Work Hours Calculator Australia (2025–2026)
The work hours calculator starts from the National Employment Standards maximum of 38 hours a week for a full-time employee, unless the extra hours are reasonable.
Last updated October 2026.
Key takeaways
- Full-time maximum is 38 hours in a week unless additional hours are reasonable.
- For anyone who is not full-time, the cap is the lesser of 38 hours and the agreed ordinary hours.
- Authorised leave counts toward that week.
- A 30-minute unpaid meal break is not a national rule. The Restaurant Industry Award uses it for a shift of 5 to 10 hours. Other awards differ.
- Five days of 7.6 hours is 38 divided by 5. It is an example split, not a required roster.
1. Example splits of a 38-hour week
Arithmetic only. The Fair Work Ombudsman maximum weekly hours fact sheet sets the weekly cap. It does not require five equal days. Turn paid hours into pay on the hourly to salary calculator.
| Example | Paid hours in a day | Paid hours in the week | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 equal days | 7.6 | 38 | 38 divided by 5. An example split, not a required roster. |
| 4 equal days | 9.5 | 38 | 38 divided by 4. Check the award before treating 9.5 as ordinary hours in one day. |
| Agreed part-time, 4 days of 7.6 | 7.6 | 30.4 | The NES cap for a non-full-time employee is the lesser of 38 and the agreed ordinary hours. |
| 76 hours across 9 days | 8.44 | 38 | 76 divided by 9, shown per week as 38. Only where an award or agreement uses that pattern. |
2. The 38-hour week
The maximum weekly hours fact sheet says an employer must not request or require these hours in a week unless the additional hours are reasonable:
- Full-time — 38 hours, unless the award or enterprise agreement specifies different hours.
- Not full-time — the lesser of 38 hours and the employee’s agreed ordinary hours.
Hours in that week include authorised leave or absence, paid or unpaid, when the employer, the employment term, or a law authorises the absence. A public holiday or annual-leave day that is authorised still sits inside the week for this test. Annual leave accrual itself is a different calculation — the annual leave calculator.
Fifty-two times 38 is 1,976 hours. That product is a comparison. The NES states a weekly maximum, not an annual hour quota. Extra hours can still be worked when they are reasonable. What counts as reasonable is on the same fact sheet, including the employee’s personal circumstances, the needs of the workplace, any risk to health and safety, and how much notice was given.
3. Meal breaks follow the award
The Fair Work Ombudsman hours of work page says the award or agreement sets the maximum ordinary hours in a day, the minimum ordinary hours, and the span of ordinary hours. It does not publish one lunch length for every job.
One worked example is the Restaurant Industry Award page:
- A shift of 5 hours up to 10 hours — one unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes.
- A shift over 10 hours — that unpaid meal break, plus two 20-minute breaks.
- If the unpaid meal break is rostered more than 5 hours after the start, an extra paid 20-minute meal break applies.
Do not copy those minutes onto a clerks, nursing, or teaching roster. Private-sector clerks use the Clerks Award. Other awards are listed on the awards hub. Paid time for the week is elapsed time minus the unpaid break the instrument actually names. Overtime on hours outside ordinary time is on the overtime calculator only after the award says overtime has started.
4. Averaging, and the 9-day pattern
The fact sheet allows averaging. An award or agreement may average hours over more than one week. An award-free employee may agree in writing with the employer to average ordinary hours, and that period cannot be longer than 26 weeks. The average must still not exceed 38 hours for a full-time employee unless the extra hours are reasonable.
A 9-day fortnight is one way some instruments spread 76 ordinary hours. Dividing 76 by 9 is about 8.44 hours a day, and the fortnight still averages 38 hours a week. Use that figure only when the award or agreement says the roster works that way. It is not a second national maximum. Paying the resulting fortnight is a separate step on the fortnightly pay calculator.
5. How to read a timesheet
- Mark whether the employee is full-time. If not, write the agreed ordinary hours.
- Compare the week with 38, or with the lesser of 38 and those agreed hours.
- Count authorised leave in the week.
- Subtract only the unpaid break the award names. A 30-minute lunch is the restaurant example, not every award.
- Price the paid hours on the take-home pay calculator after the week is fixed. Compare two rosters on the salary comparator only after both use the same ordinary-hour count.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Maximum weekly hours fact sheet
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Hours of work
- Fair Work Commission — National Employment Standards
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Restaurant Industry Award breaks
Hourly to salary calculator
Turns a paid hourly rate into a week of 38 ordinary hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Australian tax, superannuation, and take-home pay guidance grounded in current ATO rulings.
What is the maximum weekly hours rule in Australia?
The Fair Work Ombudsman fact sheet says an employer must not request or require a full-time employee to work more than 38 hours in a week unless the additional hours are reasonable, or an award or enterprise agreement specifies different hours. For an employee who is not full-time, the cap is the lesser of 38 hours and the employee’s agreed ordinary hours.
Does a 30-minute unpaid lunch apply to every job?
No. The National Employment Standards do not set one national lunch length. The award or agreement does. On the Restaurant Industry Award, a shift of 5 hours up to 10 hours includes one unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes. A clerks award can set a different break.
Do leave hours count toward the 38?
Yes. The maximum weekly hours fact sheet says the hours worked in a week include authorised leave or absence, whether paid or unpaid, when the employer, the employment term, or a law authorises that absence.
Can ordinary hours be averaged over more than one week?
An award or agreement may average hours over more than a week. An award-free employee and their employer may agree in writing to average ordinary hours, and that averaging period cannot be longer than 26 weeks. The average still must not exceed 38 hours for a full-time employee unless extra hours are reasonable.
Is a 9-day fortnight an NES rule?
No. Spreading 76 ordinary hours over 9 days is 8.44 hours a day. That arithmetic only applies where the award or agreement uses that roster. It is not the National Employment Standards maximum by itself.