Your Award or Contract Sets the Notice Period When Resigning

This section provides general information only about giving notice of resignation in Australia. It does not constitute legal advice, and it does not take account of the circumstances of any individual reader.

The notice period when resigning is set by the instrument that covers the employee: a modern award, an enterprise agreement or an employment contract. It starts on the day after notice is given. The one-to-four-week scale published for dismissals belongs to the employer and is not the employee’s rule. The statements below reflect the Fair Work Ombudsman’s published guidance as at 27 June 2026. A reader seeking advice on a particular situation is advised to contact the Fair Work Ombudsman (Infoline 13 13 94, as printed on its pages) or, for a specific contract, a legal practitioner registered in the relevant State or Territory.

Where the notice period when resigning comes from

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s page on resignation supports the following statements.

1. An award, enterprise agreement or employment contract may set how much notice an employee gives.
2. The notice period starts on the day after the employee gives notice and ends on the last day of employment.
3. Minimum notice in awards depends on continuous service. Continuous service includes authorised unpaid leave and excludes unauthorised absences.
4. An employee who is not covered by an award or agreement does not have to give notice, although the employment contract may require it. A contract cannot provide for less than the legal minimum set in an award or agreement.
5. Where the contract is silent, or there is no written contract, the employee might need to give reasonable notice.
6. A casual employee does not have to give notice, although telling the employer the last day of work is best practice.

Two features of this list matter in practice. First, the source of the rule differs from one employee to the next, so the first task is to identify which instrument applies. An employee under an award reads the award, an employee under an enterprise agreement reads the agreement, and an employee under neither reads the contract. Second, clause 2 fixes the counting convention. The day on which notice is given is not counted as part of the period, and the period ends on the last day of employment. The worked example below applies that convention to a Monday notice.

Clause 3 also explains why two employees under the same award may owe different notice. Where an award sets notice by continuous service, the length of service determines the figure, and the definition of continuous service in clause 3 determines what counts toward it.

Why the employer’s notice scale is not the employee’s

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s page on dismissal, with content last updated on 20 May 2026, sets out the National Employment Standards minimum notice when an employer ends employment: 1 week for service of 1 year or less, 2 weeks for more than 1 year and up to 3 years, 3 weeks for more than 3 years and up to 5 years, and 4 weeks for more than 5 years, with one further week for an employee over 45 who has at least 2 years of service. That scale is the employer’s obligation. The scale is in section 117(3) of the Fair Work Act 2009, and section 118 lets a modern award or enterprise agreement specify the notice an employee must give.

The distinction is easy to lose. A scale printed on a page about dismissal can be read as though it also governs resignation. The Ombudsman’s pages keep the two apart, and the table below does the same.

Table 1: who owes the notice

Two rows repay a second look. Where there is no award, agreement or contract term, the employer’s minimum applies in most cases, though not to casual employees, while the employee has no set period and might need to give reasonable notice. And the final row records that a resignation is not something the employer accepts or declines. The employee gives notice, and the period runs.

A worked example, with invented figures

The following example is hypothetical. It uses invented figures and a single award scale, and it exists only to show how the counting works.

Table 2: one award’s table, as an example only. The table below is clause 30.1 of the Miscellaneous Award 2020 [MA000104]. It is one award, not a rule for every award.

The award’s own note says the employee’s notice is the same as the employer’s “except that the employee does not have to give additional notice based on the age of the employee”.

Hypothetical example:

1. An employee with four years of continuous service is covered by an award with the scale in Table 2. The notice is 3 weeks.
2. The employee tells the employer on a Monday.
3. The notice period starts on the Tuesday. At 3 weeks, it ends on the Monday three weeks later, which is the last day of employment.
4. If the employee, aged 18 or over, instead gives 1 week and leaves, the award clause allows the employer to deduct no more than one week’s wages, provided the deduction is not unreasonable, and not more than that for a two-week shortfall.
5. The extra week the employer’s scale adds for an employee over 45 would not apply to this employee’s notice under this example award.

The example excludes leave, any effect of public holidays, pay rates and any instrument other than the example clause. It names no pay rate, no calendar date and no real award holder.

What short notice can cost

The Fair Work Ombudsman states that an award or enterprise agreement can allow an employer to withhold pay when the minimum notice is not given. Most awards allow a deduction of up to one week’s wages if the right notice is not given, provided the deduction is not unreasonable. Only award wages can be deducted, not leave or over-award payments. An enterprise agreement may have its own terms.

The Miscellaneous Award 2020, clause 30.1(d) to (f), illustrates the position under one award.

1. For an employee aged at least 18, the deduction is no more than one week’s wages.
2. No deduction applies where the employer agreed to a shorter period.
3. The deduction must not be unreasonable.

Other awards differ, and an employment contract may carry other terms that only a legal practitioner can read against the facts. On the sources cited here, short notice is therefore a risk to final pay, with a ceiling in the award example, and not a matter without consequence. It is also not a reason for alarm. A reader who must leave sooner than the instrument allows is not without options, because the example clause records that no deduction applies where the employer agreed to a shorter period.

After notice is given

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s guidance on what follows can be set out in short clauses.

1. The employer cannot choose to accept or reject a resignation.
2. The employee and employer may discuss working the notice period or ending it early. The applicable instrument may say more.
3. Paid annual leave during the notice period applies only if the employer agrees.
4. Paid sick or carer’s leave during the notice period is available if the employee gives notice of the leave as soon as possible and gives evidence if the employer asks for it, for example a medical certificate.
5. A public holiday that falls within the notice period does not extend it.
6. Notice may be verbal or written. Writing is best practice, with the last day stated.

Because the count starts on the day after notice is given, a dated written notice that states the last day removes doubt about both the start and the end. The same notice is a record if the parties later disagree about when the period began.

What people say, and what the sources say

Four views are commonly heard among employees, and each can be set against the sources.

1. “Check the contract or award.” This is consistent with the Ombudsman’s position and is the soundest of the four.
2. “Two weeks is standard, four if senior.” This is a workplace habit, not a rule. The instrument that covers the employee sets the figure.
3. “You can just leave, there is no law.” This understates a risk. Where an award or enterprise agreement sets notice, short notice may carry a deduction of up to one week’s wages; the Ombudsman says most awards allow this.
4. “It matters for references and in a small industry.” This is a fair point, although it is a view and is not drawn from the sources cited here.

There is a further fair point. An employee and employer can agree an earlier finish, and the Ombudsman’s page notes that the parties may discuss ending the notice period early. Some people also find that a manager told early is more receptive, which is a view and not a finding of the sources cited here. The award example above records that no deduction applies where the employer agreed to a shorter period. Nothing in this post tells any employee to leave without notice, and nothing in it criticises an employee who must. Where any of these views differs from the Ombudsman’s published position, the published position governs.

Three Steps for Giving Notice

1. Read the award, enterprise agreement or employment contract that covers the employment.
2. Put the notice in writing, with the last day stated.
3. Refer anything unclear to the Fair Work Ombudsman or to a legal practitioner registered in the relevant State or Territory.

A reader who is moving between jobs may also find this site’s post on life skills for adults that carry from job to job a useful next read. A reader who next lodges a return may also refer to the site’s items to check when lodging a tax return in Australia.

Sources: Fair Work Ombudsman, Resignation, 2026 (https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ending-employment/resignation); Fair Work Ombudsman, Dismissal, content last updated 20 May 2026 (https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ending-employment/dismissal); Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), sections 117 and 118, compilation of 2 April 2026 (https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2009A00028/2026-04-02/text); Miscellaneous Award 2020 [MA000104], clause 30.1 (https://awards.fairwork.gov.au/MA000104.html)