Better off overall test (BOOT)

The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) is used by the Fair Work Commission to ensure that any registered agreement provides employees with conditions that are at least equivalent to, or better than, those in the relevant award. This means considering factors like pay rates, work hours, and other entitlements. If the agreement doesn't pass the BOOT, it won't be approved.

How the BOOT works

The Fair Work Commission must be satisfied that each award-covered employee, and each prospective award-covered employee, would be better off overall under the enterprise agreement than under the relevant modern award. It looks at the agreement as a whole, so some terms can be less generous if others more than make up for them, and it considers only patterns or kinds of work that are reasonably foreseeable. For example, an agreement with lower weekend penalty rates may still pass if base rates are high enough that employees who regularly work weekends are better off overall.

Our guide to enterprise agreements explains the approval process.