If you searched for a fair work pay calculator, you are probably trying to check whether your pay matches your award. This page explains, in plain English, where award pay rates actually come from and which tool decides them. The official source is the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool, often shortened to PACT. Award rates, penalty rates, overtime and allowances come from that official tool and from your award or enterprise agreement, not from this site, and this page will not pretend otherwise. Below you will also find our own simple wage conversion tool for basic hourly maths, such as turning an hourly rate into a weekly or annual figure. It runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.
How it works
What the official tool does, and what this one does
There are two different jobs people mean by a pay calculator, and mixing them up produces wrong answers.
The first job is award checking: finding the correct minimum rate for your classification, then applying the penalty rates, overtime, loadings and allowances your award or agreement sets for the hours you actually worked. That job belongs to the official Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool. It holds the current award rates and penalties, and it is the tool to use if you think you have been underpaid, if you work weekends or nights, or if you are an employer setting a roster. No calculator on this site replaces it, and no result here should be used to argue that an award rate has been met.
The second job is simple wage conversion: taking an hourly rate you already know and working out what it adds up to over a week, a fortnight, a month or a year at a set number of hours. That is the tool on this page. You enter an hourly rate and your hours per week, and it multiplies them out across the pay periods. It does not look up your award, it does not apply penalty rates or overtime, and it does not add leave loading or allowances. If your real hours include penalty or overtime hours, convert only the ordinary hours here and check the rest in the official tool.
Why award pay is more than an hourly rate
Most Australian employees are covered by an award or an enterprise agreement that sits on top of the National Employment Standards. The base rate in that award is only the starting point. The amount owed for a particular shift can change because of when the hours were worked, how many hours were worked in the day or week, and what duties were performed. That is why a single hourly figure copied from a summary table can look right and still produce an underpayment across a roster with weekend or evening work.
The National Employment Standards still matter underneath the award. They set the floor for entitlements such as annual leave, at 4 weeks of ordinary hours a year, and personal leave, at 10 days a year, both pro rata for part-time employees. Leave loading of 17.5 percent is a common figure people expect on annual leave, but it is not a National Employment Standards entitlement. It comes from awards and agreements, which is why some employees receive it and others do not, and why it has to be checked in your own award rather than assumed.
How to use this page well
Start with the question you are really asking. If it is “what should this shift have paid under my award”, go to the official Pay and Conditions Tool, have your award name and classification ready, and work through its questions. If it is “what does this hourly rate add up to over a year”, use the conversion tool here, with your ordinary weekly hours, and treat the output as a gross figure before tax and before any award extras. All figures are in AUD.
There is no financial year selector on the conversion tool because simple multiplication does not depend on tax rates. Tax does change the amount that lands in your account, so once you have a gross weekly or annual figure, run it through a tax estimate before comparing it with your bank deposit. Your payslip remains the record of what you were actually paid, and your award, read through the official tool, remains the record of what you should have been paid.
Worked example
An employee is paid $35 an hour and works 38 hours a week, ordinary hours only, for 52 weeks.
| Conversion | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly wage | $35 × 38 hours | $1,330 |
| Fortnightly wage | $1,330 × 2 | $2,660 |
| Annual wage | $35 × 38 × 52 | $69,160 |
That is the gross wage for ordinary hours only. It includes no penalty rates, overtime, allowances or leave loading, because those amounts come from the award through the official Fair Work tool, not from this conversion.
Common questions
What is the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool?
It is the Fair Work Ombudsman’s official online tool for working out pay under an award, including base rates, penalty rates, overtime and allowances. It is the authoritative source for award pay questions, and this site links to it rather than copying its rates.
Does this site set or publish award rates?
No. This site does not set, publish or update award rates or penalties, and it is not affiliated with the Fair Work Ombudsman or the ATO. Our tool only converts an hourly rate you supply into weekly, fortnightly and annual amounts at the hours you supply.
Why does my pay change from week to week if my hourly rate is the same?
Because award pay depends on more than the base hourly rate. When hours were worked, how many hours were worked in a day or week, and any allowances for the duties performed can all change the amount owed. A conversion at one flat rate cannot capture that, which is why rostered and penalty hours need the official tool.
Where do my leave entitlements fit in?
Leave entitlements sit underneath award pay in the National Employment Standards. Full-time employees receive 4 weeks of annual leave and 10 days of personal leave a year, pro rata for part-time employees. Leave loading, usually 17.5 percent where it applies, comes from awards and agreements rather than the National Employment Standards, so check your own award.
What should I do if my pay looks wrong?
Compare your payslip with your award classification first, then run your hours through the official Pay and Conditions Tool. Keep your payslips and a record of the hours you worked. If the difference is still there, the Fair Work Ombudsman is the official channel for pay enquiries, not this website.
A note on estimates
The conversion on this page is a simple gross estimate based only on the hourly rate and hours you enter. It is general information only, not legal, workplace or financial advice, and it is not an award compliance check. Read our full disclaimer at /disclaimer/ before relying on any result. For the tax side of the same pay, try /income-tax-calculator/, and for leave balances see /annual-leave-calculator/ and /sick-leave-calculator/.