Just been looking on the WAP Step Forward site and noticed a table for Shift Penalties. Anyone know what that is?

Shift penalties are extra payments to compensate for working shifts usually. Sometimes shift work penalties include extra holidays as well - or so I'm told

From $39-$66 per week for weekend and night shift seems like quite a bit. It'll certainly add considerably to your pay.

I think the penalty rate is per shift but you might want to check that.

From a mate of mine who went into WAPOL 5-6 years ago, the average bobby who attains the rank of 5 year first class, or 9 yr senior PC would earn $77,000 and $84,000 respectively, with shift "penalties" should really be shift "Bonus", but I'm told the average wage, including your "penalties" and a bit of OT is over $100,000 before tax and medicare obviously.

Hope that helps
Cheers

Silly question but what way does the Medicare system work...is it something that you automatically sign upto when you join WAPOL?, and therefore it's a standard amount out of your wages every month?, ir is it upto you to take your own private medicare out?...

Medicare is the nearest Aus has to the NHS. As a permanent resident you are entitled to Medicare - nothing to do with WA police

Have a read of http://www.humanservices.gov.au/cust...icare-services and there are also lots of threads about that and private healthcare in the main Aussie forum.

Also, take into account that any table listing shift penalties, is based on 8 hour shifts. Most "shifts" i.e. afternoon, evening and night shifts are 10 hours long, so should be calculated as 1.25 shift penalties, per shift worked.