Is there a legal maximum number of hours you can work in Australia?

For general (non-driving) work there is no single fixed legal maximum number of hours you can work under work health and safety law. It is a common myth that the law says you cannot work more than a set number of hours — for most jobs it does not. Instead, the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (s19) requires your employer (the PCBU) to manage the risk of fatigue so far as is reasonably practicable, taking into account hours, shift timing, breaks, consecutive shifts, recovery, workload, commuting and on-call. Separately, the Fair Work Act 2009 (s62) limits full-time ordinary hours to 38 per week plus reasonable additional hours. Heavy-vehicle drivers are an exception — they have fixed work and rest limits under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

What causes work-related fatigue?

Safe Work Australia's guidance “Managing the risk of fatigue at work” lists the main contributing factors: long work hours, the timing of shifts (night work and early starts that cut across the body clock), insufficient or short breaks, high mental or physical demands, long commutes on top of the working day, too many consecutive shifts or not enough recovery between them, and on-call or standby work that interrupts sleep. Fatigue builds when these combine, and it is a work health and safety hazard, not just feeling tired.

How do I manage fatigue at work?

Fatigue is managed under the WHS Act general duty (s19) so far as is reasonably practicable. The main controls are roster design (hours, start times and shift patterns that allow enough sleep and recovery), limiting consecutive shifts and overtime, providing adequate breaks within shifts and proper rest between shifts, managing night work specifically, training workers and supervisors to recognise fatigue, and reviewing workloads and deadlines that drive long hours. The higher the fatigue risk, the stronger the controls expected — up to redesigning the roster.

What about shift work and night shifts?

Shift work, especially night shift and rotating rosters, raises fatigue risk because it works against the body clock and reduces both the amount and quality of sleep. There is still no fixed legal cap on shift hours for general work, but the employer must manage the extra risk: limiting the number of consecutive nights, planning for body-clock effects, allowing proper recovery between shifts, and accounting for commuting and on-call in the total fatigue load. Night and rotating shifts score higher in this tool for that reason.

Does the right to disconnect help with fatigue?

It can. Eligible employees generally have a right to disconnect under the Fair Work Act, meaning you can reasonably refuse to monitor, read or respond to work-related contact outside your working hours. That protects rest and recovery time, which helps with fatigue, and it works alongside the Fair Work Act s62 limit on reasonable additional hours. These are about reasonable hours and out-of-hours contact rather than a WHS stop-work rule, but they reduce the kind of always-on pressure that drives fatigue.

Workplace Fatigue Risk Scorer

Score work-related fatigue risk from hours, shift timing, breaks and workload as a WHS hazard — and see where it meets reasonable-hours limits.

Last verified: 21 June 2026Jump to calculator ↓

For general (non-driving) work there is no single fixed legal maximum number of hours under work health and safety law — that is a myth. Fatigue is managed as a risk under the WHS Act general duty (s19): your employer must manage it so far as is reasonably practicable, weighing hours, shift timing, breaks, consecutive shifts, recovery, workload, commuting and on-call. This tool scores your fatigue risk, ranks the factors driving it, and sets out the controls that should be in place. Separately, the Fair Work Act (s62) limits hours to 38 per week plus reasonable additional hours, and the right to disconnect protects out-of-hours rest.

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General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.

Workplace Fatigue Risk Scorer

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