Right to Disconnect — Civil Penalty Calculator
$93,900 individual / $469,500 body corporate per contravention. Calculate the total maximum penalty exposure across multiple contact incidents. Useful for employers assessing risk and employees considering FWO complaints.
Last verified: 1 July 2025Each unreasonable out-of-hours contact can be a separate contravention. The penalty multiplier is per contravention, not per employee — but each affected employee can have multiple contraventions.
Penalty exposure scenario
Estimate the maximum civil penalty under section 333M of the Fair Work Act 2009. Maximums are rarely imposed in full — courts apply discretion.
Maximum exposure
$4,695,000
10 contraventions total (10 × 1 employees)
Body corporate exposure: $4,695,000 ($469,500 × 10)
Penalty unit rate: $1,565 (2025-26). Body corporate = 300 units = $469,500/contravention. Individual = 60 units = $93,900/contravention. Adjusts annually with the Crimes Act 1914 indexation.
How the penalty stacks
- Per-contravention basis. Each unreasonable contact incident is a separate contravention. 10 unwanted out-of-hours emails over 6 months = 10 contraventions, not 1.
- Body corporate vs individual. The employer entity (Pty Ltd, etc.) faces the higher penalty ($469,500/contravention). Individual managers who personally engaged in the contact can also face the individual penalty ($93,900) on top — accessorial liability under section 550 Fair Work Act.
- Per-employee cumulative. If multiple employees are affected, contraventions per employee accumulate. 5 employees × 10 contacts = 50 contraventions = up to $23,475,000 maximum exposure for a body corporate.
- Court discretion. Maximum penalties are rarely imposed in full — courts assess seriousness, prior history, contrition, and impact. But the maximum is the ceiling.
Reasonable vs unreasonable contact
Not all out-of-hours contact contravenes the law. Factors the FWC considers (s.333M(3)): the reason for contact, how intrusive it is, whether the employee is compensated, the employee's role and responsibility, and personal circumstances. A genuinely urgent operational issue may be reasonable. Routine non-urgent contact during personal time generally is not. See the Right to Disconnect Eligibility tool to test specific scenarios.
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General information and estimates only — not legal, financial, or tax advice. Always verify with the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified professional.