Australia Ensures Workers Receive Overtime, Other Surcharges

Amendments to Australia’s Fair Work Act 2009 that received assent Aug. 29 intend to ensure that overtime pay and other “penalty rates,” such as for work at night, are properly paid to employees.

The Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Act 2025 does not allow the Fair Work Commission to approve applications to vary awards if the variances would result in overtime or penalty rates being reduced. It would also not allow those rates to be substituted if that would result in an employee receiving less pay.

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, penalty rates collectively include but ...