How much notice must an employer give for a roster?
There is no single notice period for every employee. Check the applicable award, agreement, contract and consultation requirements using this sourced workflow.
General information only, not legal advice. Rules differ between awards, agreements, contracts and states, and what applies depends on the employee. Check the official source, and ask a workplace relations professional when it matters.
The short answer
The National Employment Standards do not set a notice period for publishing a roster. Where a notice period exists, it comes from the award or enterprise agreement that covers the employee, or from their contract.
Changing a regular roster is a separate question. Modern awards and enterprise agreements must include a term about consulting employees before their regular roster or ordinary hours of work change.
| Step | What to check |
|---|---|
| 1. Find the instrument | Which award or agreement covers the employee |
| 2. Look for roster terms | The clause on ordinary hours and rostering, for how rosters are set and shown |
| 3. Look for change terms | Any notice needed to change a roster, and the consultation clause |
| 4. Check the contract | Anything agreed about hours, including a part-time employee’s agreed hours |
| 5. Keep a record | When the roster was published, and when each change reached the people affected |
Official sources
Check the rule against these, in their current versions, before relying on it.
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Fair Work Ombudsman: find my award | Which award covers an employee |
| Fair Work Act 2009 | Sections 145A and 205, consultation terms in awards and agreements |
Worked examples
General examples of where to look. They are not advice about any particular employee.
| Situation | What to check |
|---|---|
| A cafe publishes next week’s roster on Thursday for a Monday start | Whether the award sets a period for publishing rosters, and whether any shift departs from a regular pattern |
| A shift is moved at a day’s notice because somebody is sick | The award’s rules on changing a roster, and whether the employee agrees |
| A part-time employee’s regular days are changing for good | The consultation clause, and any written agreement about their hours |
Employer checklist
- Find the award or agreement for each employee
- Note any roster notice or change notice it sets
- Publish rosters on a set day, and keep to it
- Consult before changing anybody’s regular roster
- Keep the date each roster and each change reached the people affected
What Roster Flow records, and what it does not decide
- The published roster, and every change to it with who made it and when
- When a roster was published, with everybody rostered told at that moment
- Which award or agreement covers an employee
- What notice a change needs
- Whether consultation about a change was enough
Review log
13 September 2026: written by Roster Flow from the structure of the National Employment Standards and modern awards.
18 September 2026: every statement on this page checked against the official sources it names, by Roster Flow. It is general information, not advice from a workplace relations professional.
What that check covers, and what to confirm for your own situation:
- That the National Employment Standards set no roster notice period
- What the consultation terms in sections 145A and 205 cover
- That every source link opens the current version of the source
Questions
How much notice must an employer give for a roster?
The National Employment Standards do not set a notice period for publishing a roster. Where a notice period exists, it comes from the award or enterprise agreement that covers the employee, or from their contract.
Is there more to roster notice than that?
Changing a regular roster is a separate question. Modern awards and enterprise agreements must include a term about consulting employees before their regular roster or ordinary hours of work change.
Does Roster Flow decide roster notice for me?
No. It does not interpret an award and it does not work out what anybody is paid. Which award or agreement covers an employee stays with the business and its own advisers, and this page is general information rather than advice about your situation.
Where do the rules on roster notice come from?
Fair Work Ombudsman: find my award, covering which award covers an employee. Fair Work Act 2009, covering sections 145A and 205, consultation terms in awards and agreements. Read them in their current versions before you rely on anything here, because they change.