Jury duty payment in WA.

How the WA jury pay calculator works

For an employee the answer is not a court rate at all. The calculator multiplies your ordinary daily pay, plus any regular overtime, penalties or allowances, by every rostered day inside the trial, weekend shifts included, and shows the same amount as your employer's claim against the State. Travel is added on top.

For someone with no income that day it applies the fee scale instead, and for the self-employed it pays lost income up to $1,000 a day. A court day that lands on a non-rostered day is shown separately: the Department pays a fee "when a juror would not normally receive an income on those days", but does not say whether that reaches an employed juror.

Your employer keeps paying you in WA

Under the Juries Act 1957, an employer that stops or reduces your pay because of jury service commits an offence (s 56(2)(b), (c)). For anyone employed under a contract, failing to pay "the earnings that the employee could reasonably expect to have been paid while doing the jury service" is itself prejudicial treatment (s 56(3)). "Employee" includes a person engaged under a contract for services (s 56(1)).

There is no 10-day limit. The Department of Justice says the Juries Act "prevails over the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth) in relation to the payment of wages", and the Fair Work Ombudsman confirms that state laws giving more continue to apply. The 10-day NES make-up rule is only a floor, and WA law sits above it.

• Casuals: paid for the shifts "where there was an expectation of work".
• Full pay: your normal income in full, "including any allowances or overtime", with regular overtime and shift penalties claimable where payslips show the pattern.
• Night shift: your full night-shift entitlements, as if you had worked the shift.
• Weekends: you should not have to work your usual weekend shifts during a trial or take leave to cover them, and your employer can claim for them.

How WA employers claim jury pay back

An employer that keeps paying you is entitled to be paid by the State (Juries Act s 58B(3)). The claim goes to the Department of Justice within 3 months of the last day of jury service, verified by a statutory declaration giving the business ABN, the earnings paid, your hourly rate and the hours of service lost (Regulations r 8(2)). The summoning officer can extend the deadline by up to a year in exceptional circumstances (r 4(5)).

Reimbursement covers the wages paid to you while on jury service and nothing else: no replacement staff, operating expenses, lost business income or delayed work. The Department asks for payslips showing your wages before, during and after the trial.

• Your part: within 14 days of finishing, give the summoning officer your employer's name and business address (r 7). Not doing so carries a fine of up to $1,000.
• State Government employers: departments, State instrumentalities and State trading concerns pay you but cannot claim (r 6).
• If your employer does not pay you: you can claim the fee from the State yourself (s 58B(4)), and your employer has committed an offence under s 56.

If you are not employed, retired or self-employed

People with no income on the day are paid a statutory attendance fee under r 4(1) of the Juries Regulations 2008.

Computed totals with no income: 3 days $45.00, 5 days $85.00, 10 days $185.00.

The fee is paid only for days you would not normally receive an income. Self-employed jurors can claim the income they lost instead, capped at $1,000 a day unless the summoning officer is satisfied the loss is higher and that not paying it would cause undue hardship (r 4(3)). Evidence has to be tax-verifiable: a Notice of Assessment, a history of invoices and the matching bank statements or payslips.

Two traps catch sole traders. If your business pays you a regular wage, the business lodges an employer claim and the self-employed form is not available to you. And business losses are not reimbursed, only your own lost income.

WA jury travel allowance

At a Perth court you are reimbursed the public transport fare each way, and nothing is paid if you live inside the Free Transit Zone. At a regional court you are paid 45 cents a km each way along the most direct route (r 5(2)): 10 km each way is $9.00 a day, 25 km is $22.50 and 60 km is $54.00.

Taxis, Uber and other rideshare do not count as public transport, and parking costs and fines are yours. The Department's own payments page still links the 2020 version of the Regulations, which shows 37.5 cents a km; that rate was replaced by 45 cents on 22 April 2023.

Is jury duty payment taxable in WA?

Wages your employer keeps paying are taxed through payroll like any other pay. Fees paid to you directly, because you are not employed, retired or self-employed, go in the "Other income" section of your return. A fee your employer receives as reimbursement is not your income, and travel allowances stay off the return entirely.

Penalties for WA employers who do not pay

Ceasing or reducing pay, dismissal, other prejudice, or a threat of any of these, carries a fine of up to $10,000 for an individual employer and $50,000 for a body corporate (s 56(5)). The employer bears the onus of proving the action was not because of jury service (s 56(6)). A court can also order compensation of up to 12 months' remuneration, and re-employment (s 56(7), (8)).

WA jury payment worked examples

Fees and travel rates are those in force since 22 April 2023.

Related calculators and guides

• Community service and jury duty leave, the federal 10-day floor that WA law exceeds.
• How much you get paid for jury duty in NSW, a court allowance plus NES make-up pay.
• Jury duty pay in Queensland, court rates reset every 1 July.
• WA leave calculator, long service leave and public holidays in WA.
• Casual loading calculator, for the loaded rate a WA casual keeps on rostered jury days.

Sources

• WA Department of Justice, Jury Payments and Claims, last updated 24 September 2026, retrieved 7 October 2026.
• WA Department of Justice, Employers and Self-Employed: Frequently Asked Questions, last updated 3 December 2025, retrieved 7 October 2026.
• WA Department of Justice, Jurors: Information and Frequently Asked Questions, last updated 17 September 2026, retrieved 7 October 2026.
• Juries Regulations 2008 (WA), version 01-e0-00, current from 22 April 2023, retrieved 7 October 2026.
• Juries Regulations 2008 (WA), version 01-d0-00 as at 29 September 2020, retrieved 7 October 2026 (superseded on 22 April 2023).
• Juries Act 1957 (WA), version 08-g0-01, current from 25 September 2025, retrieved 7 October 2026.
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Jury duty, updated 10 August 2026, retrieved 6 October 2026.
• ATO, myTax 2026 Other income, updated 19 August 2026, retrieved 7 October 2026.

Published 7 October 2026. Checked against these sources on 7 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.