Do Employees Have to be Paid for Being On-call? (2026 Update)

An on-call allowance is a payment you make to an employee for being available to work outside their ordinary hours, even if the phone never rings. In Australia, whether you have to pay one (and how much) comes from the modern award or enterprise agreement covering the role, or from the employment contract if the role is award-free.

Here’s the uncomfortable bit. Most small business owners only look at on-call pay after something goes wrong. A 2am call-out that never got paid properly. A staff member who quietly stopped answering after hours. By then you’re calculating back pay instead of running a roster people are happy to be on.

What does “on call” mean for work in Australia?

On call means an employee isn’t working, but has agreed to be contactable and ready to start work if something comes up. You’ll also see it called standby, availability or being rostered on call.

Four different arrangements get lumped together under that label. They’re paid differently, so it’s worth knowing which one you’re actually running.

Arrangement	What the employee is doing	How it’s paid under most awards
On call or standby	At home or out, phone on, ready to respond	A flat on-call allowance per day or period
Recall or call-back	Called in to work, or starts work remotely	Overtime or penalty rates, often with a minimum number of hours
Waiting at the workplace	Required to stay on site until work comes up	Treated as time worked, at ordinary or overtime rates
Sleepover (some care awards)	Sleeping at the workplace, woken if needed	A sleepover allowance, plus pay for any work done

Where this goes wrong is the label. Employers call something “on call” when the employee is, in practice, working. Make someone stay on site, answer within five minutes and keep a work vehicle running all weekend, and the restrictions start to look a lot like a shift. Whatever you call the roster, the question is how much of their own time the employee really gets back.

Do you have to pay an on-call allowance?

Only if something requires it. That something is an award, an enterprise agreement or the employment contract. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the National Employment Standards don’t create a general right to be paid for being on call.

In practice, though, most award-covered staff who are rostered on call are entitled to an on-call allowance. Disability and community services, nursing, health professionals, building and construction and a range of trades awards all have on-call or standby clauses. If the award sets an amount, it’s a floor. You can pay more. You can’t pay less.

What if the employee is award-free?

Then the contract decides. A pattern Lawpath lawyers see in consultations: the contract says nothing about after-hours work, so the business has no written basis to ask for on-call cover, and the employee has no clear entitlement either. Both sides end up arguing over what was “agreed” in a conversation two years ago.

Write it down. A full-time employment agreement template gives you a place to set out whether on-call duty applies, what it pays and what response time you expect. Ten minutes of drafting now saves a very awkward meeting later.

How much is the on-call allowance in 2026?

It depends on the award, and on the day. Most awards pay a flat amount for each on-call period, with a higher amount for weekends and public holidays. Here’s how three of the most common on-call awards compare.

Award	Weekday on-call allowance	Weekend and public holiday
Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award	$25.66 per 24-hour period (Monday to Friday)	$50.81 per 24-hour period (any other period or public holiday)
Nurses Award	$28.66 (Monday to Friday)	$43.17 Saturday; $50.37 Sunday, public holiday or non-rostered day
Health Professionals and Support Services Award	$26.34 (Monday to Saturday)	$52.56 Sunday or public holiday

These amounts apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, after the Annual Wage Review lifted modern award minimum wages by 4.75%. They change every July. Before you set or pay a rate, check your award in the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides.

One trap worth naming. After each July increase, a regular question in Lawpath consultations is whether the business has actually been paying the new rates. Allowances are an easy line to miss, because they usually sit in a separate pay code from the base rate. If you only updated base rates in July, go back and check.

What do you pay when an on-call employee is called in?

The allowance stops being the whole story the moment work starts. Recall work (also called call-back) is paid on top of the on-call allowance, at the overtime or penalty rates in the award.

Check three things in your award’s recall clause:

• The minimum payment. Many awards pay a minimum number of hours for each recall, however short the job. Under the SCHADS Award it’s two hours for a recall to the workplace.
• Remote work. A 15-minute fix from the kitchen table is still work. Some awards set a shorter minimum for remote recall, others pay actual time. Read the clause.
• Travel and repeat call-outs. Some awards count travel time inside the minimum. Some treat two call-outs inside the minimum window as one. Others pay each separately.

Worked example: on call for 8 hours, working for 2

Say you run a disability support business. Your support worker is on the SCHADS Award at Level 2, pay point 1, which is $36.22 an hour from 1 July 2026. She’s on call on a Tuesday night and gets called to a client’s home for two hours.

1. On-call allowance: $25.66 for the weekday on-call period.
2. Recall work: two hours at overtime rates. SCHADS pays time and a half for the first two hours of overtime from Monday to Saturday, so that’s 2 × $36.22 × 1.5 = $108.66.
3. Total for the night: $134.32, plus any super that applies.

Now say the job only took 20 minutes. You’d still pay two hours, because of the recall minimum. That’s the single most common gap we see in on-call payroll: paying the minutes worked instead of the minimum.

One more catch if you pay above award. Under the awards that come up most often in Lawpath consultations, overtime and penalties are calculated on the ordinary rate you actually pay, not the award minimum. Employers sometimes hope to apply the multiplier to the lower award rate. The award doesn’t let you.

Does the on-call allowance attract super?

Payday Super changed the base on 1 July 2026. Super guarantee is now 12% of qualifying earnings, which replaced ordinary time earnings as the measure. It has to reach the employee’s fund within 7 business days of each payday. Our Payday Super guide for employers covers the full change.

For on-call pay, the answer splits in two. Payments for ordinary hours are qualifying earnings. Overtime isn’t. An on-call allowance for availability outside ordinary hours sits with overtime and doesn’t attract super, and payroll systems set it up that way. An allowance paid as a loading on ordinary hours is different. That one attracts super.

Most founders assume “allowance” means “no super”. Sometimes that’s right. Check how each on-call pay code is mapped in your payroll software, because a wrong mapping repeats itself every single payday.

When does on-call time count as work time?

Usually it doesn’t, as long as the employee can get on with their life. Sleeping at home, having dinner with friends, doing the grocery run. That’s on call.

It starts to look like work as the restrictions pile up:

• The employee must stay at or very close to the workplace.
• Response times are so short they can’t leave the house.
• Calls are so frequent that the whole period is effectively spent working.
• They must be in uniform, sober and ready to drive a work vehicle at any moment.

There’s no single test. The more control you have over their time, the stronger the argument they should be paid as if working. Our view: if your business genuinely needs someone sitting on site overnight, roster them on a shift. Don’t try to cover it with an allowance.

Can an employee refuse to be on call?

If on-call duty isn’t in their award, agreement or contract, you can’t simply impose it. Ask, agree it in writing and pay for it.

If it is part of the role, refusing a fair roster can become a performance issue. Frequency matters, though. Being on call one weekend a month is a very different ask from every weekend for six months, and a carer can request flexible arrangements if on-call duty clashes with their responsibilities.

How the right to disconnect changes things

Since 26 August 2025, the right to disconnect has applied to small businesses with fewer than 15 employees, not just larger employers. Employees can refuse to monitor, read or respond to work contact outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable.

Paying an on-call allowance shifts that balance in your favour. The Fair Work Ombudsman treats contact to recall a paid on-call employee as reasonable. An unpaid “just keep your phone on this weekend” is much harder to defend. A right to disconnect policy template lets you spell out which contact is expected and which isn’t.

What we see in Lawpath consultations

Lawpath lawyers and advisers talk to employers about allowances, overtime and award rates every week. A few patterns come up again and again.

• Above-award doesn’t mean allowance-free. Employers paying generous rates often assume the rate covers everything. An all-in rate can absorb award allowances, but only if the contract says so clearly and the rate still beats the award once every entitlement is added up. That sum needs redoing after every July increase.
• Verbal expectations cause the messiest disputes. Plenty of overtime claims start with hours or availability agreed in passing and never written down. A contract clause and a timesheet would have settled most of them in five minutes.
• Unpaid entitlements have a long tail. An employee can generally claim underpaid entitlements going back six years, including after they’ve left. A $25 weekly gap in on-call pay becomes a real number over that stretch.
• Back pay needs a paper trail. When rates have been missed, advisers recommend telling affected employees in writing and showing the back pay as its own line on the payslip.

Why getting on-call pay wrong is riskier now

Since 1 January 2025, intentionally underpaying wages or entitlements has been a criminal offence under the Fair Work Act. Honest mistakes aren’t caught by it. Small businesses that follow the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code also have a clear path away from prosecution.

So don’t panic. Keep evidence. Notes showing you checked the award, updated rates each July and fixed errors when you found them are what separate a mistake from intent. If you’re unsure whether your current set-up passes, an employment lawyer can check your award coverage and rates in a single call.

How to set up an on-call roster (step by step)

1. Confirm coverage. Work out which award or agreement covers each role, then read its on-call, recall and overtime clauses. Our employer’s guide to minimum pay walks through finding the right award.
2. Define the window and the response. Do you need someone to answer within 30 minutes, or be on site within an hour? Ask only for what the business genuinely needs.
3. Put it in writing. Add an on-call clause to the contract (or a signed variation) and back it with a short on-call policy. Lawpath’s workplace policy templates are a quick starting point.
4. Set up payroll properly. Create separate pay codes for the allowance, recall minimums and overtime, and map each one correctly for super.
5. Record every call-out. Start time, finish time and whether it was remote or on site. Yes, even the ten-minute phone fix.
6. Manage fatigue. Build in rest after late call-outs. Where your award allows it, time off in lieu can replace some overtime payments.
7. Review every July. Put a reminder in the calendar for the first pay run after 1 July and check every on-call rate against the new pay guide.

What to include in your on-call clause and policy

• The on-call window (days and times) and how the roster rotates.
• The required response time, and what “responding” means: a text back, a remote fix or turning up on site.
• The on-call allowance amount, with a reference to the award clause if one applies.
• Recall minimums, remote work rules and travel time.
• How overtime payments and TOIL work for call-outs.
• Rest breaks after late call-outs, and who to escalate to if the on-call person can’t cover a job.

Frequently asked questions about on-call pay

Do you get paid for being on call in Australia?

Usually, if an award or enterprise agreement covers the role. Most awards with on-call clauses pay a flat on-call allowance per period, plus overtime if you’re called in. Award-free employees only get on-call pay if their contract provides for it.

What is the difference between on call and standby?

Mostly just the name. Awards use both terms for an employee who is off duty but ready to work if needed. What matters for pay is the clause in your award, and how restricted the employee is while they wait.

What is the on-call allowance rate in 2026?

There’s no single rate. From 1 July 2026, the SCHADS Award pays $25.66 per weekday on-call period and $50.81 on weekends and public holidays. Other awards differ, so check the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide for your award.

What if an employee is on call for 8 hours, but only works for 2?

You pay the on-call allowance for the period, plus two hours at the award’s overtime or recall rate. If the award has a recall minimum, you pay at least that minimum, even if the work took less time.

Is the on-call allowance included in super?

It depends on when it’s paid. An on-call allowance for availability outside ordinary hours sits with overtime and isn’t qualifying earnings. An allowance paid as part of ordinary hours is, so super applies at 12%.

Can an employee say no to being on call?

Yes, if on-call duty isn’t part of their award, agreement or contract. If it is, they can still push back on an unreasonable roster. Agree on-call terms in writing and pay for them to avoid the standoff.

Does the right to disconnect apply to on-call employees?

It applies, but it rarely protects a refusal. If you pay an on-call allowance, contacting the employee to recall them is reasonable, so ignoring that call is unlikely to be protected. Unpaid after-hours contact is where the right bites.

Do salaried employees get on-call pay?

If they’re award-covered, the salary must still cover every award entitlement, including on-call allowances, and the contract should say it does. If they’re award-free, it comes down to what the contract says.

Get your on-call arrangements in writing

If you’ve been running an informal on-call roster, you’re not behind and you’re definitely not alone. Most small businesses start with a mobile number and good intentions. The fix is a few clear clauses, the right on-call allowance and one payroll check a year.

Start your Employment Agreement today and put your on-call terms in writing.