SCHADS Overtime Meal Allowance
When an employee is required to work overtime under the SCHADS Award, clause 20.5 gives the employer a choice: **supply an adequate meal** (where there are adequate cooking and dining facilities) **or pay a meal allowance of $16.62**. This is paid **in addition to** the overtime payment itself. Where the overtime exceeds four hours, a **further $16.62** meal allowance is owed — two allowances on the one occasion. This page is about the **meal allowance** (the overtime meal money), which is completely separate from the **meal break** (the unpaid rest break taken during a shift). Searchers routinely confuse the two, so we keep them clearly apart below.
Quick Facts
- Meal Allowance
- $16.62 per overtime meal
- Second Allowance
- $16.62 more when overtime exceeds 4 hours
- Paid On Top Of
- overtime payment (it is additional)
- Payment Timing
- same day as overtime, on request
- Employer Alternative
- supply an adequate meal instead
- Clause
- cl.20.5 SCHADS Award
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What the meal allowance is
Under clause 20.5(a), an employee required to work overtime will be **supplied with an adequate meal** where the employer has adequate cooking and dining facilities, **or be paid a meal allowance of $16.62**, in addition to any overtime payment. The trigger is set out in the clause:
- When required to work **more than one hour** after the usual finishing time of work; or
- For shiftworkers, when the **overtime on any shift exceeds one hour**.
The second meal allowance — overtime over four hours
Clause 20.5(a)(ii) is the part that is most often missed. Where the overtime work **exceeds four hours**, a **further meal allowance of $16.62** is paid. That means an employee who works a long overtime stint is entitled to **two** meal allowances totalling **$33.24** — the first once overtime passes one hour, and the second once it passes four hours. The second allowance is not optional and is not absorbed into the first; it is a separate entitlement triggered purely by the length of the overtime worked.
Meal allowance vs meal break — they are not the same thing
This is the single biggest source of confusion, so it is worth stating plainly:
- Meal allowance (clause 20.5) — a **dollar payment** ($16.62) made because the employee had to work overtime past their normal finishing time. It is money.
- Meal break — an **unpaid rest break** taken during a shift so the employee can eat. It is time, not money.
How it is paid and when
Two practical rules sit alongside the dollar figure:
- Paid on top of overtime. The $16.62 is paid **in addition to any overtime payment** — it does not reduce, replace, or get offset against the overtime rate the employee is already owed for the hours worked.
- Paid same day on request. Under clause 20.5(c), on request the meal allowance is paid **on the same day** the overtime is worked, rather than rolled into the next pay run.
How payroll typically gets this wrong
Three recurring errors:
- Never paying the allowance because a meal break was given. Giving the worker 20 minutes to eat is the **break**, not the **meal**. If no adequate meal was actually supplied, the $16.62 allowance is still owed — the break does not discharge it.
- Missing the second $16.62 once overtime exceeds four hours. Payroll pays one meal allowance and stops, even though clause 20.5(a)(ii) requires a further $16.62 once the overtime runs past four hours. Long overtime should pay two allowances ($33.24).
- Confusing it with the unpaid meal break and paying nothing. Because the words "meal" and "overtime" appear in several clauses, the allowance gets treated as already covered by break entitlements and is silently dropped.
Worked example
A full-time support worker finishes their ordinary shift at 4:00pm but is required to stay on to cover a crisis, working overtime through to 9:00pm — five hours of overtime. The employer has no cooking or dining facilities and does not supply a meal.
Entitlements under clause 20.5:
• Overtime is paid for all five hours at the applicable overtime rate (this is the overtime payment).
• Because overtime ran more than one hour past the usual finish: **first meal allowance $16.62**.
• Because overtime **exceeded four hours**: **second meal allowance $16.62**.
• Total meal allowance: **$33.24**, paid **in addition** to the overtime, and **on the same day** if the worker requests it.
If instead the employer had a staff kitchen and provided an adequate hot meal, no meal allowance would be owed — but the overtime payment for the hours worked is unaffected either way.
Entitlements under clause 20.5:
• Overtime is paid for all five hours at the applicable overtime rate (this is the overtime payment).
• Because overtime ran more than one hour past the usual finish: **first meal allowance $16.62**.
• Because overtime **exceeded four hours**: **second meal allowance $16.62**.
• Total meal allowance: **$33.24**, paid **in addition** to the overtime, and **on the same day** if the worker requests it.
If instead the employer had a staff kitchen and provided an adequate hot meal, no meal allowance would be owed — but the overtime payment for the hours worked is unaffected either way.
Tax, super and STP treatment
Because it is an expense-related allowance, the meal allowance is taxed and reported differently from wages:
- PAYG withholding. An overtime meal allowance is tax-free up to the ATO's reasonable amount — $38.65 per meal for the 2025–26 income year (ATO Determination TD 2025/4). The SCHADS figure ($16.62, or $33.24 for long overtime) sits well below that, so in practice no PAYG is withheld; only any amount paid above the ATO reasonable amount is taxed.
- Superannuation. The meal allowance is not ordinary time earnings, so no super is payable on it.
- Payroll tax. It is included for payroll tax.
- STP Phase 2. Report it under the Meals allowance category, itemised separately from gross wages.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much is the SCHADS meal allowance?
- The overtime meal allowance under clause 20.5 is $16.62. If the overtime exceeds four hours, a further $16.62 is paid, for a total of $33.24. It is paid in addition to the overtime payment, and only where the employer does not supply an adequate meal.
- Is the meal allowance the same as a meal break?
- No. The meal allowance under clause 20.5 is a dollar payment ($16.62) made when an employee works overtime and no meal is supplied. A meal break is an unpaid rest break during a shift so the employee can eat. One is money; the other is time. They are separate entitlements and are commonly confused.
- When do I get two meal allowances?
- You get a second $16.62 meal allowance when the overtime work exceeds four hours, under clause 20.5(a)(ii). The first allowance is triggered once overtime runs more than one hour past your usual finishing time; the second is triggered once it passes the four-hour mark, making $33.24 in total.
- Did the meal allowance go up with the 1 July 2026 pay rise?
- No. The $16.62 figure is the value consolidated to 1 June 2026. The meal allowance is an expense-related allowance, which is adjusted periodically in line with CPI movements — it is not increased by the 1 July 2026 +4.75% wage rise, which applies to wage rates, not expense allowances.
- Is the meal allowance taxed, and do you pay super on it?
- Generally no to both. The overtime meal allowance is tax-free up to the ATO reasonable amount ($38.65 per meal for 2025–26 under TD 2025/4), and the SCHADS figure ($16.62) is well below that, so no PAYG is normally withheld. It is not ordinary time earnings, so no superannuation is payable. It is, however, counted for payroll tax and reported under the STP Phase 2 Meals category.
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