Australian redundancy pay: 4 to 16 weeks by years of service, plus notice or pay in lieu
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026.An employee in Australia on a base rate of A$1,800 a week, made redundant after 8 full years by an employer with 15 or more staff, is owed 14 weeks of redundancy pay under section 119 of the Fair Work Act: A$25,200. If the 4 weeks of notice are paid out instead of worked, A$7,200 more.
2026 · Rates and rules read from Fair Work Act 2009, ss. 23, 117, 119 and 121, compilation No. 73 (Federal Register of Legislation) on 16 Oct 2026; they may have changed since.
Type your weekly base pay for ordinary hours, before tax.
Enter the date you started and your last day of employment.
Say whether you are over 45, whether the employer has 15 or more staff, and whether the notice is worked or paid out.
Read the weeks of redundancy pay, the weeks of notice and the amounts.
When an employer no longer needs a job done by anyone, the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act set a minimum redundancy pay and a minimum notice. This page works out both from your weekly pay and dates.
Redundancy pay (section 119). Weeks of pay at your base rate for ordinary hours, by completed years of continuous service: 4 weeks for 1 year, 6 for 2, 7 for 3, 8 for 4, 10 for 5, 11 for 6, 13 for 7, 14 for 8 and 16 for 9 years. From 10 years the table gives 12 weeks.
Who misses out (section 121). Employees with less than 12 months of continuous service, and anyone whose employer is a small business, one with fewer than 15 employees counting those being let go (section 23). Casual service does not count.
Notice or pay in lieu (section 117). 1 week for up to a year of service, 2 weeks for over 1 up to 3 years, 3 weeks for over 3 up to 5 years, 4 weeks for more than 5 years, and 1 week more for an employee over 45 with at least 2 years of service. The employer can pay those weeks instead.
How the page counts. Service runs from the start date to the last day of employment, both included. One weekly figure is used for both amounts; pay in lieu is at the full rate, which can be higher when you get penalty rates or allowances.
Not included. Unused annual and long service leave, award or agreement terms that pay more, a Fair Work Commission reduction, the small-business insolvency exception, and tax on the payment. An estimate from the law, not legal advice.
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Multiply your weekly base rate for ordinary hours by the weeks section 119 of the Fair Work Act gives your completed years of service: from 4 weeks after 1 year up to 16 weeks after 9 years. On A$1,800 a week after 8 years that is 14 weeks, A$25,200.
The section 119 table gives 16 weeks for 9 years but 12 weeks from 10 years; the Act sets it that way, with long service leave usually available by then. An award or enterprise agreement can pay more.
Not under the National Employment Standards. An employer with fewer than 15 employees, counting everyone being let go and regular casuals, is excluded by section 121. A narrow exception in section 121(4) covers some insolvent employers.
One week for up to a year of continuous service, 2 weeks for over 1 up to 3 years, 3 weeks for over 3 up to 5 years and 4 weeks for longer. Employees over 45 with at least 2 years of service get one more week.
Instead of having you work the notice period, the employer pays you what you would have earned in it, at your full rate of pay for the hours you would have worked (section 117). The page multiplies the notice weeks by your weekly pay.
Unused annual and long service leave, better terms in your award or agreement, casual service, a Fair Work Commission order reducing the amount, and the tax treatment of a genuine redundancy payment.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Australia Redundancy Pay Calculator (NES) and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
Open it set for: Pay in Lieu of Notice Calculator (Australia).
Same job, other tools: Australia Take-Home Pay Calculator – Pay after tax in Australia for 2026-27, per year and per month, with super shown on top · Notice Period Buyout Calculator – What an employer recovers for the notice days you do not serve · Long Service Leave Calculator: NSW and VIC – How many weeks of long service leave you are owed in NSW or Victoria, and the pay · Last Working Day Calculator – The exact date your notice ends, counted in calendar days · Long Service Leave Calculator Victoria – Victorian long service leave: 1/60th of your service after 7 years, paid out if you leave.
On the related tools: Salary Including Super Calculator (Australia) – Split an Australian package that includes super into salary and 12% super guarantee.
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