated?
Most FIFO jobs pay an hourly rate. Hours up to your ordinary hours (usually 38 a week, averaged over the roster cycle) are paid at the base rate and the rest as overtime, plus any shift loadings and site allowances. On a 2:1 roster of 12-hour shifts at $55 an hour with overtime at time and a half, that is 168 hours a swing, $185,900 a year gross and about $132,329 after tax.
How much do FIFO workers earn in Australia?
The ABS puts average full-time ordinary time earnings in mining at $3,224.20 a week (May 2026), about $167,658 a year before overtime. FIFO workers on long rosters often earn more because 12-hour shifts create overtime. Your own pay depends on your enterprise agreement, role and roster.
Are FIFO workers eligible for the zone tax offset?
Not if they live outside the zone. The ATO bases eligibility on your usual place of residence and says you're not eligible if you work in a remote area but don't live there, for example as a fly-in fly-out worker. A FIFO worker whose own home is in a zone can still claim.
Is a living-away-from-home allowance taxed?
A LAFHA is a fringe benefit, so it isn't taxed as your income: your employer pays fringe benefits tax on it, reduced by exempt accommodation and food components if you're a FIFO or DIDO worker and give the right declaration. The food component is reduced by a statutory amount of $42 a week per adult.
Is a FIFO travel allowance taxable?
Yes. The ATO treats a travel allowance as assessable income, so it's taxed with your wages. You can't claim the cost of getting between home and your regular work site, even by plane and even if you live a long way away: the ATO counts that travel as private.
Can I claim flights to site as a tax deduction?
Generally no. Travel between your home and your regular place of work is private, however far it is. Flights your employer books and pays for aren't your expense, so there's nothing to claim.
Is FIFO overtime taxed more?
No. Overtime is taxed at your ordinary marginal rate once it's added to your annual income. It can look taxed more on a payslip because the pay-period withholding treats a big pay as if you earned that every period, but it evens out when you lodge your return.
Does super get paid on FIFO overtime?
Usually not. Super Guarantee is paid on ordinary time earnings, which excludes overtime. Shift loadings and most site allowances paid for ordinary hours are ordinary time earnings, so super is paid on them.
How we worked this out▼
Hours per cycle are days on site × shift length. Ordinary hours are the weekly ordinary hours × (cycle days ÷ 7), capped at hours worked; the remainder is overtime at the multiplier you enter. Shift loading applies to ordinary-hours pay; site allowance is per day on site. Annual figures multiply one cycle by 364 ÷ cycle days (52 weeks, the site-wide convention). Tax, Medicare levy, the Medicare levy surcharge and HECS-HELP come from our 2026-27 tax engine, with LITO applied. Employer super is 12% of ordinary pay, loadings and allowances, capped at the maximum contribution base.
Not modelled: stepped overtime rates, paid travel days, leave (which usually pays ordinary hours only), the zone tax offset and deductions. General information, not advice: your enterprise agreement sets your actual pay.
Sources & References
- 1Living-away-from-home allowance fringe benefits (QC 71150)— Australian Taxation Office
- 2FBT guide for employers, 11 Living-away-from-home allowance fringe benefits— Australian Taxation Office
- 3Zone tax offset— Australian Taxation Office
- 4Trips you can and can't claim— Australian Taxation Office
- 5SGR 2009/2 Ordinary time earnings— Australian Taxation Office
- 6Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026— Australian Bureau of Statistics
Last verified: 24 September 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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