Is FIFO paid hourly or as a salary?

Both models are used. Trades, operators, labour hire and shutdown workers are most often hourly, which means high-hour swings pay well and quiet periods pay less. Staff, supervisors, engineers and superintendents are more often on an annualised salary that covers the roster, sometimes with a site allowance and bonus.

Do FIFO workers get paid for travel days?

It depends entirely on the award, enterprise agreement or contract. Some treat the flight day as a paid work day, some as a paid part-day, some pay a fixed travel allowance instead, and some treat travel as your own time. Check how travel is treated before accepting a roster, because on a 2/1 it changes the number of paid days each swing.

Do FIFO workers get paid for days off?

On an hourly arrangement, no — rostered days off between swings are unpaid time, which is why the hourly rate and penalties are higher. On an annualised salary the days off are built into the annual figure. Annual leave is a separate entitlement used for time away outside your rostered break.

How is FIFO overtime calculated?

Overtime is calculated against the ordinary-hours threshold in your award or agreement, which on FIFO rosters is often averaged over the roster cycle rather than applied to a single day. Once you pass that threshold, hours are typically paid at time and a half and then double time. If your rate is all-purpose or annualised, overtime may already be built into the rate and will not appear as a separate line.

What allowances do FIFO workers get?

Common allowances include site, district or remote allowance, travel time or travel allowance, crib and meal allowances, tool allowances, first aid and higher duties allowances, and in some arrangements a living away from home allowance. Which ones apply and at what value is set by the award or enterprise agreement covering the site.

Do FIFO workers get paid for public holidays?

If you work a public holiday you are generally entitled to public holiday pay or the substitute arrangement in your agreement, and if it falls on a rostered day off there may be a day in lieu or an averaged allowance. Because rosters run straight through, most agreements deal with public holidays specifically — the answer is in that document rather than a general rule.

Why does my FIFO payslip look different every pay?

Usually because the pay period does not line up with the swing, so one payslip catches more worked days than the next. Averaged ordinary hours, all-purpose rates that hide overtime, taxable versus non-taxable allowances, and late timesheet approvals producing back-pay adjustments all add to the variation.

How much do FIFO workers earn?

It varies widely by role, site, roster and agreement, and by how many hours the swing actually produces. Rather than relying on a headline figure, work it out from the specifics: your rate or salary, the roster pattern, how travel days are paid, which penalties apply, and the allowances listed in your agreement. Fair Work's pay tools and the relevant enterprise agreement are the reliable sources.

How Does FIFO Pay Work in Australia?

Q: How does FIFO pay work in Australia?

Most FIFO workers are paid either an hourly rate with overtime, shift, weekend and public holiday penalties plus allowances, or a flat all-purpose rate or annualised salary that already absorbs those penalties. Pay is calculated from approved timesheets for the days worked on the swing, with rostered days off unpaid on hourly arrangements. On top of the base pay, payslips commonly include site or district allowances, travel payments, crib and meal allowances and superannuation.

Quick Answer

FIFO pay is built from the hours you work on your swing, priced by the award or enterprise agreement covering the site. Most workers are on one of two models: an hourly rate with overtime, shift, weekend and public holiday penalties added on, or a flat all-purpose rate or annualised salary that already absorbs those penalties.

Hourly: common for trades, operators, labour hire and shutdowns. High-hour swings pay well; quiet rosters pay less.
Annualised salary: common for staff, supervisors and engineers. Extra hours are absorbed into the figure.
On top: site or district allowance, travel time or travel allowance, crib and meal allowances, and superannuation.
Why payslips vary: the pay period rarely matches the swing, ordinary hours are often averaged, and all-purpose rates hide the overtime line.

The five ways FIFO work gets paid

Before comparing offers, work out which structure you are being offered. It changes what a headline number is actually worth:

Hourly rate plus penalties (most common for trades and contractors)

You are paid for the hours you actually work, with overtime, shift loadings, weekend and public holiday penalties and allowances added on top. Big earning swings, but pay drops when the roster is quiet or a shift is cancelled.

Flat or 'all-purpose' hourly rate

A single higher hourly rate that already absorbs overtime, weekend and shift penalties. Simple to read, but you must check the flat rate genuinely beats the award-plus-penalties outcome — that is what the better off overall test looks at.

Annualised salary

A fixed annual figure covering the whole roster, usually for staff, supervisors, engineers and superintendents. Extra hours are absorbed rather than paid, so the value depends on the roster you are actually working.

Salary plus bonus or site allowance

A base salary with a site, remote or project allowance, and sometimes a production or retention bonus paid quarterly or annually.

Day rate

Common for contractors and specialists: a set amount per day worked regardless of the hours in it. Great on a 10-hour day, less great on a 13-hour one.

Casual with loading

Higher hourly rate including casual loading in place of paid leave, used heavily in labour hire and shutdown work.

Hourly vs annual: which one suits which roster

	Hourly + penalties	Annualised salary
Long swings, lots of overtime	Usually pays more	Absorbed — no extra
Shifts cancelled or site quiet	Income drops	Income unchanged
Predictability	Varies every pay	Steady
Weekend / public holiday work	Paid as penalties	Usually built in
Typical roles	Trades, operators, labour hire, shutdowns	Supervisors, engineers, staff

The useful comparison is not rate against salary — it is the total for the roster you will actually work. Multiply the hourly rate by realistic swing hours including penalties, add allowances, then compare that to the salary offer.

What each line on a FIFO payslip means

Ordinary hours

Hours up to the ordinary-hours threshold in your award or agreement, paid at your base rate.

Overtime

Hours beyond the daily or averaged weekly threshold, usually at time and a half then double time — unless your rate is all-purpose and already includes it.

Shift loading

A percentage loading for night shift, afternoon shift or rotating shift work.

Weekend and public holiday penalties

Saturday, Sunday and public holiday rates, which matter a lot on a roster that works straight through.

Site or district allowance

A flat amount per day or week for working in a remote location or on a particular site.

Living away from home allowance (LAFHA)

Paid in some arrangements where accommodation and meals are not fully provided. It has specific tax treatment, so check it with your accountant.

Travel time or travel allowance

Payment for flight or drive days, or a fixed allowance instead of hourly pay for travel.

Crib, meal and tool allowances

Small per-shift amounts for breaks worked through, meals and providing your own tools.

Annual leave and leave loading

Accrued during the swing on permanent arrangements; absent on casual, replaced by loading.

Superannuation

Paid on ordinary time earnings under the Superannuation Guarantee. Whether it applies to a particular allowance depends on what the allowance is for.

Travel days and public holidays: the two things people get wrong

Travel. Whether your flight day is paid, part-paid, allowance-only or your own time is set by the agreement, not by convention. On a 2/1 roster that single clause can be worth two paid days a swing. Ask specifically: is the travel day a paid work day, and does it count towards the ordinary-hours threshold for overtime?

Public holidays. FIFO rosters run straight through, so public holidays land mid-swing regularly. Agreements handle this in different ways — public holiday penalty rates, a day in lieu, or an averaged loading that already accounts for them. Which state's holidays apply generally follows where the work is performed. Get it in writing rather than assuming.

Why FIFO pay looks different on a payslip

The pay period rarely lines up with the swing

A fortnightly pay run cutting through the middle of a 2/1 means one payslip looks huge and the next looks thin. Nothing is wrong — the swing just straddled two periods.

Averaged hours smooth the peaks

Many agreements average ordinary hours over the roster cycle, so a 12-hour day does not automatically trigger overtime. Overtime kicks in against the averaged threshold instead.

All-purpose rates hide the components

If your rate absorbs penalties, your payslip may show only 'ordinary hours' at a high rate, with no overtime line at all.

Allowances are taxed differently

Some allowances are fully taxable, some are expense reimbursements, and LAFHA has its own rules. Two people on the same gross figure can take home different amounts.

Days off are not always paid days

On hourly arrangements your R&R is unpaid time between swings, not paid leave — so annual leave is used for holidays outside your roster, not for the swing break.

Timesheet approval timing

If a supervisor approves late, hours roll into the next pay run and appear as a back-pay adjustment rather than in the week they were worked.

If you want to sanity-check a pay period yourself, the timesheet hours, overtime and breaks calculator works through start and finish times, unpaid breaks and overtime thresholds step by step.

The rules that sit behind FIFO pay

An award or agreement sets the floor

Most Australian FIFO work is covered by an enterprise agreement or a modern award such as the Mining Industry Award or the Black Coal Mining Industry Award. These set ordinary hours, overtime, loadings, allowances and how rosters and travel are treated. An individual contract can pay more, but not less.

Flat rates must pass the better off overall test

Where an agreement or an annualised arrangement replaces penalties with a higher rate, the employer must be able to show the worker is not worse off than the underlying award over the cycle. That means the hours actually worked have to be recorded.

Public holidays still count

Working a public holiday on a swing generally attracts public holiday pay or an entitlement under the agreement. Which state's public holidays apply is usually where the work is performed, not where you fly from — confirm it in your agreement.

Records are a legal obligation

Employers must keep accurate records of hours worked, overtime, allowances, leave and superannuation and issue payslips within one working day of pay. Underpayment claims almost always come down to whether the hour records exist.

If you are the one paying FIFO crews

Capture hours where the work happens

Digital timesheets on site, with start, finish, breaks, job and shift type, remove the reconstruction that drives errors.

Interpret the award once, in software

Overtime thresholds, shift loadings, weekend and public holiday rates and allowances applied automatically beat a payroll officer reading a 200-page agreement every fortnight.

Approve daily, not on pay day

Supervisor approval during the swing stops the pay-day scramble and the back-pay adjustments that follow.

Tie hours to jobs, not just to pay

The same hour should feed payroll and the client invoice, so labour cost and recovery match.

Keep an audit trail

Who entered the hours, who approved them, what rate was applied and when — the record that answers a query in minutes.

Questions to ask before you accept a FIFO rate

Which award or enterprise agreement covers this role and site?
Is the rate hourly, all-purpose, day rate or annualised salary?
What is the roster, and how many paid days does a swing actually produce?
Are travel days paid, part-paid, allowance-only or unpaid?
At what point does overtime start — daily hours, or averaged over the cycle?
What shift, weekend and public holiday penalties apply?
Which allowances apply, and are they per shift, per day or per week?
Is accommodation and are meals provided, or is a LAFHA paid instead?
Is superannuation paid on top, and on which earnings?
When is the pay cycle, and by when do timesheets need approval?

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FIFO pay — FAQs

This article is general information for Australian mining and heavy industry workers and employers, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rates, allowances and roster treatment are set by the applicable award, enterprise agreement or contract — confirm your position with Fair Work, your employer or your own adviser.