Better Off Overall Test (BOOT)

The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) is the check the Fair Work Commission applies before approving an enterprise agreement: every award-covered employee — current and reasonably foreseeable — must be better off overall under the agreement than they would be under the relevant modern award.

How the test works

"Overall" is the key word. The BOOT is a global comparison, not a line-by-line one — an agreement can trade away award conditions if what it gives back genuinely outweighs them. A higher flat hourly rate instead of separate penalty rates is the classic example. What the Commission looks at:

• the patterns of hours employees actually work, or could reasonably be expected to work — a flat rate that beats the award for weekday staff can fail for the weekend crew,
• both financial and non-financial terms,
• views and common-ground positions of the employer, employees and any unions involved.

Since the 2022 reforms the test focuses on real, reasonably foreseeable rosters rather than hypothetical ones, and an agreement can be revisited if working patterns later change from what the Commission was shown.

Why small employers should care

Most small shift businesses stay on the award — but anyone considering an agreement for simpler payroll should hear the BOOT's message: simplification can't quietly make anyone worse off, and your roster data is the evidence.

Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ss 186 and 193–193A — applied by the Fair Work Commission when approving enterprise agreements.

Related terms

• Modern award
• Loaded rate
• Annualised salary arrangement