Know what you're owed.
Free Australian tools and plain-English guides for workers. Check your pay, leave, super, and what to do when something at work isn't right — answered in seconds, grounded in the National Employment Standards.
Tools for workers
The nine most-used calculators by Australian workers. Each runs in your browser — nothing leaves your device.
Am I being underpaid?
30-second check across your award, rate, hours, casual loading. Tells you if your boss owes you back-pay.
Take-home pay calculator
What actually hits your bank after tax + Medicare + HECS. Compare against what's on your payslip.
Penalty rates calculator
Weekend, public holiday, late-night, early-morning. Plug in your hours, see what you should've earned.
Unfair dismissal — am I eligible?
21-day window, minimum employment, high-income threshold. Find out before you lodge.
Redundancy pay calculator
NES redundancy entitlement based on your years of service + weekly pay. Includes small-business exception.
Leave entitlements
Annual leave, personal/carer's, long service leave by state, parental leave. Full-time, part-time, casual.
Payslip checker
What MUST appear on your payslip by law. Missing fields are a red flag — flag them with your employer.
Casual conversion eligibility
Been casual for 12+ months with regular hours? You may have the right to convert to permanent. Check here.
Super calculator
Your employer must pay 12% super on top of your wage. Calculate what they owe, then check your fund app.
Got a specific situation? Ask the AI.
FairWork Mate doesn't just quote the law — it reasons over published FWC + Federal Court decisions and the Fair Work Act, then applies them to your situation, in plain English with the sources shown. Built for workers — “is what my boss did legal?”, “how do I claim back-pay?”, “am I being constructively dismissed?”
Common situations
Plain-English playbooks for the things that actually go wrong at work. No legal jargon, no fluff.
I haven't been paid
What to do when wages are missing or late — escalation steps + Fair Work Ombudsman pathway.
I want to convert from casual to permanent
Eligibility, how to ask, what your employer can (and can't) say in refusal.
I'm being made redundant
What you're entitled to, how to negotiate, and what 'genuine redundancy' actually means under the Fair Work Act.
I want to resign — what notice do I owe?
Minimum notice by years of service, what's in your contract vs the award, and how to leave clean.
I'm having a baby
Government PPL (26 weeks from July 2026) + employer-paid parental leave + your job-return rights.
I want to work from home
VIC's new WFH right (live 1 Sept 2026), flexible work requests under s.65 of the Fair Work Act, and how to ask.
Browse by life stage
When you need a human
FairWork Mate is general information, not legal advice. For anything sitting in a live dispute or that could cost you money if you get it wrong, use these:
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Free, government-run. 13 13 94 (Mon–Fri 8am–5:30pm). Handles underpayment recovery, unfair dismissal advice, workplace discrimination.
- Your union — If you're a member. Free legal support, often stronger than going alone.
- Community Legal Centre — Free legal advice for people who can't afford a private lawyer. Find your nearest at clcs.org.au.
- Workplace lawyer — For complex unfair dismissal, large back-pay, or anything heading to the FWC, get advice from a workplace lawyer — a community legal centre (above) can help you find one, and many offer a free first call.
- HR support — For the human side of a workplace problem — a performance process, a grievance, a redundancy or a difficult conversation — our HR partner Liquid HR can help, no obligation.
When a workplace problem needs a lawyer
21 days to lodge, a $92.70 fee, compensation capped at $95,050. What the Commission looks at, when a lawyer pays for itself, and the free route.
General protections claim: do you need a lawyer for adverse actionDismissed or punished for complaining, taking leave or a workplace right? 21 days if dismissed, no compensation cap, reverse onus. When advice pays off.
Underpayment claim: how far back, which route, and whether you need a lawyerRecover up to 6 years of underpaid wages. Small claims handles up to $100,000 without lawyers. When the Ombudsman is enough and when a lawyer pays.
Workplace discrimination claim: deadlines, process and whether you need a lawyer21 days to lodge if you were dismissed over a protected attribute. What a discrimination claim involves, the free route, and when a lawyer is worth it.
Sexual harassment claim: your options, the 24-month rule and whether you need a lawyerSexual harassment disputes lodged over 24 months after the last incident can be dismissed. Stop orders vs compensation, the free route, when to get a lawyer.
Employment contract review: what to check, and when to pay a lawyer to do itRestraints, probation, notice, deductions, IP and hours clauses decide what you can do later. What to check yourself, and when a paid review is worth it.
FairWork Mate Insights · Data Index
One of Australia's richest workplace datasets
89 live indicators — enforcement, insolvency, pay, casualisation and skills demand — computed across government datasets and updated continuously. Figures no generic tool has.
FairWork Mate AI
Is the figure right for you?
The advisor reads your payslip, contract or letter against the Fair Work Commission case library and cites the decision behind every answer.
Just need this week sorted? A 7-Day Pass is 50 questions over 7 days, no account. Get a 7-Day Pass — $14.99