Nurses Award Day Worker Rates and Overtime 2026/27

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What UpSheets Calculates Automatically

• Ordinary hours from imported start and finish times
• Overtime tiers based on hours worked
• Saturday penalty and overtime rates
• Sunday penalty and overtime rates
• Public holiday penalty rates
• Shift gap handling
• Minimum engagement payments
• Automatic allowance calculations where configured

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Pay Rates and Smart Formula Rules

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What Requires Customer Configuration

• Variant assignment: Choose the Smart Formula variant that matches each employee’s work pattern.
• Classification selection: Assign the correct classification level for each employee.
• Public holidays: Configure public holidays for your organisation so public-holiday rules apply on the correct dates.

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Manual Allowances

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How to Use This Rule Set in UpSheets

1. Copy the Nurses Award rule set from the Award Library and select the Day Worker variant during review.
2. Assign the correct classification and employment type to each employee using this variant.
3. Simulate representative shifts, then publish and assign the rule set to affected employees.

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Assumptions and Limitations

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Assumptions

• Day worker (clause 13.1(a)): ordinary span Monday to Friday 6:00 am to 6:00 pm (BASE).
• Saturday has no ordinary hours, so Saturday is whole-day overtime under clause 19.1(a)(i)/19.2(a)(i) (150% first 2 hours, 200% after).
• Sunday has no ordinary hours, so Sunday work is overtime at 200% under clause 19.1(a)(ii)/19.2(a)(ii).
• Full-time and part-time hours outside the Monday to Friday span are overtime at those same first-2 / after-2 tiers.
• Casual hours outside the Monday to Friday span are MULTIPLE 1.0 at the loaded ordinary rate; casual overtime is only after 10 hours in a day or 38 hours in a week, or on Saturday/Sunday/public holiday overtime days, at clause 19.2 multiples of the casual hourly rate (1.5/2.0/2.5 against the loaded base).
• Daily overtime after 10 hours is Monday to Friday.
• Weekly overtime after 38 hours is Monday to Friday at 150%/200%, with Sunday weekly overtime at 200% and public holiday weekly overtime at 250%.
• Shiftworker (clauses 13.1(b), 20, 21): ordinary hours may be worked across the week (BASE all-day EVERY).
• Afternoon shift 112.5% (casual 137.5% of the unloaded minimum → 1.1 against the loaded casual base) uses END_ONLY Monday to Friday finishes after 6:00 pm.
• Night shift 115% (casual 140% → 1.12) uses END_ONLY Monday to Friday finishes before 7:30 am.
• Shift loadings do not apply on Saturday, Sunday or public holidays (clause 20.2(d)).
• Saturday ordinary hours are 150% of the minimum hourly rate for full-time and part-time employees and 150% of the casual hourly rate for casuals (clause 21.1 → 1.5 against the loaded casual base).
• Sunday ordinary hours are 175% of the minimum / 175% of the casual hourly rate (clause 21.2 → 1.75).
• Daily overtime after 10 hours is Monday to Saturday at 150%/200% and Sunday at 200%.
• Weekly overtime after 38 hours uses the same day-scoped tiers.
• Registered nurse levels 4 and 5 (clauses 19.1(b), 19.2(b), 20.2(e)): overtime rates and shiftwork loadings do not apply.
• Saturday, Sunday and public holiday ordinary penalties under clauses 21 and 28.2 still apply.
• Shared across variants: public holidays use clause 28.2 at 200% of the minimum hourly rate for full-time and part-time employees and 200% of the casual hourly rate for casuals (2.0 against the loaded casual base); public holiday overtime is 250% of the applicable rate (2.5).
• Casual minimum engagement is 2 hours (clause 11.3) day-scoped at the applicable day multiple.
• Clause 13.4 / 19.4 rest period is a single 10-hour GAP at 200% of the minimum hourly rate (200% of the casual hourly rate for casuals → 2.0 against the loaded base).
• CASUAL base rates already include clause 11.1 25% loading.
• Casual Saturday, Sunday, public holiday ordinary, and overtime multiples are percentages of the casual hourly rate (clauses 19.2, 21.1, 21.2, 28.2(a)(ii)), so those lines use 1.5 / 1.75 / 2.0 / 2.5 against the loaded base rather than award%/1.25.
• Casual afternoon and night shift lines use clause 11.4 (shift loading on the unloaded minimum, then plus 25% loading) → 1.1 and 1.12.

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Not Supported by This Rule Set

• 8-hour rest break by agreement
• Accrued days off
• Annual leave loading and additional week for 7-day shiftworkers
• Casual outside-span hours treated as overtime
• Christmas Saturday or Sunday substitution loading
• Delayed meal break penalties
• Exact afternoon and night shift start-and-finish detection
• Higher duties
• Public holiday substitution by agreement
• Recall to work when on-call or not on-call
• Supported wage and national training wage
• Time off instead of payment for overtime
• Unpaid meal and paid tea break timing

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Official sources

• Award text: Fair Work Commission - MA000034
• Pay rates and allowances: Fair Work pay guides

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Other Nurses Award Variants

• RN Levels 4 and 5
• Shiftworker