Quick answer
Section 8 of the SRC Act 1988 sets how an employee's normal weekly earnings before an injury are calculated. The base formula multiplies average weekly hours by the average hourly ordinary time rate and adds average allowances, with regular overtime added separately. Later subsections keep the figure moving after the injury date.
This page is an educational summary for professionals working with AI. It is not the law and not legal advice. Always work from the current authoritative text linked below.
Section 8, headed "Normal weekly earnings", sets how an employee's normal weekly earnings before an injury are calculated. Subsection 8(1) applies a formula over the relevant period using three inputs: average weekly hours, the average hourly ordinary time rate of pay, and average weekly allowances, excluding allowances for special expenses. Subsection 8(2) adds a separate component where overtime is worked on a regular basis. Subsections 8(4) and 8(5) provide two different answers where the relevant period is too short. Read the current compilation on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 8 is a calculation rule rather than a duty, but it governs Comcare and, under Part VIII, a self-insured licensee determining incapacity entitlements for its own employees.
Treating normal weekly earnings as a fixed historical figure. It is not. Subsections 8(6) and 8(7) increase it for increments and promotion, subsections 8(9) and 8(9A) move it with the minimum payable to the employee's class, and subsections 8(9B) to 8(9G) apply annual indexation from 1 July, including after the employee has ceased that employment. Subsection 8(10) then caps the result.
Assembling and cross-checking the evidence behind each input is where AI helps; the figure itself is determined by an authorised person. See the normal weekly earnings AI evidence pack and the incapacity cross-check workflow, and section 19 for how the figure is then used.
Section 8 is a formula, not a snapshot. Get the relevant period right, add regular overtime separately, and expect the figure to keep moving long after the date of injury.
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Frequently asked questions
- What is the basic normal weekly earnings formula?
- Subsection 8(1) calculates normal weekly earnings over the relevant period from three inputs. NH is the average number of hours worked each week, RP is the average hourly ordinary time rate of pay, and A is the average weekly allowance, excluding an allowance for special expenses incurred in the employment. Subsection 8(2) adds a separate overtime component where overtime is worked on a regular basis.
- Does normal weekly earnings stay fixed at the date of injury?
- No, and this is the most common error. Subsections 8(6) and 8(7) increase the figure for increments and promotion, subsections 8(9) and 8(9A) move it with the minimum payable to the employee's class, and subsections 8(9B) to 8(9G) apply annual indexation from 1 July, including after the employee ceases that employment.
- What happens when the relevant period is too short?
- Two different answers apply. Under subsection 8(4), where shortness makes the calculation impracticable, normal weekly earnings are taken from another employee performing comparable work. Under subsection 8(5), where the calculation would not fairly represent the weekly rate being paid, Comcare calculates over such other period as it considers reasonable.
- Is there a ceiling on normal weekly earnings?
- Yes. Subsection 8(10) reduces the calculated amount by any excess over what the employee would receive if not incapacitated, or, where the employee has ceased that employment, over the greater of the two continuing-employment comparisons the subsection sets out.
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