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HR Glossary

Better Off Overall
Test (BOOT)

Australia · Fair Work and entitlements
What is the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT)?

The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) is the test Australia's Fair Work Commission applies before approving an enterprise agreement: every award-covered employee, and every prospective employee, must be better off overall under the agreement than under the relevant modern award.

How does the BOOT work?

The FWC compares the agreement as a whole against the award as a whole for each class of employee. Better pay can offset reduced penalty rates, extra leave can offset longer ordinary hours, but the overall position of each employee must land ahead of the award. It is a global comparison, not a line-by-line one, which is exactly why marginal agreements get intense scrutiny on rosters and shift patterns.

Why does the BOOT matter to employers?

It defines what an enterprise agreement can and cannot buy. An agreement that trades penalty rates for a flat rate only survives the BOOT if the flat rate genuinely leaves shift-working employees ahead, calculated on the hours they actually work. Agreements have been refused, and existing agreements terminated, over rosters that made some employees worse off in practice.

What happens if an agreement fails the BOOT?

The FWC can seek undertakings from the employer to cure the shortfall, and since the 2022 reforms it can also amend an agreement directly to pass the test. If neither fixes it, approval is refused and the award keeps applying.

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Enterprise agreement

An enterprise agreement is a collective agreement on pay and conditions made between an employer (or several) and its employees, usually negotiated with unions, approved by Australia's Fair Work Commission and enforceable in place of the modern award for up to four years.

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Modern award

A modern award is a legal document that sets minimum pay rates and employment conditions for an industry or occupation in Australia, sitting on top of the National Employment Standards.

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Penalty rates

Penalty rates are higher rates of pay that Australian modern awards and enterprise agreements require for work at unsociable times: evenings, weekends, public holidays and overtime.

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Common questions

Does the BOOT apply to every employee individually?

The test is applied to each award-covered employee and each prospective award-covered employee, but as an overall assessment per employee, not entitlement by entitlement.

When is the BOOT assessed?

At approval, and it can be revisited. Reassessment can be triggered where working patterns change materially from what the FWC was told at approval.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the Fair Work Ombudsman (fairwork.gov.au) or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.