Can I get Earned Wage Access?

These are the seven criteria you need to meet to be eligible for earned wage access.
 

1. You must be paid in arrears
    
   • Explanation: If your wages are paid in arrears, you are likely to be eligible for earned wage access.
2. You must have been paid 2 times
    
   • Explanation: You must have received your pay a minimum of two consecutive times.
3. You must not be about to leave your job
   • Explanation: If you have an upcoming termination date, you will be ineligible for earned wage access.
4. You must be at least 16
   • Explanation: You must be over 16 years old to be eligible for earned wage access
5. Your leave affects your balance
   • Explanation: Any leave within a pay cycle will impact your earned wage access available balance.
6. Use an email address associated with an organisation using Employment Hero
   • Explanation: We need an employee account that is associated with an organisation using Employment Hero. If you are using a different email address as your account email, you will need to change your email address.

Monthly pay cycle
If you are paid monthly in advance, you will not be eligible for earned pay access. However, if you are paid monthly, with half in arrears and half in advance, you​ will be eligible for earned wage access for the two weeks in the month that you are paid in arrears.

Fortnightly pay cycle
If you are paid fortnightly in arrears, you​ will be eligible for earned pay access during your pay cycle after you complete the first day of work in the cycle. If you are paid fortnightly, with half in arrears and half in advance, you​ will only be eligible for earned wage access for the arrears part.

Weekly pay cycle
If you are paid weekly in arrears, you could be eligible for earned wage access.

What are the eligibility differences between salaried and timesheet employees?
If you are paid monthly on a salary basis, you​ will be eligible for earned wage access for the period you are paid in arrears. If you are paid fortnightly based on the timesheets you submit, you​ will only be eligible for earned wage access based on the approved timesheets you have for your next pay run.

Pay Frequency	Arrears or Advance	Eligible for earned wage access
Weekly	Arrears	Yes
	Advance	No
Fortnightly	All arrears	Yes
	All advance	No
	1/2 arrears, 1/2 advance	Yes - Week in arrears
Monthly	All arrears	Yes
	All advance	No
	1/2 arrears, 1/2 advance	Yes - Week/s in arrears

Earned wage access is not available if a pay run is in progress. A pay run is an action your payroll admin takes to process pay for all employees, and it is typical for a pay run to take two to three days, i.e., if you are normally paid on the 15th, your payroll admin may start the pay run on the 13th. You must have these approved and paid in arrears if paid based off timesheets.

Earned wage access amounts are limited to 50% of an employee's unpaid net pay owed, with a weekly cap of $1,000. There is no minimum withdrawal amount. Any withdrawals made through earned wage access will be shown as a deduction on your next payslip.

If an employee has earned less than $500 in wages for their pay period, the withdrawal amount available to the employee is half of their accrued wage. Employment Hero calculates earned wage access weeks as a seven-day period, starting on the first day of your pay cycle.

If earned wage access is currently unavailable, this could be for the following reasons:

• You are about to leave your current position.
• You have taken leave within your pay cycle, which we factored into your available balance.
• You have not worked for two consecutive pay periods.
• The organisation you belong is not currently eligible for earned pay access.
• Your organisation does not use Employment Hero payroll.
• You have not accrued any income during your current pay cycle.
• Your timesheets may not have been approved.

No. Earned wage access amounts are limited to 50% of an employee's unpaid net pay owed, with a weekly cap of $1,000. For permanent employees, your earned wage access balance is based on accrued entitlements from hours already worked.

Yes, EWA is available to casual employees, just as permanent and full-time employees can enjoy the benefits of Earned Wage Access.