Mining rostering & FIFO shift scheduling software for Australian operations
Schedule FIFO swings and continuous shifts, manage fatigue and control wage costs — without enterprise complexity or manual spreadsheets.
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FIFO swing and roster-cycle scheduling
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Mining Award rates applied
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Fatigue and hours tracking
Designed for the realities of mining work
A FIFO roster is a travel schedule, a fatigue plan and a pay calculation at the same time, and the swing repeats whether or not it was right.
FIFO swings and travel days
Continuous 24/7 operation
Fatigue limits and rest periods
Tickets and site inductions
Crew changeovers that must not gap
Shift loadings and site allowances
FIFO rostering built around the swing
FIFO rostering software has to understand a cycle, not a week — 2/1, 8/6, 14/7 — and project it forward with the travel days in the right place.
Define the swing once, project it forward
Crew changeovers that never leave the site short
Set the roster cycle and RosterElf projects it forward with travel days and changeovers in place, so the exception list is short and the pattern is not rebuilt each month.
- Define swings — 2/1, 8/6, 14/7 — and project them forward
- Keep crew changeovers covered on both sides
- Apply fatigue and rest rules as the roster is built
- See shift loadings and allowances before the swing is committed
The FIFO cycles Australian sites actually run
A swing is a commitment months long. Picking the wrong one is expensive in a way no individual roster is.
Common FIFO roster cycles
8/6
- Pattern
- 8 days on, 6 off
- Trade-off
- Even-time, high travel frequency
2/1
- Pattern
- 2 weeks on, 1 off
- Trade-off
- Fewer flights, heavier fatigue exposure
14/7
- Pattern
- 14 days on, 7 off
- Trade-off
- Long swing, strong retention risk
4/3 DIDO
- Pattern
- 4 on, 3 off, drive in drive out
- Trade-off
- No flights, limited catchment
Cycle choice drives fatigue exposure, travel cost and turnover together. RosterElf projects any of them forward with travel days in place — see the mining award pay guide for the loadings and allowances each attracts.
Time and attendance on site
On a swing the hours are known but the exceptions are what get paid wrong.
Hours reconciled to the swing
Site terminal or mobile clock-in
Crew clock in at a site terminal or on their phone, and worked hours are reconciled against the swing before they become timesheets.
- Site terminal or mobile clock-in
- Travel days recorded separately from worked hours
- Night shift loadings applied automatically
- Worked hours convert straight into payroll-ready timesheets
Mining award compliance, made simpler
Penalty rates, overtime and break rules vary by day, time, employment type and shift length — and one week’s roster touches most of them.
Mining Industry Award (MA000011) — pay rates by period
| Period | Full-time & part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours (Mon–Fri, day span 6am–6pm) | 100% | 100% |
| Afternoon shift (finishes after 7pm) | 115% | 115% |
| Night shift (finishes after midnight–8am) | 115% | 115% |
| Saturday – first 3 hrs (non-continuous shiftworkers) | 150% | 150% |
| Sunday | 200% | 200% |
| Public holiday | 250% | 250% |
Casual rates are set by the award directly, not by adding a loading to the permanent rate. Rates change each 1 July; the full breakdown by classification, junior age and allowance is in the mining award pay guide. Always verify against Fair Work.
Payroll-ready workforce data
Approved hours should reach the pay run without being re-keyed, penalties and all.
From the roster to the pay run without a spreadsheet in between
Award interpretation already applied
RosterElf connects mining scheduling and time tracking to payroll, so approved hours flow cleanly to Xero or MYOB with penalties already applied.
- Fewer payroll errors from manual data entry
- Less time reconciling timesheets each fortnight
- Clear records for audits and compliance checks
- Faster pay runs, even through a busy period
Australian mining operations using RosterElf report significant time savings on schedule creation. Based on customer feedback and ROI calculator data.
More than mining scheduling software
Scheduling is one job of several. RosterElf puts communication, HR and time tracking in the same place, so a mining team has one app rather than four.
Why mining operations choose RosterElf
RosterElf is built for Australian workplaces, with Fair Work compliance, modern awards and local payroll integrations as the starting point rather than an add-on.
Save hours on scheduling
Less time building and re-fixing the roster every week.
Control labour costs
See live wage cost as you schedule — no guesswork until payday.
Australian compliance
Mining Industry Award rates and penalties built in.
All employment types
Works for casual, part-time and full-time staff.
Easy to adopt
Intuitive for managers and staff, with minimal training.
Single or multi-site
Scales from one site to a group.
Common roles in mining
Download free job description templates for your mining team
Calculate your mining scheduling savings
See how much time and money your business could save with RosterElf rostering software.
Your current rostering
Based on 70% time reduction with automated rostering
Your potential savings
No credit card required
Trusted by mining operations across Australia
Hear from Australian businesses that simplified their scheduling with RosterElf
Andrew Nathan
November 13, 2025
"We are extremely happy with Roster Elf, it's a great improvement on the previous system we were using. Sean and all the staff have been fantastic, really know their stuff and make using RosterElf a pleasure."
Monica Van De Laak
October 16, 2025
"Sean was an amazing help, very patient and thorough."
Mary C.
October 13, 2025
"I can see my roster, enter availability, put leave in advance and clock on and off easily."
Relevant awards for mining
Stay compliant with Australian Modern Award pay rates
Explore similar industries
See how RosterElf helps other businesses like yours
Mining scheduling and rostering resources
Free scheduling tools, templates and guides for Australian mining operations
Try mining staff scheduling free
Build your first mining roster in minutes. No credit card required.
Real support from people who understand your business
At RosterElf, support isn't a ticket system — it's part of the product. Our Australian-based team helps you set up correctly, understand award rules, and stay compliant as your business changes. No scripts. No offshore handoffs. Just real help when you need it.
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Guided setup and onboarding
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Award and payroll questions answered
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Ongoing help as your team grows
Mining staff scheduling FAQ
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The best FIFO rostering software understands a swing cycle rather than a week: it projects 8/6, 2/1 or 14/7 forward with travel days in place, keeps crew changeovers covered on both sides, applies fatigue rules as the roster is built, and exports to payroll with Mining Award loadings applied. RosterElf does all four.
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8/6 and 2/1 are the most common, with 14/7 on remote sites and 4/3 drive-in drive-out where the catchment allows. The choice drives travel cost, fatigue exposure and turnover together — see the table above.
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By applying rest-period and maximum-consecutive-day rules while the roster is still a draft rather than auditing them afterwards. A swing that breaches on the changeover will breach every cycle until the pattern changes.