Wages and entitlements

Rights to wages and entitlements

You have a right to be paid for the work you do. This includes wages and other entitlements. Most employees working in NSW are covered by national workplace laws under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). A national system employee  means their employment is governed by  national workplace laws. 

If you work for the NSW government, local council, or the NSW state government owned corporation, national employment laws may not apply to you. If you are not sure, you should get legal advice.

What you get paid usually depends on:  

• the National Employment Standards,
• your contract of employment and
• your award or enterprise agreement.

Older laws made before the Fair Work Act 2009 may also affect your pay or other entitlements. If you think this applies to you, you should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94, go to the Fair Work Ombudsman website or get legal advice.

National Employment Standards

The National Employment Standards (NES), are a set of minimum entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009, that apply to all national system employees.

Most employees working in NSW are covered by the national system. If you work in the NSW public service, for a local council, or a state owned corporation, you should get legal advice about your entitlements.

The NES includes entitlements such as:

• annual leave 
• long service leave
• parental leave
• personal carer's leave
• compassionate leave 
• family and domestic violence leave
• community service leave
• flexible working arrangements
• notice when your job ends (notice of termination)
• redundancy.

Long service leave is also affected by NSW laws.

Your award, enterprise agreement or employment contract can give you more rights but not less than the minimum entitlements in the NES.

For more information about the NES, see National Employment Standards on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Awards

An award is a legal document that sets the minimum pay and conditions for workers in a particular type of job or industry.

You can check if an award applies to your job on the Fair Work Ombudsman website. 

Enterprise agreements

An enterprise agreement is an agreement between an employer and their employees. It must be approved by the Fair Work Commission.

 It replaces any award at the workplace but it can’t set wages less than the award minimum.

You can search for an enterprise agreement on the Fair Work Commission website.  It can help if you know the name of the agreement or the agreement ID number.

Employment contract

When you agree to work for an employer, you enter into an employment contract.

It may be a formal written contract, or a letter of offer, or even a verbal agreement. For example, through conversations you have had with your employer, either face to face or over the telephone.

Your contract should cover your entitlements and the conditions of your employment. Other details can form part of your contract, such as:

• what was said when you were employed
• what has happened while you have been employed
• what is the normal practice in your industry.

Your contract cannot exclude terms and conditions in an award or enterprise agreement.

When you start a new job, your employer must give you a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement before or soon after you start working. The Fair Work Information Statement has important information about your workplace rights and entitlements. Casual employees must also get the Casual Employment Information Statement. 

For more information, see Fair Work Information Statement on the Fair Work Ombudsman website. 

My entitlements

Your rights may come from:

• the National Employment Standards (NES)
• an award
• an enterprise agreement 
• your employment contract
• legislation.

You may also be entitled to a Fair Work Information Statement, flexible working arrangements and paid public holidays.

You can use the Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) on the Fair Work Ombudsman website to check your pay and leave entitlements.  For more information, go to the PACT website.

If your employer hasn’t paid you all your entitlements, see What if my entitlements are not paid?

Wages

You must be paid for the work that you do. That payment is referred to as wages. Your wages will depend on:

• the minimum wage,
• your contract of employment,
• your award, or
• your enterprise agreement.

Your employer must pay you regularly.

You may receive:

• Overtime, pay for working extra hours

• Penalty rates for working on weekends, public holidays or work outside of the normal work hours

• Allowances for meals, tools clothing and working in harsh conditions 

• Commissions or bonuses depending on your employment contract, award or enterprise agreement. 

From 1 January 2025, intentional underpayment of wages or entitlements can be a criminal offence. 

For more information, see Wages.

Leave

You may be entitled to some of the following types of leave:

• annual leave
• personal/carer's and compassionate leave
• family and domestic violence leave
• community service leave
• parental leave
• long service leave.

The National Employment Standards, your award, enterprise agreement, contract of employment or your employment status (whether you are a casual or permanent employee) will determine what leave you are entitled to.

For more information, see Leave.

Superannuation

Superannuation is money saved for your retirement. Your employer is required by Commonwealth legislation to pay a compulsory superannuation contribution of your wages to the Australian Taxation Office.  Your employer should pay superannuation to your superannuation fund for each payday.

For more information, see Superannuation.

Right to disconnect

You have a right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to emails or phone calls outside of their working hours unless refusing is unreasonable.  

What is unreasonable depends on:

• the reason for the contact 
• how the contact is made and how disruptive it is  
• whether you are paid for being available 
• your role in the business and level of responsibility 
• your personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities.  

This applies to all awards.

The right to disconnect applies to small businesses from 26 August 2025.  A small business is defined as having fewer than 15 employees at a particular time. When counting, employees of associated entities are included but casual employees are not counted unless engaged on a regular and systematic basis.

The Fair Work Commission can deal with disputes about a right to disconnect. 

For more information, see Right to disconnect on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.  

Casual conversion

Under the National Employment Standards (NES), you may be able to change from a casual employee to become a full-time or part-time permanent employee through the employee choice pathway.  

If you were employed before 26 August 2024, you or your employer have until 26 February 2025 (or until 26 August 2025 for a small business) to make a written offer for a casual conversion within 21 days after your 12 month anniversary, if you:

• have worked the same pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for the last six months, and
• can continue working these hours without significant changes.

If your employer has not made an offer or refuses your request they must give you a reason.

If you were employed after 26 August 2024, you can give written notice to your employer to change to permanent employment under the employee choice pathway if you: 

• have been employed for at least six months (or 12 months if you work for a small business)
• no longer meet the requirements of the casual employee definition.

For more information, see Becoming a permanent employee on the Fair Work Ombudsman website. 

If you and your employer disagree about casual conversion, you must follow the dispute resolution steps in: 

• your award, or
• your enterprise agreement, or
• your employment contact, if you are not covered by an award or agreement.

If you still can't reach an agreement after following these steps, you may be able to apply to the Fair Work Commission to resolve the dispute

For more information, see Casual to permanent status on the Fair Work Commission website.

Unpaid entitlements

If you think you haven't been paid all your entitlements, you should first talk to your employer.

If your employer still won’t pay, you can ask the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) for assistance. The FWO can investigate your complaint and take further action if needed.

If you and your employer still can't agree, you may need to start a court case to recover your unpaid wages and/or entitlements.

For more information, see in What if my entitlements are not paid?

Last updated: August 2026