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It’s important to understand what activities do and don’t count as work for the work test.
What counts as work
Work is either:
- paid work on a day when you have worked for at least one hour
- paid leave, such as sick leave, annual leave and paid maternity leave.
Apart from full time work, you could also do any of the following:
- be a part time, casual or seasonal worker
- be a contractor or self-employed
- have multiple employers
- have recently changed jobs or left a job
- have worked overseas
- work in a family business.
If you work for a family business, you can include your work hours even if the business doesn’t make an income. You must be working for financial gain or benefit, even if you’re not getting paid.
All of the following also count as work:
- previous periods of Parental Leave Pay - each day you’re paid counts as 7.6 hours
- jury service
- Defence Reservist work
- periods of leave covered by workers or accident compensation
- Supported Employment at an Australian Disability Enterprise
- operating a business under Self-Employment Assistance.
Read more about:
- supported employment on the Department of Social Services website
- Self-Employment Assistance on the Workforce Australia website.
When you claim online, you’ll need to add up your hours of work and any other activities that count as work. This will help us figure out if you meet the work test requirements.
What doesn’t count as work
Work doesn’t include any of the following:
- unpaid work, including volunteer work
- unpaid leave, including unpaid maternity leave
- income support programs that include a work component
- study, including study funded by a scholarship or other financial aid
- leave entitlements that are paid out, such as lump sums of annual or long service leave entitlements. This also includes leave paid out from a redundancy.