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Overtime & Penalty Rate Calculator 2026-27

The overtime rate in Australia is a multiple of the ordinary hourly rate set by the award or agreement covering the job, most commonly 1.5x for the first two or three hours and 2.0x after that; there is no single national overtime rate. Overtime applies beyond 38 ordinary hours a week for full-time staff and is taxed at the 2026-27 marginal rates. Enter your base hourly rate and the penalty multiplier to see gross and net overtime earnings after tax.

Official ATO ratesUpdated FY2026-27Free foreverNo signup required

Calculate Your Overtime Pay

$
Net Overtime Pay
$245
for 8 hours at 1.5×

Breakdown

Base Rate$30.00/hr
Penalty Rate (1.5×)$45.00/hr
Gross Overtime (8 hrs)$360
Est. Tax (32% incl. Medicare)-$115
Net Overtime Pay$245

Weekly Scenario

Standard Pay (38hrs × $30.00)$1,140
+ Overtime Pay+$360
Total Weekly Gross$1,500

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A warehouse worker in an orange hi-vis vest stands at a loading dock door at dusk, pallets and a forklift behind

How Is Overtime Pay Calculated in Australia?

Overtime pay in Australia is calculated by multiplying your base hourly rate by the penalty multiplier set in your Modern Award or enterprise agreement, then multiplying by the number of overtime hours worked. The formula is: Base Rate x Penalty Multiplier x Overtime Hours = Gross Overtime Pay.

Full-time employees on a standard 38-hour week trigger overtime after exceeding 38 ordinary hours per week or 7.6 hours per day. Part-time employees trigger overtime after exceeding their agreed contracted hours. The Australian tax calculator applies the same income tax brackets to overtime earnings as it does to regular salary, meaning your take-home pay from overtime depends on your marginal rate.

Worked Example: Overtime at $35/hr

A warehouse worker earns a base rate of $35.00/hr. They work 6 overtime hours on a weekday at time-and-a-half (1.5x), and their taxable income places them in the 30% marginal tax bracket.

  1. Penalty rate: $35.00 x 1.5 = $52.50/hr
  2. Gross overtime: $52.50 x 6 hours = $315.00
  3. Estimated tax (30% + 2% Medicare levy): $315.00 x 0.32 = $100.80
  4. Net overtime pay: $315.00 - $100.80 = $214.20

Use our Take-Home Pay Calculator to see how overtime earnings affect your total weekly, fortnightly, or annual after-tax income.

What Are the Overtime Penalty Rates?

Overtime penalty rates range from 1.5x to 2.5x the base hourly rate, depending on the day, time, and applicable Modern Award. The Fair Work Ombudsman sets minimum penalty rates across 122 modern awards covering industries including retail, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, and construction.

When You WorkFull-Time / Part-TimeCasualExample ($26.44/hr base)
Saturday1.25× – 1.5×1.5× – 1.75×$39.66/hr
Sunday1.5× – 2.0×1.75× – 2.25×$52.88/hr
Public Holiday2.0× – 2.5×2.25× – 2.75×$66.10/hr
Overtime (first 2-3 hrs)1.5×1.5×$39.66/hr
Overtime (after 2-3 hrs)2.0×2.0×$52.88/hr

Exact multipliers vary by Award. Use the Fair Work PACT tool to check your specific award penalties.

Penalty Rates by Award Type

Different Modern Awards set different penalty structures. The table below compares weekday overtime rates across 5 common awards for the FY2026-27 financial year.

Modern AwardFirst 2-3 HrsAfter 2-3 HrsSundayPublic Holiday
General Retail Industry Award1.5×2.0×2.0×2.5×
Hospitality Industry (General) Award1.5×2.0×2.0×2.5×
Nurses Award1.5×2.0×2.0×2.5×
Building and Construction General On-site Award1.5×2.0×2.0×2.5×
Clerks Private Sector Award1.5×2.0×2.0×2.5×

Who Uses This Calculator?

This Australian overtime pay calculator serves employees, employers, and payroll professionals who calculate penalty rate earnings for FY2026-27. Common use cases include:

  • Shift workers in retail, hospitality, and healthcare verifying their weekend and public holiday pay on each payslip
  • Full-time employees estimating the net value of extra hours before agreeing to overtime requests
  • Part-time workers checking whether hours above their contracted agreement trigger overtime multipliers
  • Small business owners budgeting weekly labour costs when rostering staff across weekends and public holidays
  • Payroll managers cross-checking PAYG withholding on overtime payments against ATO tax tables

Employees earning overtime frequently benefit from reviewing their total annual income using the Income Tax Calculator to confirm the correct marginal rate applies to their overtime earnings.

Overtime Pay Table by Hourly Rate

The table below shows gross overtime pay for 8 hours of overtime at common base hourly rates across 3 penalty multipliers. These figures represent gross pay before income tax and the 2% Medicare levy.

Base Hourly Rate1.5× (8 hrs)2.0× (8 hrs)2.5× (8 hrs)
$26.44/hr$317$423$529
$28.00/hr$336$448$560
$32.00/hr$384$512$640
$36.00/hr$432$576$720
$40.00/hr$480$640$800
$45.00/hr$540$720$900
$50.00/hr$600$800$1,000
$60.00/hr$720$960$1,200

The national minimum wage is $26.44/hr for FY2026-27. Rates above reflect common award classifications. Use our Hourly to Annual Salary Calculator to convert your hourly rate to an annual salary.

How Is Overtime Taxed?

Overtime earnings are taxed at your marginal tax rate because they are added on top of your regular assessable income. Every overtime dollar sits in your highest income tax bracket, identical to how bonus payments are taxed.

Your employer withholds tax from overtime pay through PAYG withholding. The ATO provides Schedule 5 (tax table for back payments and lump sums) and the standard weekly/fortnightly tax tables to calculate withholding on pay periods that include overtime. The 2% Medicare levy also applies to overtime earnings, and employees without private hospital cover whose income for MLS purposes is above $105,000 (singles, 2026-27) pay an additional "Medicare Levy Surcharge" of 1% to 1.5%.

FY2026-27 Tax Brackets on Overtime Income

The income tax brackets below determine the marginal rate applied to your overtime. An employee earning $75,000 in base salary pays 30% plus 2% Medicare levy on every overtime dollar, reducing each $1.00 of gross overtime to $0.68 in take-home pay.

Taxable IncomeMarginal Rate+ Medicare LevyOvertime Keep Rate
$0 – $18,2000%0%100c per $1
$18,201 – $45,00015%2%83c per $1
$45,001 – $135,00030%2%68c per $1
$135,001 – $190,00037%2%61c per $1
$190,001+45%2%53c per $1

Do I Get Super on Overtime?

Overtime is generally not classified as Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) and does not attract the 12% Superannuation Guarantee for FY2026-27. The ATO defines OTE as the earnings an employee receives for ordinary hours of work, and overtime hours fall outside that definition. Payday Super (from 1 July 2026) calculates SG on "qualifying earnings", which still exclude overtime where ordinary hours are clearly identified.

Some enterprise agreements or employment contracts include overtime in the superannuation calculation base. Check your employment agreement or contact your employer's payroll team to confirm. Use our Superannuation Calculator to calculate the SG rate on your ordinary earnings separately.

What Are Common Overtime Pay Mistakes?

Underpayment of overtime is one of the most common payroll compliance issues in Australia, with the Fair Work Ombudsman recovering $453 million in underpaid wages in FY2025-26 alone. These 5 mistakes occur most frequently:

  1. Applying the wrong multiplier — Using 1.5x for all overtime hours instead of escalating to 2.0x after the first 2 or 3 hours as required by most awards
  2. Calculating casual overtime on the loaded rate — The overtime multiplier applies to the base rate only, not the base rate plus the 25% casual loading
  3. Ignoring part-time overtime triggers — Part-time employees earn overtime after exceeding their agreed hours, not after 38 hours per week
  4. Missing public holiday penalties — Australia has 8 national public holidays and additional state-specific holidays, each attracting 2.0x to 2.5x penalty rates
  5. Using the wrong tax bracket — Overtime sits on top of your base salary, so the marginal rate on overtime is typically higher than your average tax rate across all income

Employees who suspect underpayment of overtime should compare their payslip against the calculations from this overtime pay calculator and review their applicable award on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Related Calculators

Overtime pay interacts with income tax, superannuation, and total salary packaging. These calculators help you model the complete picture:

How this calculator works▼

Overtime pay is estimated using:

  • Gross overtime = base hourly rate × multiplier × hours
  • Tax estimated at your selected marginal bracket + 2% Medicare levy
  • Actual withholding may vary based on your total annualised earnings
  • Does not account for HECS, salary sacrifice, or other deductions

Frequently Asked Questions

Overtime pay is your base hourly rate multiplied by the penalty rate set in your Award or agreement. For example, time-and-a-half on a $30/hr base rate = $45/hr. The first 2-3 overtime hours are typically at 1.5×, and hours beyond that at 2.0×.

For most full-time employees, overtime begins after 38 hours per week (or 7.6 hours per day). Part-time employees may earn overtime after exceeding their agreed hours. The exact threshold depends on your Award or enterprise agreement.

Yes. Casual employees are generally entitled to overtime rates when they work more than 38 hours per week or more than the award's daily maximum. In most awards the overtime multiplier applies to the base rate rather than the casual-loaded rate, and some awards set a separate casual overtime rate. Weekend and public holiday penalties for casuals are usually higher than for permanent staff to compensate for the lack of leave.

Under the National Employment Standards, an employer can request "reasonable overtime." You can refuse if it is unreasonable — factors include your personal circumstances, the notice given, your role, and health and safety risks. The Fair Work Ombudsman provides guidance on what constitutes reasonable overtime.

The 12% Superannuation Guarantee does not apply to overtime hours under the ATO's definition of "Ordinary Time Earnings." Overtime pay falls outside OTE. Some enterprise agreements override this and include overtime in the super calculation base, so check your employment contract.

Overtime increases your total assessable income for the financial year. If total earnings including overtime cross an income tax bracket threshold (e.g., from $45,000 to above $45,001), the portion above the threshold is taxed at the higher marginal rate of 30% instead of 15%. Only the portion above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate — not your entire income.

"Time Off In Lieu" (TOIL) allows employees to take paid time off instead of receiving overtime pay, but only where your award, enterprise agreement or contract allows it — the National Employment Standards do not provide it. The ratio depends on the award: the Clerks, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Security and SCHADS awards give time off hour for hour, while the General Retail, Fast Food and Pharmacy awards give time equal to the overtime payment (2 hours at 150% = 3 hours off). The employee must genuinely agree; an employer cannot unilaterally substitute TOIL for overtime payment.

The National Employment Standards do not set a hard cap on overtime hours. However, an employer can only request "reasonable" additional hours. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, whether additional hours are reasonable depends on factors such as any risk to health and safety, your family responsibilities, the notice given, and the usual patterns of work in the industry.

Sources & References

  1. 1
    Overtime and penalty rates— Fair Work Ombudsman
  2. 2
    Individual income tax rates— Australian Taxation Office

Last verified: 9 October 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.

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People reading this page usually work these out too.