Ordinary pay

What is ordinary pay?

Ordinary pay is the gross wages or salary, prior to deductions such as PAYG tax, salary sacrifice and salary packaging items, paid or payable to the worker for work under an award or agreement (including a common law contract).

If a worker ordinarily works weekends, or shift work, and gets penalty rates then those penalty rates will form part of the worker’s ordinary pay.

Reporting JobKeeper payments

Information for employers submitting backdated quarterly returns for the period covering JobKeeper subsidies.

Reporting workers' compensation payments

The instructions explain how workers' compensation payments will impact what is reported in the quarterly return.

Examples of what ordinary pay includes

- any above/over award payments
- public holiday penalty rates
- weekend and shift work penalty rates, where the worker ordinarily works weekends or shift work
- overtime – at the regular rate of pay
- sick leave
- annual leave
- workers’ compensation paid by the insurance company to the employer and the employer passes the payment onto the worker
- from 1 July 2022 – workers’ compensation where payments are made directly by the insurance company to the worker
- maternity/paternity leave paid by the government (Centrelink) to the employer and the employer passes the payment onto the worker
- maternity/paternity leave paid by the employer to the worker
- bereavement leave
- carer’s leave
- other paid leave
- casual loading
- jury duty
- long service leave
- allowances, paid or payable, including:
  - shift allowances
  - on-call allowance
  - leading hand allowance
  - first aid allowance
  - broken shift allowance
  - toilet allowance
  - refuse collection allowance.
- any above/over award payments
- public holiday penalty rates
- weekend and shift work penalty rates, where the worker ordinarily works weekends or shift work
- overtime – at the regular rate of pay
- sick leave
- annual leave
- workers’ compensation paid by the insurance company to the employer and the employer passes the payment onto the worker
- from 1 July 2022 – workers’ compensation where payments are made directly by the insurance company to the worker
- maternity/paternity leave paid by the government (Centrelink) to the employer and the employer passes the payment onto the worker
- maternity/paternity leave paid by the employer to the worker
- bereavement leave
- carer’s leave
- other paid leave
- casual loading
- jury duty
- long service leave

Examples of what ordinary pay does not include

- leave without pay (hours must be included)
- leave without pay – casuals (hours must be included, entitled to 2 days of unpaid carer's leave and 2 days of unpaid compassionate leave per occasion)
- overtime penalty rates
- leave loading
- expense reimbursements
- amounts paid to the worker for use of the following:
  - materials
  - equipment
  - motor vehicle.
- allowances, including:
  - shift
  - travel
  - meals
  - protective clothing
  - sleepover.
- termination payments, including:
  - in lieu of notice
  - lump-sum payment in lieu of accrued leave (unused annual leave and long service leave)
  - redundancy.
- superannuation contributions made by the worker’s employer
- cashed out leave
- Christmas bonuses
- one-off bonuses (e.g. performance pay)
- maternity/paternity leave where payments are made directly into the worker bank account by the government (Centrelink) with no involvement from the employer
- leave without pay (hours must be included)
- leave without pay – casuals (hours must be included, entitled to 2 days of unpaid carer's leave and 2 days of unpaid compassionate leave per occasion)
- overtime penalty rates
- leave loading
- expense reimbursements
- amounts paid to the worker for use of the following -
  - materials
  - equipment
  - motor vehicle.
- allowances for:
  - travel
  - meals
  - protective clothing.
- termination payments, including:
  - in lieu of notice
  - lump-sum payment in lieu of accrued leave (unused annual leave and long service leave)
  - redundancy.
- superannuation contributions made by the worker’s employer
- cashed out leave
- Christmas bonuses
- one-off bonuses (e.g. performance pay)
- maternity/paternity leave where payments are made directly into the worker bank account by the government (Centrelink) with no involvement from the employer

Employers

Updated 22 October 2024