WORK, MEASURED CLEARLY / AU
Work Hours Calculator Australia — Shift & Meal Breaks
Work out Australian shift hours from actual start and finish times. Enter unpaid meal breaks, check overnight work and optionally estimate gross pay in AUD.
Your shift
Use 9:00 AM / 5:00 PM. 24-hour entries also work. An earlier end time means next day.
Pay estimate Optional
Example settings only. Confirm the threshold and multiplier for your calculation.
Total paid time
8.00 decimal hours
Preparing calculator…
THE METHOD
Work out paid time from the shift you actually worked
Enter actual start and finish times rather than copying a planned roster without checking it. New Australian shifts start with zero break minutes. Enter only the unpaid time you took; a paid tea break remains inside the shift total. An earlier finish means the following day. Add a separate entry for each part of a split shift.
A worked example
A 7:00 AM–3:30 PM shift spans 510 minutes. Less a 30-minute unpaid meal break, that is 480 paid minutes: 8 hours or 8.00 decimal hours. At a chosen flat rate of AUD 32 per hour, the estimate is AUD 256 before deductions.
We calculate clock time, not elapsed time across daylight-saving changes. Pay estimates exclude taxes and deductions. Read the full methodology →
GOOD TO KNOW
Common questions
Will this deduct a standard Australian lunch break?
No. Break length, timing and payment depend on the applicable award, enterprise agreement or other employment arrangements. Enter the unpaid minutes yourself. This tool does not interpret an award or determine whether a break entitlement was met.
How do I enter a shift from 9:30 PM to 6:00 AM?
Enter those times, or 21:30 to 06:00. The span is 8 hours 30 minutes before breaks. A 45-minute unpaid meal break leaves 7 hours 45 minutes. The calculator uses clock time, so check actual elapsed time separately if daylight saving changes during the shift.
What is included in an AUD pay estimate?
Open Pay estimate and enter your own hourly rate; AUD is selected initially. The result is a configurable gross estimate, not an award-rate or pay-compliance check. It does not calculate tax, superannuation, allowances, penalty rates or casual loading. A chosen weekly overtime threshold cannot model every employment arrangement.