Can My Employer Make Me Work Overtime? (Australia 2026 Rules)

Your employer can ask you to work reasonable additional hours, but you have the right to refuse unreasonable ones under section 62 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The right to disconnect (s333M, in force since 26 August 2024) also protects you from being required to monitor or respond to work outside ordinary hours.

If overtime is paid at the correct overtime rate (usually 150% for the first 2-3 hours, 200% after that), it's harder to argue against — the law assumes proper compensation makes some additional hours reasonable.

Section 62 lists the factors that determine whether additional hours are reasonable:

• Risk to health and safety;
• Personal circumstances (family, caring responsibilities);
• Operational needs of the workplace;
• Whether you'd be entitled to overtime payment;
• Notice given of the additional hours;
• Notice you've given of refusing;
• Your nature of role and seniority;
• Your usual pattern of work.

No single factor decides — courts look at the whole picture.

You can refuse if:

• The hours pose a safety risk (fatigue, alcohol/drug-affected from long days);
• You have a caring responsibility you'd miss;
• The notice is unreasonably short (you can't arrange life around it);
• You're already at or near the maximum hours under your award;
• The pattern is sustained — repeated overtime crowding out your life;
• You're not being paid the overtime rate.

If your employer disciplines you for a reasonable refusal, that's adverse action and you may have a general protections claim with the Fair Work Commission (lodge within 21 days).

Under section 333M of the Fair Work Act 2009, you can refuse to monitor, read, or respond to contact from your employer outside ordinary hours, unless your refusal is unreasonable. The provision applies to non-small businesses from 26 August 2024 and to small businesses from 26 August 2025.

Your employer can't punish you for ignoring after-hours emails or calls if your refusal is reasonable. Use our Right to Disconnect Test to assess your situation.

Salaried employees are sometimes told their salary "covers all overtime." This is only true to the extent the salary is high enough to absorb the award entitlements you'd otherwise earn. Run our Annualised Salary Reconciliation at year-end — if the salary fell short of award + overtime + penalties for actual hours worked, you're owed the gap.

1. Document the pattern (dates, hours, whether you were paid overtime).
2. Raise it with your manager — either verbally or in a follow-up email.
3. If you're unionised, raise it through your delegate.
4. If safety is an issue, report to the WHS officer.
5. If unresolved, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or lodge with the Fair Work Commission.