As Victorians gain an hour when the clock moves backward (from 3am to 2am) on Sunday 5 April 2026, most members will also gain an extra hour of pay if working during the transition.
Note: this is also the 2026 Easter Sunday public holiday, so Victorian public sector nurses and midwives working during the transition back to Australian Eastern Standard Time will be paid for the actual hours worked during the shift, at their ordinary rate of pay (inclusive of any shift penalties or allowances ordinarily payable in respect of this shift). For example:
You are rostered to work a 10-hour night shift from 9pm to 7.30am (including a 30-minute meal break). During the course of your shift, the clock is wound back one hour due to the cessation of daylight saving.
By 7.30am you have worked 11 hours. You must be paid 11 hours at your ordinary time rate of pay (including the public holiday shift penalties or allowances ordinarily payable). No overtime is paid for the additional hour worked.
Most private acute and aged care nurses and personal care workers will also be paid for the actual hours worked during the affected shift. If you are in doubt, you will need to check the award or agreement that applies to your workplace. You can do this via the ANMF member portal.
Once logged in, select the drop-down menu under ‘My Membership’. EBAs and pay rates is third in the list, after Tax Statements and Professional Indemnity certificate.
It may be different if you work in NSW
Members who live near the border and work in NSW under NSW agreements should be aware that generally, NSW employees are paid according to the start and finish times that appear on the clock instead of the hours actually worked.
So if they start a shift at 9pm and finish at 7am they will have actually worked 11 hours but will only be paid for 10.
This approach works in employees’ favour when daylight saving begins, but it works against employees’ when daylight saving ends. Because employers cannot guarantee they will roster the same staff on for shifts when daylight saving both ends and begins, Victorian nurses and midwives negotiated for change in our Victorian EBAs.
