Work guides

Your final pay, and when it is due.

Updated 29 October 2026 · Australia · Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)

The short answer

Your final pay must include wages for every hour you worked, including penalty rates and allowances, and all your unused annual leave, with leave loading if you would have received it on leave. Depending on how the job ended it may also include pay in lieu of notice, redundancy pay and long service leave. Sick leave is not paid out. Most awards require final pay within 7 days of your last day.

What has to be in it

  • Wages owing for hours worked, including penalty rates, overtime and allowances.
  • Unused annual leave, paid at what you would have received had you taken it. The Fair Work Ombudsman's position is that annual leave loading is paid out on termination even where an award, agreement or contract says it is not, as long as you would have received loading on leave.
  • Pay in lieu of notice, if you were not asked to work out your notice. See notice.
  • Redundancy pay, if your job was made redundant. See redundancy pay.
  • Long service leave that has accrued, or a pro rata amount, depending on the long service leave law that applies to you. That is usually a state or territory law.

What is not paid out

Personal leave (sick and carer's leave) is not paid out when your employment ends, however much you have built up.

When it is due

  • Your award or enterprise agreement sets the deadline if it has one. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, most awards require payment within 7 days after your last day.
  • Pay in lieu of notice must be paid on or before your last day.
  • If no award or agreement covers it, the Act's general rule applies: you must be paid in full, in money, at least monthly.

You must also get a pay slip within one working day of being paid. Keep it: it is your evidence.

Can they keep some of it?

Only in limited cases. If you resigned without giving the notice your award requires, most awards allow your employer to withhold up to one week's wages, if you are 18 or over and the deduction is not unreasonable. They cannot take it out of leave owed to you. Anything else needs a legal basis, and a signed authorisation only counts if the deduction is mainly for your benefit. See pay deductions.

If it does not arrive

  • Ask in writing, listing what you think is owed and how you worked it out.
  • Contact the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94), which offers free help with recovering wages.
  • You can claim through a court's small claims procedure for amounts up to $100,000, and you have up to 6 years. See underpaid wages.

What the law says

  • s 90(2) unused annual leave paid out on termination
  • s 117 notice and pay in lieu
  • s 119 redundancy pay
  • s 323 pay in full, in money, at least monthly
  • s 536 pay slips within one working day
  • ss 544, 548 6-year time limit and small claims up to $100,000

Sections are of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The 7-day award rule, the leave loading position and the notice-shortfall deduction are from the Fair Work Ombudsman's pages on final pay and resignation.

The law for matters like yours

This page is the law in general. Ask Atuny about the law for matters like yours in plain English and the short answer is free. It reads the Act, not a forum thread.

Ask a free question
How much notice your employer owes youThe minimum notice table, the extra week for over-45s, pay in lieu of notice, who misses out, and what you owe when you resign.Made redundant. What you are owedThe redundancy pay table from 4 to 16 weeks, what counts as a genuine redundancy, the small business and short-service exclusions, and what to check before you sign.Underpaid? You can go back six yearsHow to check whether you have been underpaid, the records your employer must keep, the small claims route up to $100,000, and when underpayment becomes a crime.Can your boss take it out of your pay?The four ways a deduction can be lawful, why till shortfalls and breakages rarely qualify, and the extra rule for workers under 18.

Who this covers. This guide is about people in the national workplace system, which is most people working in the private sector in Australia. Depending on your state, if you work for a state government department or a council, or in Western Australia for a sole trader, partnership or some trusts, state laws may apply instead, although some federal protections, such as unlawful termination, still cover you. The Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) can tell you which system you are in.

This is general information about the law, not advice about your situation. It was checked against the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) as compiled on 7 July 2026 and the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman figures for 2026-27. Atuny is not a law firm.