Notice Period Calculator Australia: NES
The NES minimum notice period is 1 to 4 weeks depending on continuous service, with an extra week for employees over 45 who have completed at least 2 years. Notice is separate from redundancy pay and still applies to eligible employees of small business employers. Enter service, age and the pay applicable to notice to estimate the entitlement.
Minimum notice period
5 weeks
NES minimum; awards and agreements can be more generous. Tax on the ETP is not calculated here.
- Redundancy weeks
- 13
- Notice weeks
- 5
- Notice pay if in lieu
- $8,250.00
- Total payable
- $29,700.00
Show breakdown
Calculation breakdown
- Small business employer
- No
- Redundancy weeks
- 13
- Redundancy pay
- $21,450.00
- Notice weeks
- 5
- Notice pay if in lieu
- $8,250.00
- Total if notice paid in lieu
- $29,700.00
- Total payable
- $29,700.00
- Note
- NES minimum; awards and agreements can be more generous. Tax on the ETP is not calculated here.
| Small business employer | No |
|---|---|
| Redundancy weeks | 13 |
| Redundancy pay | $21,450.00 |
| Notice weeks | 5 |
| Notice pay if in lieu | $8,250.00 |
| Total if notice paid in lieu | $29,700.00 |
| Total payable | $29,700.00 |
| Note | NES minimum; awards and agreements can be more generous. Tax on the ETP is not calculated here. |
| Min years | Max years exclusive | Weeks | Selected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | No |
| 2 | 3 | 6 | No |
| 3 | 4 | 7 | No |
| 4 | 5 | 8 | No |
| 5 | 6 | 10 | No |
| 6 | 7 | 11 | No |
| 7 | 8 | 13 | Yes |
| 8 | 9 | 14 | No |
| 9 | 10 | 16 | No |
| 10 | — | 12 | No |
The NES minimum excludes accrued leave and tax. Some awards require redundancy pay for small businesses. Pay in lieu of notice may require the full rate of pay, including applicable allowances.
13 weeks of redundancy pay is $21,450.00. Minimum notice is 5 weeks; the notice payment applies only when paid in lieu.
At a glance
- NES redundancy scale
- 1–2 years 4 weeks; 2–3: 6; 3–4: 7; 4–5: 8; 5–6: 10; 6–7: 11; 7–8: 13; 8–9: 14; 9–10: 16; 10+: 12
- Small business employer (fewer than 15 employees)
- no NES redundancy pay
- Minimum notice
- under 1 year 1 week; 1–3 years 2; 3–5 years 3; over 5 years 4; +1 week if over 45 with 2 years' service
- Note
- Paid at the base rate for ordinary hours, excluding overtime, penalties and allowances
- Note
- Accrued annual and long service leave are paid on top
- Note
- Awards and agreements can set higher amounts; the NES is the minimum
How it is calculated
Use completed service to select the NES redundancy and notice bands. Apply the small-business exemption and the additional notice week where eligible, then value each entitlement separately.
years = years + months ÷ 12 (completed continuous service)
small_business = headcount < 15
redundancy_weeks (NES s119, unless small business → 0):
1 ≤ y < 2: 4 · 2–3: 6 · 3–4: 7 · 4–5: 8 · 5–6: 10 · 6–7: 11 · 7–8: 13 · 8–9: 14 · 9–10: 16 · 10 or more: 12
notice_weeks (NES s117): up to 1 year: 1 · over 1 to 3: 2 · over 3 to 5: 3 · more than 5: 4; +1 if age > 45 and service ≥ 2 years
redundancy_pay = redundancy_weeks × weekly_pay
notice_pay = notice_weeks × weekly_pay (shown when paid in lieu)
total = redundancy_pay + notice_pay- Rates as at 2026-09-07 from Nes Redundancy
Does a small business still have to give notice?
The small-business exemption relates to NES redundancy pay, not minimum notice. An eligible permanent employee still receives the notice required by service and age. Some employees and dismissals are excluded from the NES notice provisions, so check coverage and the applicable award.
Is payment in lieu of notice based only on base salary?
Payment in lieu must reflect the full pay the employee would have received during the notice period, including relevant loadings, allowances and penalties. Redundancy uses a different base-pay rule. Enter the appropriate weekly figure for each entitlement when comparing the two amounts.
How much redundancy pay is an employee entitled to?
The National Employment Standards set a scale by completed years of continuous service: 4 weeks’ pay after at least 1 year, 6 after 2, 7 after 3, 8 after 4, 10 after 5, 11 after 6, 13 after 7, 14 after 8, 16 after 9, and 12 weeks at 10 years or more. The drop at 10 years is deliberate; the employee is assumed to have a long service leave entitlement by then. Pay is the base rate for the employee’s ordinary hours, so overtime, penalty rates, allowances, bonuses and loadings are excluded. An employee with less than a year’s service gets no redundancy pay but still gets notice. Awards and enterprise agreements can provide more than the NES, and industry-specific redundancy schemes in some awards do; they never provide less.
Does a small business have to pay redundancy?
Not under the NES. An employer with fewer than 15 employees at the time of the dismissal, counting all full-time and part-time employees and regular and systematic casuals across the employer and its associated entities, is a small business employer and is exempt from NES redundancy pay. Notice of termination still applies in full, and accrued leave is still paid out. Some awards contain their own redundancy provisions that apply to small businesses, so check the award before relying on the exemption. The calculator applies the exemption at 14 employees or fewer and shows the notice and leave that remain payable.
How much notice is required for redundancy?
The minimum notice period depends on service: 1 week for service of one year or less, 2 weeks for more than one and up to three years, 3 weeks for more than three and up to five years, and 4 weeks for more than five years, with an extra week if the employee is over 45 and has completed at least 2 years. The employer can have the employee work the notice, pay it in lieu at the full rate the employee would have earned (including loadings and penalties, unlike redundancy pay), or a combination. Awards and contracts can require longer notice. The calculator shows the minimum and the dollar value if paid in lieu at the weekly pay entered.
What else is paid on redundancy?
Accrued annual leave (with leave loading where the award pays it), long service leave where the state rules make it payable, which on a redundancy is usually from 5 or 7 years’ service, any unpaid wages and allowances, and notice. A genuine redundancy payment is partly tax-free under a threshold that depends on years of service, and the rest is an employment termination payment taxed at concessional rates; the calculator does not compute the tax. Payroll systems with termination processing, including MYOB Acumatica payroll, apply the tax treatment and produce the final pay; use this page to check the weeks and the base figure.
| Component | Weeks | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Redundancy pay (NES, 7 to 8 years) | 13 | $21,450.00 |
| Minimum notice (over 5 years) | 4 | |
| Extra notice (over 45, 2+ years) | 1 | |
| Notice paid in lieu | 5 | $8,250.00 |
| Total before accrued leave | 18 | $29,700.00 |
| Same employee, 12-employee business | 0 + 5 | $8,250.00 (notice only) |
Frequently asked questions
Does a small business still have to give notice?
The small-business exemption relates to NES redundancy pay, not minimum notice. An eligible permanent employee still receives the notice required by service and age. Some employees and dismissals are excluded from the NES notice provisions, so check coverage and the applicable award.
Is payment in lieu of notice based only on base salary?
Payment in lieu must reflect the full pay the employee would have received during the notice period, including relevant loadings, allowances and penalties. Redundancy uses a different base-pay rule. Enter the appropriate weekly figure for each entitlement when comparing the two amounts.
Is redundancy pay calculated on base pay or total pay?
On the base rate for the employee's ordinary hours: no overtime, penalty rates, allowances, bonuses or loadings. Notice paid in lieu is different and must equal the full amount the employee would have received working the notice, including any loadings or penalties they would have earned.
Why does redundancy pay fall to 12 weeks at 10 years?
The NES scale peaks at 16 weeks for 9 to 10 years and drops to 12 weeks at 10 years or more on the basis that an employee with a decade of service has a long service leave entitlement that is also paid out. Some awards and agreements do not apply the drop; check yours.
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Termination pays with the right tax treatment, leave payouts and notice come out of payroll in one run when it lives inside your ERP. Ask us about MYOB Acumatica payroll.
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