Working Hours Calculator Australia 2025

Keeping accurate track of your work hours isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. In Australia, the Fair Work Act 2009 governs employee entitlements, including working hours, breaks, minimum wage, and overtime pay. Whether you’re a full-time worker, part-time employee, or casual contractor, monitoring your hours helps ensure you’re paid fairly and protected under the law.

Need a fast, simple way to track your hours or calculate overtime? Use our free Working Hours Calculator to stay on top of your time and earnings.

What Is a Working Hours Calculator?

A working hours calculator helps you calculate the total hours worked over a given time period. It’s useful for:

• Verifying your weekly or fortnightly pay
• Calculating overtime or penalty rates
• Comparing rostered vs. actual hours
• Budgeting or tracking income over time

Whether you're a hospitality worker in Sydney, a tradie in Perth, or a remote admin in Melbourne, this tool is built to help Australians manage their time and pay.

What Are the Working Hour Rules in Australia?

Standard Working Hours

Under the National Employment Standards (NES):

• Full-time employees generally work 38 hours per week
• Reasonable additional hours may be required depending on the role or award

Working hours may vary based on industry awards, enterprise agreements, and contracts.

Overtime and Penalty Rates

Employees are generally entitled to overtime pay or penalty rates for:

• Hours worked beyond 38 hours/week
• Work done outside ordinary hours (e.g., weekends, public holidays, late nights)

Overtime pay rates typically range from 1.5x to 2x your normal hourly wage, depending on your award or agreement.

For example

If you earn $30/hour and work 45 hours in a week:

• 38 hours × $30 = $1,140
• 7 overtime hours × $45 (1.5x) = $315
• Total weekly earnings = $1,455

Not all workers are entitled to overtime — check your Modern Award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract for specifics.

Who Is Exempt from Overtime?

Some roles may be exempt from overtime or have different arrangements, such as:

• Senior executives or high-income earners
• Professionals on annualised salary arrangements
• Casual workers (who instead receive a casual loading, often 25%)

Always refer to your applicable award via Fair Work Ombudsman for details.

Full-Time vs. Part-Time vs. Casual Work in Australia: What Are Typical Working Hours?

• Full-time: Typically 38 hours per week, entitled to full leave benefits
• Part-time: Less than 38 hours/week on a regular schedule, with pro-rata leave
• Casual: Hours vary; not guaranteed ongoing work but earn a casual loading in place of leave benefits

Breaks and Meal Periods in Australia

Break entitlements vary depending on your award, but common standards include:

• 30-minute unpaid meal break for shifts over 5 hours
• 10-minute paid rest breaks during longer shifts

Certain industries may have more specific rules (e.g. construction, hospitality, health care).

What’s the Minimum Shift Rule?

In Australia, most awards include a minimum shift length:

• Typically 3 hours for casuals
• If sent home early, you must still be paid for the minimum number of hours

This ensures fair treatment for employees who are rostered but not fully utilised.

How to Calculate Your Working Hours?

Use our calculator to determine:

• Daily total = (End Time - Start Time) - Breaks
• Weekly total = Daily hours × number of days worked
• Annual total = Weekly hours × number of weeks (subtracting leave)

For example

Worked from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM with a 1-hour lunch = 8 hours/day
Worked 5 days = 8 × 5 = 40 hours/week

You can also track overtime separately to ensure it’s properly paid.

Why Use a Working Hours Calculator?

This tool helps you:

• Check that your payslip is accurate
• Identify unpaid overtime or underpayment
• Record your hours as evidence for disputes
• Plan your income and budget more effectively

If you're not sure how to start tracking your work hours, here’s a sample timesheet to help you understand what a typical 38-hour Australian workweek might look like. This can be used as a model to:

• Record your start and end times each day
• Log your unpaid break periods
• Identify any overtime hours
• Compare against your payslips
• Log your unpaid break periods

You can copy this structure into a spreadsheet or use it to manually track hours in your notebook or calendar.

Sample Time Sheet (38-Hour Week)

Sample 12-Hour Shift Schedule

How do you invest your salary and grow your savings?

Tracking your hours is only one piece of the puzzle. The next step is putting your income to work for the future.

Investing has become increasingly popular in Australia, with more people building wealth through shares, ETFs, superannuation, real estate, and managed funds. With smart, diversified strategies, you can make your money work for you.

Each investment option has its risks and rewards — that’s why it’s important to match your choices to your goals and risk tolerance.

Whether you're a beginner investor or looking to grow your portfolio, our guide helps you navigate the Australian investing landscape with confidence. Explore the Australia Investing Guide Now.

P. Laurore

Finance expert

Co-founder of HelloSafe and holder of a Master's degree in finance, Pauline has recognised expertise in personal finance, which she uses to help users better understand and optimise their financial choices. At HelloSafe, Pauline plays a key role in designing clear, educational content on savings, investments and personal finance. Passionate about financial education, Pauline strives, with every piece of content she oversees, to provide reliable, transparent and unbiased information for independent and informed financial management. To this end, she has tested over 100 trading platforms to help internet users make the right choices.