Overtime compliance in 2026: what every public sector agency needs to know now

The 2025 Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates changes are now law — and they matter for every government agency.

What you need to be doing in 2026:

• Ensure your modern award or enterprise agreement aligns with the new protections (no reductions or disadvantageous substitutions allowed)
• Review overtime policies to explicitly consider fatigue and unreasonable hours refusals
• Strengthen approval workflows and documentation
• Run regular internal checks (or an independent review) to confirm your payroll calculations match current rules

Compliance is no longer optional. The agencies that treat overtime as a strategic risk — rather than an unavoidable cost — are the ones that stay ahead of audits, budget pressures, and staff wellbeing issues.