Does A 38-Hour Workweek Include Lunch Breaks In Australia?

No, an unpaid lunch break usually doesn't count towards a 38-hour workweek in Australia. A 38-hour week generally means 38 paid ordinary hours of work. So, if your employee takes an unpaid 30 minute or 1 hour meal break, you usually need to roster extra time at work to reach 38 paid hours.

The practical result is simple: 38 hours a week is 7 hours and 36 minutes of paid work each day over 5 days. If you add a 30 minute unpaid lunch, your daily span becomes 8 hours and 6 minutes. If you add a 1 hour unpaid lunch, your daily span becomes 8 hours and 36 minutes.

Getting this right matters for your business because ordinary hours affect wages, overtime, penalties, rosters, leave accruals, time records and employee expectations. It also helps you reduce underpayment risk, which has become an even bigger compliance issue since federal wage theft laws commenced in 2025 for intentional underpayments.

Does A 38-Hour Workweek Include Lunch Breaks?

In most Australian workplaces, unpaid meal breaks don't count towards the 38 ordinary hours. The 38 hours generally cover the time your employee is performing work, or is required to be available to work, not time when they're relieved of duties to have a meal.

Here is the usual position for your roster:

• Unpaid lunch or meal breaks: These are usually excluded from working hours. A 9:00am to 5:00pm day with a 1 hour unpaid lunch is usually 7 paid hours, not 8.
• Paid rest or tea breaks: These are usually included in working hours because your employee is paid for that time.
• On-duty meal breaks: If your employee must stay on duty, remain available or keep working through the meal period, the break may need to be paid and counted as time worked, depending on the award, enterprise agreement or contract.

The National Employment Standards, known as the NES, don't set one national lunch break length for every worker. Break rules usually come from a modern award, enterprise agreement, employment contract and your work health and safety obligations. This means two people in your team can have different break entitlements if they work in different roles or under different instruments, even though the 38-hour ordinary week is the same starting point.

For example, one award might require a meal break after a certain number of hours and treat missed breaks in a particular way. Another might include paid rest breaks or special rules for shiftworkers. A practical way to avoid mistakes is to check your employee's classification and instrument before you finalise a roster. Many employers also review the basics of Fair Work breaks and broader workplace break laws when setting break policies.

How Does A 38-Hour Week Work In Australia?

Under the NES in the Fair Work Act 2009, the maximum weekly ordinary hours for a full-time employee are 38 hours, plus reasonable additional hours. For part-time employees, ordinary hours are usually the agreed lesser weekly hours, plus reasonable additional hours.

It helps to keep three concepts separate when you're setting up rosters and payroll:

• Ordinary hours: Your employee's regular paid working hours, usually set by the applicable award, enterprise agreement or contract.
• Additional hours: Hours beyond ordinary hours. These can be lawful if they're reasonable, but you still need to pay them correctly.
• Overtime: Hours that attract overtime rates under an award, enterprise agreement or contract. Overtime can be triggered by weekly totals, daily totals, work outside a span of hours, weekend work or missed break rules.

The reasonable additional hours test applies to full-time, part-time and casual employees. When deciding whether extra hours are reasonable, you should consider the employee's health and safety, personal circumstances, your workplace needs, notice given, compensation, the nature of the role and usual industry patterns.

In 2026, you also need to keep the right to disconnect in mind. Employees can refuse to monitor, read or respond to work contact outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. This doesn't change the 38-hour rule, but it does affect how you manage after-hours calls, emails and messages, especially if they effectively create extra work time.

If you're mapping out rosters, it's useful to understand how weekly limits interact with penalties and overtime. As a starting point, many employers review roster patterns alongside their obligations around maximum hours of work per week and how overtime rates operate under the relevant award.

What Are 38-Hour Week Start And Finish Times?

There's no single legal start and finish time for a 38-hour week. The right pattern for your business depends on the award or agreement, the employee's role, your operational needs and whether breaks are paid or unpaid.

If your employee works 5 days a week, 38 hours equals 7 hours and 36 minutes of paid work per day. Here are common ways that can look in practice if the applicable instrument allows the pattern:

• With a 30 minute unpaid lunch: 9:00am to 5:06pm gives an 8 hour and 6 minute span, less 30 minutes unpaid lunch, which equals 7 hours and 36 minutes paid work.
• With a 1 hour unpaid lunch: 8:30am to 5:06pm gives an 8 hour and 36 minute span, less 1 hour unpaid lunch, which equals 7 hours and 36 minutes paid work.
• With no unpaid meal break because the shift is shorter: A shorter shift may not trigger a meal break under some instruments, but you still need to check the applicable break rules and WHS risks.
• Across 4 days: 38 hours is 9.5 paid hours per day. Some workplaces use compressed weeks, but you should check daily ordinary hour limits, overtime triggers, break rules and consultation requirements first.

A common trap is assuming 9:00am to 5:00pm automatically equals 38 hours across 5 days. If there's a 1 hour unpaid lunch each day, that pattern is usually only 35 paid hours per week. If there's a 30 minute unpaid lunch each day, it's usually 37.5 paid hours per week.

Another trap is copying a roster from another business. A professional services office, cafe, retail store, medical practice and manufacturing site may all have different award rules about ordinary hours, breaks, spans and penalties. Before you lock in start and finish times, check the instrument that applies to the specific role.

How Is A 38-Hour Week Calculated?

The easiest method is to calculate paid working time first, then check whether your roster pattern is allowed.

1. Identify the applicable instrument: Confirm the modern award, enterprise agreement or award-free contract that applies to the role.
2. Write down the start and finish times: Use actual clock times, not just a total number of hours.
3. Subtract unpaid meal breaks: Don't count unpaid lunch breaks as ordinary hours.
4. Include paid breaks: Paid rest breaks are part of paid working time, so they're included in your ordinary hours calculation.
5. Add the paid time across the week: For a full-time employee, check whether it totals 38 ordinary hours or another permitted averaged amount.
6. Check daily rules: Awards and agreements can limit ordinary hours per day, spans of hours and shift lengths.
7. Check overtime and penalties: Extra time may be reasonable additional hours, but it may still attract overtime or penalty rates.
8. Keep records: Record start times, finish times and breaks accurately so payroll can be checked later.

Worked Example: Mia's Design Studio

Mia runs a small design studio and wants her full-time studio coordinator to work 38 ordinary hours over 5 days. She first proposes 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, with a 1 hour unpaid lunch each day.

• The daily span is 8.5 hours.
• The unpaid lunch is 1 hour.
• The paid working time is 7.5 hours per day.
• Across 5 days, the employee works 37.5 paid hours.

This roster is half an hour short of 38 paid hours each week. If the relevant award or contract permits it, Mia could change the roster to 8:30am to 5:06pm with a 1 hour unpaid lunch. That creates 7 hours and 36 minutes paid work per day, which totals 38 paid hours over 5 days.

If the employee also has two 10 minute paid rest breaks during the day, Mia doesn't subtract those breaks. They sit inside the paid working time. The employee is still paid for 7 hours and 36 minutes that day, including the paid rest breaks.

Worked Example: Cafe Roster With Too Many Paid Hours

Sam runs a cafe and rosters a full-time employee from 7:00am to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday, with a 30 minute unpaid meal break each day.

• The daily span is 8.5 hours.
• The unpaid meal break is 30 minutes.
• The paid working time is 8 hours per day.
• Across 5 days, the employee works 40 paid hours.

If the employee's ordinary hours are 38 per week, Sam needs to check whether the extra 2 hours are overtime, reasonable additional hours, part of a permitted averaging arrangement or a roster error that should be fixed. The answer depends on the applicable award or enterprise agreement. Sam should also check whether any work falls outside the ordinary span of hours or attracts weekend, public holiday or other penalty rates.

What Do Awards, Enterprise Agreements And Contracts Say About Breaks?

Because the NES doesn't prescribe a universal lunch break, the detail usually sits in awards, enterprise agreements and employment documents. These documents can tell you:

• When a meal break is required: For example, after a certain number of hours worked.
• How long the meal break must be: Often 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the industry and instrument.
• Whether rest breaks are paid: Paid rest or tea breaks usually count as working time.
• What happens if a break is missed: Some awards require penalties or a different payment if your employee isn't given a required break.
• On-duty meal arrangements: Some roles may allow or require paid on-duty meal breaks.
• Daily spans and overtime triggers: Your roster can exceed ordinary limits even if the weekly total looks right.
• Averaging rules: Some instruments allow ordinary hours to be averaged across a roster cycle, such as 2, 4 or more weeks, if the conditions are met.

For award-free employees, break practices are usually set by contract and policy, supported by WHS obligations. It's good practice to document ordinary hours, meal breaks, paid rest breaks and time recording in each Employment Contract and in a clear Workplace Policy so your managers apply the rules consistently.

If you use averaging, be especially careful. Averaging doesn't mean you can ignore daily limits, overtime triggers, penalty periods or break rules. It simply means ordinary hours may be spread across a permitted cycle, if the award, enterprise agreement or other lawful arrangement allows it and the required process is followed.

Are Lunch Breaks Included In Working Hours For Part-Time And Casual Staff?

The same core rule applies: unpaid meal breaks usually don't count as working hours, and paid breaks usually do. The difference is how ordinary hours are set for each employment type in your business.

Part-Time Employees

A part-time employee's ordinary hours are usually the agreed regular hours in their contract or roster, subject to the applicable award or enterprise agreement. If you engage a part-time employee for 24 ordinary hours per week, those 24 hours are paid working hours. Unpaid lunch breaks are generally outside that total.

For example, if your part-time employee works 9:00am to 3:30pm on 4 days with a 30 minute unpaid meal break each day, they usually work 6 paid hours per day, or 24 paid hours per week.

Casual Employees

Casual employees usually don't have guaranteed ongoing weekly hours, but they're still covered by the applicable break rules, maximum hours rules and reasonable additional hours test. A casual loading doesn't let you skip meal breaks, ignore overtime rules or count unpaid lunch as paid working time.

Since the Fair Work casual employment changes that have applied in recent years, including the employee choice pathway for eligible casuals, it's also important to keep casual arrangements accurate in your contracts and records. If a casual's pattern becomes regular, review the arrangement rather than letting roster practices drift.

Award-Free Employees

Award-free employees are still covered by the NES, including the 38-hour maximum ordinary week for full-time employees and the reasonable additional hours rule. If there's no award or enterprise agreement setting break details, your contract and policies should be clear about ordinary hours, unpaid meal breaks, paid rest breaks, time recording and expectations around after-hours contact.

Whatever the employment type, accurate records are essential. Use a system that captures start times, finish times and break periods so you can demonstrate compliance and resolve payroll questions quickly. Many employers also review their processes against general rostering requirements to ensure the right approvals and practices are in place.

Employer Checklist For 38-Hour Weeks And Lunch Breaks

A short checklist can help you turn the rules into a workable process for your managers and payroll team.

1. Confirm coverage for each role: Identify the correct modern award, enterprise agreement or award-free status. Don't assume the same rules apply across your whole business.
2. Define ordinary hours in writing: State your employee's ordinary hours, days of work and any roster cycle in the employment contract or written employment terms.
3. Set break rules clearly: Record when meal breaks must be taken, whether they're paid or unpaid, and what happens if a break is missed.
4. Build rosters from paid time: Calculate paid working hours first, then add unpaid lunch breaks to find the start and finish span.
5. Check the daily and weekly limits: Look for ordinary hour caps, spans of hours, minimum breaks between shifts, overtime triggers and penalty periods.
6. Train managers: Make sure supervisors know that unpaid lunch isn't counted towards 38 hours and that missed breaks may create payment issues.
7. Record actual time worked: Keep reliable timesheets or digital records showing start times, finish times and breaks.
8. Review payroll regularly: Compare rosters, timesheets and payslips so you can identify and correct underpayments early.
9. Update documents when rules change: Awards and Fair Work rules can change, so review your contracts and policies at least annually.

A quick legal health check can also help you spot whether your employment documents, policies and compliance processes need attention.

The biggest compliance risks are usually practical ones: managers approving rosters without checking the award, payroll systems treating lunch incorrectly, employees working through unpaid breaks, or outdated contracts saying one thing while the roster does another. If you fix those systems, you reduce underpayment risk and make expectations clearer for your team.

Key Takeaways

• Unpaid lunch breaks are generally not included in a 38-hour workweek in Australia. The 38 hours usually means 38 paid ordinary hours.
• Over 5 days, 38 hours equals 7 hours and 36 minutes of paid work per day. Add unpaid lunch on top when you set start and finish times.
• Paid rest breaks usually count as working time, while unpaid meal breaks usually do not.
• Awards, enterprise agreements and contracts can set break lengths, paid break rules, on-duty meal arrangements, overtime triggers and averaging rules.
• Part-time and casual employees follow the same basic break principles, but their ordinary hours and entitlements depend on their engagement and applicable instrument.
• Clear contracts, workplace policies, accurate time records and regular payroll checks can help you avoid underpayments and roster disputes.

If you'd like help with setting up break policies, calculating ordinary hours, reviewing employment contracts or checking your rostering rules, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.