How Hospitals and Ambulance Services Are Losing Hundreds of Thousands to Overtime Waste

Healthcare payrolls are particularly vulnerable to overtime leakage.

Recent Australian and international examples include:

Australian Hospital (18-month review): Over $500,000 in incorrect or unsupported overtime payments, with one staff member accounting for a significant portion of the losses.
Ambulance Victoria (2024): Internal assessments identified more than $3.5 million in questionable overtime payments.
North Metropolitan Health Service (WA): An internal audit revealed over $500,000 in improperly approved or unsupported overtime and payroll payments over several years.
NHS Counter Fraud Authority (UK): The NHS estimates approximately £26 million in annual payroll leakage, much of it linked to overtime and time-reporting weaknesses.

Hospitals and ambulance services operate under intense pressure, making strong controls difficult — but the financial impact is very real.

Solving this problem is one of the easiest ways to improve the budget position and ensure resources are spent on high impact services.

You can’t stop what you can’t see

One of the most consistent things I’ve seen looking at overtime data is that organisations don’t actually have a clear way of separating overtime that genuinely adds value from overtime that just… happens. Claims that get approved, get paid, and sit there looking completely reasonable. And that’s

Overtime and Superannuation: The Hidden Extra Cost Most Miss

When businesses calculate the cost of overtime, most only look at the hourly rate × hours worked. They forget one very expensive line item: superannuation. In Australia, the Superannuation Guarantee (currently 12% as of 2026) must be paid on most overtime hours. That means every dollar of overtime you pay triggers

Overtime Compliance in 2026: What Every Public Sector Agency Needs to Know Now

The 2025 Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates changes are now law — and they matter for every government agency. What you need to be doing in 2026: * Ensure your modern award or enterprise agreement aligns with the new protections (no reductions or disadvantageous substitutions allowed) * Review overtime policies to explicitly consider

Overtime in Emergency Services: Lessons from Fire, Ambulance & Corrections Audits

Fire, ambulance, and corrections services face some of the highest overtime pressures in the public sector. Recent audits have repeatedly shown the same issues: * Excessive reliance on overtime to cover chronic understaffing * Weak controls during peak emergency periods * Fatigue-related safety risks from back-to-back shifts * Significant financial leakage from poor verification

Read more

You can’t stop what you can’t see

Overtime and Superannuation: The Hidden Extra Cost Most Miss

Overtime Compliance in 2026: What Every Public Sector Agency Needs to Know Now

Overtime in Emergency Services: Lessons from Fire, Ambulance & Corrections Audits