Stood Down Without Pay in Australia? Your Rights (2026)

Your employer can lawfully stand you down without pay only in narrow circumstances under section 524 of the Fair Work Act 2009: industrial action by other workers, equipment breakdown not caused by the employer, or a stoppage of work for which the employer cannot reasonably be held responsible. A general downturn in business is not a lawful basis for stand-down.

If you believe a stand-down is unlawful, you can lodge a stand-down dispute with the Fair Work Commission for orders to pay you for the lost time.

• Industrial action by employees other than you or your team;
• Machinery breakdown caused by something outside the employer's control;
• A stoppage of work for which the employer cannot reasonably be held responsible (a flood, a power outage, a government order);
• Some enterprise agreements or contracts include broader stand-down clauses, which apply if the agreement says so.

• The business is in a downturn but still operating (you should be redeployed or made redundant, not stood down);
• Customer demand is low (not a "stoppage of work");
• The employer has work but doesn't want to pay (this is suspension without pay, not stand-down — and is unlawful in most cases);
• Stand-down for an indefinite period without consultation.

Even during a lawful stand-down, you continue to accrue:

• Annual leave;
• Personal/carer's leave;
• Long service leave (where applicable);
• Continuous service for the purposes of redundancy.

You do not accrue new pay (because no work). You may use accrued annual leave or long service leave during the stand-down to keep some income.

1. Get the reason in writing. Email your employer asking on what basis the stand-down has been imposed and which clause of the Fair Work Act or your enterprise agreement they rely on.
2. Check the trigger. If the reason is "low demand" or "we don't have work for you," that's not a s524 trigger.
3. Lodge a stand-down dispute with the Fair Work Commission via the website. There's no fee for stand-down disputes.
4. Seek interim orders. The Commission can order back-payment of wages from the date of the unlawful stand-down.

If your role is no longer required, the proper process is redundancy (with notice and severance pay), not stand-down. Some employers use stand-down to avoid paying redundancy. If your stand-down extends beyond a reasonable period (typically 4-6 weeks), and there's no realistic prospect of returning, you may have grounds to argue it has become a constructive redundancy. Use our Redundancy Pay Calculator to see what you'd be owed.