Mining and FIFO Leave Management: Rosters, Even-Time and Accrual Complexity

Leave management in Australian mining — and particularly for Fly-In Fly-Out (FIFO) operations — is shaped by one structural reality: employees work extended rosters of 12-hour shifts over 14–21 day cycles, and their leave entitlements must be calculated against these unusual ordinary hours patterns.

The Mining Industry Award 2020 and various enterprise agreements govern leave for mining employees. FIFO operations add complexity because employees are often based in one state but work in another, their roster patterns create unusual annualised salary calculations, and the “even-time” roster model — where employees work equal periods on and off — blurs the boundary between ordinary hours and time off.

Key takeaways

• The Mining Industry Award 2020 provides 4 weeks annual leave for full-time employees, with 5 weeks for shift workers rotating across all seven days.
• FIFO employees on even-time rosters (e.g., 2 weeks on / 1 week off) may qualify for 5 weeks annual leave if their roster includes all seven days.
• Annualised salary arrangements under the Mining Award must be reconciled against actual entitlements annually — leave loading, penalty rates, and overtime must be accounted for.
• FIFO employees working in different states may trigger long service leave obligations in multiple jurisdictions.
• The Mining Award’s higher duties provisions apply when workers fill in for more senior roles during leave coverage.

The Mining Award leave framework

The Mining Industry Award 2020 covers most mining employees not covered by an enterprise agreement. It has specific provisions for surface mining, underground mining, and associated activities.

Leave type	Full-time	Part-time	Casual
Annual leave	4 weeks (5 for shift workers)	Pro-rata	None — loading compensates
Personal/carer’s leave	10 days/year	Pro-rata	2 days unpaid per occasion
Compassionate leave	2 days per occasion	2 days per occasion	2 days unpaid
Family & domestic violence leave	10 days paid/year	10 days pro-rata	10 days paid

The Mining Award’s shift worker definition is critical for FIFO operations. An employee who works a roster that rotates across all seven days — which most FIFO rosters do — qualifies for 5 weeks annual leave.

FIFO roster patterns and leave

FIFO operations use various roster patterns, each with different implications for leave calculations.

Common FIFO roster patterns

Roster	Work period	Off period	Annual leave entitlement
2/1 (even-time)	14 days	7 days	5 weeks (shift worker)
8/6 (even-time)	8 days	6 days	5 weeks (shift worker)
14/14 (even-time)	14 days	14 days	5 weeks (shift worker)
21/7	21 days	7 days	5 weeks (shift worker)
10/4	10 days	4 days	4 or 5 weeks (depends on roster)

The critical factor is whether the roster rotates across all seven days. A 2/1 roster where the employee works Monday to Sunday over the 14-day swing includes all seven days — the employee qualifies for 5 weeks. A roster that only includes weekdays may not meet the shift worker definition.

Worked example: 2/1 even-time FIFO roster

A maintenance fitter works a 2/1 FIFO roster: 14 days on site, 7 days off.

Component	Calculation
Ordinary hours per swing	14 days × 12 hours = 168 hours
Ordinary hours per year	168 × (365 ÷ 21) ≈ 2,912 hours
Annual leave entitlement	5 weeks = 190 hours (at 38 hrs/week)
Weeks of leave per year	190 ÷ 38 = 5 weeks

The employee is entitled to 5 weeks of annual leave, paid at their ordinary rate (including applicable allowances for the roster pattern).

Annualised salary reconciliation

Many mining employees are paid an annualised salary that purports to cover all entitlements — ordinary hours, overtime, penalty rates, and leave loading. The Mining Award requires this salary to be reconciled annually against what the employee would have earned under the award.

Annualised salary reconciliation requirements

Element	Must be reconciled?	Frequency
Base pay	Yes	Annually
Overtime	Yes	Annually
Penalty rates	Yes	Annually
Leave loading	Yes	Annually
Allowances	Yes	Annually
Annual leave accrued	Yes	Annually

If the annualised salary is less than what the employee would have earned under the award, the employer must pay the difference. This reconciliation is a significant administrative burden for mining employers and a frequent source of underpayment claims.

Common reconciliation errors

• Not including shift loadings in the annualised salary calculation
• Failing to reconcile overtime actually worked against the salary paid
• Ignoring leave loading that should have been paid during leave periods
• Not accounting for public holidays that fall during the roster swing

FIFO-specific leave challenges

FIFO operations create leave management challenges that are unique to the mining sector.

Location and jurisdiction

A FIFO employee based in Perth who works at a mine in the Pilbara is subject to Western Australian employment law. But a FIFO employee based in Brisbane who flies to a mine in the Northern Territory may be subject to Northern Territory law.

Employee base	Mine location	Applicable state law
Perth	Pilbara, WA	Western Australia
Brisbane	NT mine	Northern Territory
Adelaide	SA mine	South Australia
Melbourne	QLD mine	Queensland

Long service leave, in particular, is governed by the state where the employee ordinarily works — which for FIFO employees may be ambiguous. The Fair Work Ombudsman considers the employee’s base location, not the mine site.

Roster-based leave calculations

When a FIFO employee takes annual leave during a roster swing:

• The leave is counted in ordinary hours, not days — a 12-hour shift counts as 12 hours of leave
• Public holidays during the leave period are not counted as leave — the employee receives the public holiday separately
• Rostered days off during the leave period are not counted as leave — the employee receives the RDO separately

This means a FIFO employee on a 2/1 roster who takes 5 weeks of annual leave may actually be away from work for more than 5 calendar weeks, because rostered days off and public holidays extend the period.

Higher duties in mining

When a less senior worker fills in for a more senior colleague during leave, the Mining Award requires a higher duties allowance. This applies when:

• The covering worker performs duties of a higher classification level
• The covering is for more than 2 consecutive hours
• The worker is directed or required to perform the higher duties

Classification gap	Allowance
1 level higher	Difference between Level X and Level X+1 rates
2 levels higher	Difference between Level X and Level X+2 rates
Supervisory duties	Supervisory allowance per award

Higher duties allowances must be tracked separately and paid on top of the covering worker’s ordinary hours. This creates additional payroll complexity during leave periods.

Common compliance mistakes in mining and FIFO

• Not reconciling annualised salaries annually — leads to systematic underpayment
• Incorrectly counting rostered days off as leave — extends the leave period beyond the entitlement
• Applying the wrong state long service leave law — must use the employee’s base location, not the mine site
• Ignoring higher duties obligations — covering workers must receive the classification differential
• Not tracking leave loading against penalty rates — the “greater of” rule applies per employee, per leave period

For more, see our guides to annual leave entitlements, long service leave by state, and Fair Work compliance.

Frequently asked questions

How much annual leave do FIFO workers get?

Under the Mining Industry Award 2020, FIFO employees who work rosters rotating across all seven days receive 5 weeks of paid annual leave per year. Employees on rosters that do not include all seven days receive 4 weeks.

What is an even-time roster and how does it affect leave?

An even-time roster works equal periods on and off — such as 14 days on / 14 days off. These rosters typically include all seven days, qualifying the employee for 5 weeks annual leave. Leave taken during the roster is calculated in ordinary hours (12-hour shifts count as 12 hours of leave).

How is annualised salary reconciled for mining employees?

The Mining Award requires annual reconciliation of the annualised salary against what the employee would have earned under the award, including overtime, penalty rates, leave loading, and allowances. If the salary is less, the employer must pay the difference.

Which state’s long service leave applies to FIFO workers?

Long service leave is governed by the state where the employee ordinarily works — typically their base location, not the mine site. A FIFO employee based in Perth is subject to Western Australian long service leave legislation.