The three models — know which one you're being offered
1. Reduced hours, same pay (the "100:80:100" model) You work 80% of the hours for 100% of the pay, in exchange for maintaining 100% of the output. A genuine four-day week. This is the version that makes headlines and it's the rarest.
2. Compressed hours Full-time hours worked across four longer days — often 9.5 to 10 hours a day. Same hours, same pay, rearranged. Far more common than model 1, and frequently advertised as a "four-day week" without qualification.
3. Nine-day fortnight Full-time hours across nine days instead of ten, giving one day off a fortnight. Common in Australian utilities and government, and the most quietly widespread of the three.
The question to ask in any interview: "Is that reduced hours at full pay, or full-time hours compressed?" If the answer is vague, it's compressed.
And a warning if you're a parent: compressed hours makes the school run harder, not easier, on the four days you do work. A 10-hour day rules out both drop-off and pickup. If your constraint is 3pm, you want school-hours part-time, not compression. Our guide to part-time, job share and compressed hours covers choosing between them.
What Australian employers actually offer
Genuine reduced-hours four-day weeks remain uncommon here, but real examples exist — and several are in sectors you might not expect.
Medibank ran one of the most-watched Australian trials, expanding it to 500+ employees. Their reported results, measured against the trial start: +4.5% satisfaction, +6.7% engagement, +3.6% performance and +6.7% willingness to go above and beyond, with productivity holding steady and sick leave reduced. (Company-reported, not independently audited — but it's among the most substantial Australian datasets available.)
Powerlink Queensland offers a four-day week at full salary, alongside 18 weeks paid parental leave.
Nine-day fortnights are notably common in Australian utilities — Essential Energy and Barwon Water both offer them, and South East Water offers compressed weeks among a broader flexibility menu.
The pattern is worth noticing: utilities, energy and government are ahead of corporate Australia on this, largely because shift and roster planning is already part of how they operate.
Does it work? The evidence, honestly
International four-day-week trials have generally reported positive results — maintained or improved productivity, better wellbeing, lower attrition — and high rates of employers continuing after the trial ends.
But two caveats worth holding:
Most trials are self-selected. Employers who volunteer for a four-day-week trial are already well-run, well-motivated and want it to succeed. That's not the same as evidence it works everywhere.
Most results are self-reported. The Medibank figures are their own people-team measurement of their own trial. Directionally useful, not independently audited.
The honest summary: the evidence is genuinely encouraging and genuinely incomplete. It's enough to justify asking. It isn't enough to claim it's proven for every workplace, and overclaiming will lose you the argument with a sceptical manager.
Which roles suit it
Four-day weeks work best where output is measurable and doesn't require continuous coverage:
Knowledge and project work — professional services, technology, marketing, finance, policy
Roles with clear deliverables rather than availability requirements
Teams with genuine redundancy — someone can cover Thursday
They're hardest in:
Customer-facing roles with fixed coverage — though a rostered four-day week across a larger team often works
Clinical and care roles tied to patient contact
Site-based construction — though compressed weeks and nine-day fortnights are becoming more common
How to ask for one
Frame it as an output arrangement, not a benefit. The version that gets agreed sounds like this:
"I'd like to trial a four-day week for three months, maintaining current output and all current accountabilities. I'd propose Wednesdays off, with cover arranged through [X]. We review at three months against agreed measures, and revert if it isn't working."
Four elements make that work: a trial period, explicit output commitment, a cover plan, and an exit. Managers say no to permanent, unmeasured changes. They say yes far more often to reversible experiments.
If you have 12 months' continuous service and meet one of the eligible circumstances — parent of a school-age or younger child, carer, disability, 55 or over, pregnant, or affected by family and domestic violence — this can be made as a formal request under section 65 of the Fair Work Act, obliging your employer to discuss it and respond in writing within 21 days. See our guide to asking for flexible work in Australia.
One thing to get in writing: if it's reduced hours at full pay, confirm explicitly that salary, superannuation and leave accrual are unchanged. Some employers agree to a "four-day week" and then pro-rate it, which is a different arrangement entirely.
The pay question
Reduced hours at full pay — salary unchanged. Confirm super and leave are too.
Compressed hours — full-time pay, because you're working full-time hours.
Nine-day fortnight — usually full-time pay for full-time hours, sometimes with a small reduction. Check.
Four days at 0.8 FTE — this is part-time, not a four-day week, and it's paid pro-rata. Different arrangement, different pay. Don't let the terms blur.
Get told when they come up
Four-day-week roles are almost never filterable on general job boards, which means finding them takes reading hundreds of ads and hoping.
Rebalance is onboarding employers now, with roles arriving over the coming weeks. Tell us you're after a four-day week or compressed hours, plus your profession and location, and we'll email you when matching roles go live. Free.
Every listing carries the actual arrangement as a structured field — so you can tell reduced-hours from compressed before you apply, not after.
Frequently asked questions
Is a four-day week the same as compressed hours? No. A true four-day week means reduced hours at full pay. Compressed hours means the same full-time hours worked over fewer, longer days. Both get advertised as "four-day weeks" — always ask which.
Which Australian companies offer a four-day week? Genuine reduced-hours versions remain uncommon. Medibank has run one of the most substantial trials; Powerlink Queensland offers a four-day week at full salary. Nine-day fortnights are more widespread, particularly in utilities and government.
Do you get paid the same on a four-day week? On the reduced-hours-at-full-pay model, yes — that's the defining feature. On compressed hours, yes, because the hours are unchanged. If someone offers "four days" at 0.8 FTE, that's part-time and paid pro-rata.
Is a four-day week good for parents? It depends which model. Reduced hours at full pay is excellent. Compressed hours can be worse than a standard week, because 10-hour days rule out both drop-off and pickup on the days you work.
Can I request a four-day week under Australian law? You can request it under section 65 of the Fair Work Act if you have 12 months' service and meet an eligible circumstance. Your employer must discuss it and respond in writing within 21 days, and can only refuse on reasonable business grounds.