Penalty Rates Australia: Weekend, Public Holiday & Overtime Loadings

What Are the Penalty Rates by Award Type?

Penalty rates vary across Australia's modern awards. The three tables below are derived from verified award data and are regression-tested against the Fair Work pay guides. Each table links to a full classification-by-classification breakdown. The Fair Work Ombudsman's tool applies the same percentages to a roster under any award; see our Fair Work pay calculator guide.

Retail: General Retail Industry Award (MA000004)

Applies to non-shiftworkers. Full table: retail award rates.

Hospitality: Hospitality Industry (General) Award (MA000009)

Full table: hospitality award rates.

Social & community services: SCHADS (MA000100)

SCHADS pays the highest weekend penalties of the three. Shift loadings of 12.5% (afternoon) and 15% (night) apply separately, but weekend rates substitute for them rather than stacking. Full table: SCHADS award pay rates.

Other awards

We publish penalty figures only for awards we have verified against the award text and the Fair Work pay guide. The Nurses, Clerks — Private Sector, Manufacturing and other awards each set their own multipliers. Several differ materially from the three above, and nursing weekend penalties are higher than the retail and hospitality rates. Rather than reproduce unverified numbers on a page people use to check their pay, we link you to the source: use the Fair Work Ombudsman's Find My Award tool, then open the pay guide for your award.

What Are Penalty Rates in Australia?

Penalty rates are higher pay rates that Australian employees receive for working outside standard weekday hours, including weekends, public holidays, late nights, and early mornings. The Fair Work Commission sets these rates through modern awards, which set minimum pay and conditions for the employees they cover.

The penalty rate system compensates employees for the social and personal cost of working unsociable hours. A retail worker on the level 1 rate of $27.81 per hour under the General Retail Industry Award receives $34.76 per hour (1.25x) on Saturdays and $41.71 per hour (1.5x) on Sundays. These loadings directly increase your assessable income for the financial year.

Penalty rates operate separately from overtime rates in most awards. Overtime compensates for hours worked beyond the standard 38-hour week, while penalty rates compensate for when the work occurs. Some shifts meet both triggers at once. Under most modern awards, overtime worked on a public holiday is paid at the higher of the two applicable rates.

To see how penalty rates affect your take-home pay and income tax brackets, use our Overtime Pay Calculator with your specific base rate and penalty multiplier.

How Are Overtime Rates Calculated?

Overtime rates are calculated by multiplying your ordinary base hourly rate by a penalty multiplier, typically 1.5x (time-and-a-half) for the first 2-3 hours and 2.0x (double time) for subsequent hours. The exact multiplier depends on your modern award or enterprise agreement.

The formula is: Overtime Pay = Base Hourly Rate x Penalty Multiplier x Hours Worked. For a full-time employee earning $30.00 per hour, 3 hours of time-and-a-half overtime equals $135.00 ($30 x 1.5 x 3). An additional 2 hours at double time adds $120.00 ($30 x 2.0 x 2), bringing total overtime earnings for that shift to $255.00 before tax.

Standard Overtime Multiplier Table

Overtime is triggered when a full-time employee works more than 38 ordinary hours per week, or beyond the daily limit or span of ordinary hours set by their award. A 7.6-hour day is only the average of a 38-hour, 5-day week, not a daily trigger: the General Retail Industry Award allows up to 9 ordinary hours on any day and up to 11 on one day a week (clauses 15.4 and 15.5). Part-time employees earn overtime when they exceed their agreed contracted hours. Use the Hourly to Annual Salary Calculator to convert your base hourly rate for comparison purposes.

When Do Penalty Rates Apply?

Penalty rates apply during weekends, public holidays, evening shifts, night shifts, and early morning hours as defined by each modern award. The trigger times and rates differ between awards. The multipliers below cover the retail, hospitality and SCHADS awards above.

The National Employment Standards list 8 national public holidays: New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, the King's Birthday (held on different dates in different states), Christmas Day and Boxing Day. States and territories declare additional days, such as Easter Saturday, Labour Day and local show days, so the total depends on where you work.

In 2026 the number of whole-day state-wide holidays ranges from 9 to 15, before regional show days and the part-day Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve holidays in some states. Public holiday pay rates, your rights and a calculator · dates by state: NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT.

Weekend penalty rates add up over a year of shifts. A full-time hospitality worker on the level 1 rate of $26.44 per hour who works every Sunday receives $39.66 per hour (1.5x) for those shifts. Over 52 Sundays at 8 hours that is an extra $5,500 compared with weekday rates.

How Are Penalty Rates Taxed?

Penalty rate earnings are taxed as ordinary income at your marginal tax rate, with no special concessions or separate tax treatment. The ATO treats overtime pay, weekend penalties, and public holiday loadings identically to your standard hourly earnings for PAYG withholding purposes.

Higher penalty rate earnings increase your total assessable income, which can push you into a higher income tax bracket. An employee earning $85,000 in base salary who receives an additional $12,000 in annual penalty rate payments has a total taxable income of $97,000. The penalty rate portion is taxed at the 30% marginal rate that applies to income between $45,001 and $135,000, meaning $3,600 of the $12,000 in penalties goes to income tax, plus the 2% Medicare levy.

Your employer withholds PAYG tax from penalty rate earnings each pay cycle. The withholding amount is calculated using ATO tax tables based on your projected annual income. This means penalty payments in a single pay period can appear to attract a higher tax rate because the withholding system projects that higher earnings level across the entire year. Any over-withholding is refunded when you lodge your tax return. Check the Income Tax Calculator to estimate your total tax liability including penalty rate income.

The Medicare levy of 2% also applies to penalty rate income. The "Medicare Levy Surcharge" (an additional 1% to 1.5%) applies if your total income including penalties exceeds $105,000 for singles in FY2026-27 and you do not hold private hospital cover. Read more about Medicare levy thresholds in our Medicare Levy Calculator guide.

What Is the Difference Between Award Rate and Enterprise Agreement Penalties?

Modern award penalty rates are minimum rates set by the Fair Work Commission, while enterprise agreement penalties are negotiated rates that must meet or exceed the award "Better Off Overall Test" (BOOT). If no enterprise agreement applies to you and a modern award covers you, the award sets your minimum pay.

An enterprise agreement can structure penalties differently from the applicable award. A large supermarket chain's enterprise agreement, for example, might offer a flat 1.35x loading for all weekend hours instead of the retail award's split between 1.25x Saturday and 1.5x Sunday. The BOOT requires that employees are better off overall compared with the underlying modern award, not necessarily better off on every single penalty rate.

If an enterprise agreement covers you, check the agreement's penalty schedule directly, because it overrides the modern award rates. An enterprise agreement past its nominal expiry date continues to apply until it is replaced or terminated by the Fair Work Commission.

How Do Casual Penalty Rates Differ From Full-Time Rates?

Casual employees receive higher weekend and public holiday penalty multipliers than full-time and part-time workers because casual loadings compensate for the absence of paid leave entitlements. The standard casual loading is 25%, bringing the base casual rate to 1.25x before any penalty rates apply.

For casual employees, the overtime and penalty multiplier applies to the base rate (not the casual-loaded rate). A casual retail worker on the $27.81 base rate receives a casual-loaded ordinary rate of $34.76 (base + 25%). Weekend and public holiday penalty rates for casuals are typically higher than for permanent staff because they include compensation for lack of leave entitlements.

For permanent employees, weekend and public holiday penalties are generally lower because they already receive paid annual leave, sick leave, and other NES entitlements.

Since 26 August 2024, the "employee choice" provisions in the Fair Work Act let a casual employee notify their employer in writing that they want to become full-time or part-time. To use them, the casual employee must have been employed for at least 6 months (12 months for a small business employer) and believe they no longer fit the casual definition. Converting to permanent status trades the 25% casual loading for access to paid leave, redundancy pay, and notice of termination. To understand how this change affects your overall salary package, compare scenarios using our Take Home Pay Calculator.

Can You Refuse Overtime in Australia?

An employee can refuse overtime that is unreasonable under the National Employment Standards, which cap maximum weekly hours at 38 ordinary hours plus "reasonable" additional hours. The Fair Work Act does not define a specific maximum overtime limit, but section 62(3) lists 10 matters that must be taken into account to decide whether extra hours are reasonable.

Under the NES, an employer can only require "reasonable" overtime. The matters are:

• Any risk to your health and safety
• Your personal circumstances, including family responsibilities
• The needs of the workplace or enterprise
• Whether you are paid overtime, penalty rates or other compensation for (or a salary that reflects) working extra hours
• Any notice the employer gave you to work the extra hours
• Any notice you gave that you intended to refuse them
• The usual patterns of work in your industry
• The nature of your role and your level of responsibility
• Whether the extra hours fit averaging terms in your award or agreement (or an averaging arrangement agreed with your employer if no award or agreement covers you)
• Any other relevant matter

The same 10 matters apply to every employee. The Act sets no separate threshold for any occupation; your role, your industry's usual work patterns and the needs of the workplace are weighed as part of the list.

Refusing unreasonable overtime is a workplace right protected under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act. An employer cannot take adverse action (dismissal, demotion, or reduced hours) against an employee for exercising this right.

What Changed for Penalty Rates in FY2026-27?

The Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review 2026 increased modern award minimum wages by 4.75% from 1 July 2026, taking the national minimum wage to $26.44 per hour ($1,004.90 per week). Because penalty rates are a multiple of the base award rate, every penalty figure rose with it. The increase was not uniform: it was subject to a floor, so the lowest classifications in some awards were lifted to that floor rather than escalated by 4.75%.

Key changes affecting penalty rates and overtime in the 2026-27 financial year include:

• The superannuation guarantee rate is 12%, and from 1 July 2026 super must be paid on each payday rather than quarterly. Overtime hours generally still do not attract superannuation (see FAQ below)
• The $18,201 to $45,000 bracket is now taxed at 15%, down from 16%, and the $45,001 to $135,000 bracket at 30%, so penalty rate income is taxed slightly more lightly this year

Penalty rate earnings between $45,001 and $135,000 are taxed at 30%. The 32.5% bracket that many older guides still quote has not existed since the Stage 3 changes. Use the Income Tax Calculator to model your total earnings including penalties.

Related Resources

Explore these tools and guides to calculate your total take-home pay including overtime, penalty rates, superannuation, and income tax for the 2026-27 financial year.

• Overtime Pay Calculator: Enter your base rate, penalty multiplier, and hours to calculate after-tax overtime earnings
• Award Rates Guide: How modern awards set minimum pay, and which one covers you
• Retail Award Rates: Full classification table and penalty rates for MA000004
• Hospitality Award Rates: Classification rates, flat-cash evening loadings and junior scales
• SCHADS Award Pay Rates: Social, community, home care and disability, with the Equal Remuneration Order applied
• Junior Pay Rates: Minimum wage by age across awards
• Take Home Pay Calculator: Calculate your net pay after tax, Medicare levy, and superannuation deductions
• Hourly to Annual Salary Calculator: Convert hourly rates to annual salary equivalents for comparison
• Income Tax Calculator: Model your total income tax including penalty rate earnings across FY2026-27 brackets
• Superannuation Calculator: Estimate your employer SG contributions and projected super balance at retirement

Frequently Asked Questions