One of the many reasons I was keen to work in Australia was to see if they really had achieved what we're told they have—the legendary forty-hour working week. More to the point, how have they reconciled that magical triumvirate: Service, Education, and the often overlooked Having a Life. Let me start by saying that I think that they have achieved it, to some extent, but that I don't quite understand how.

The agreements between junior doctors and their employers are at state level in Queensland, but there are a few generalisations that can be made. Firstly the contract is to 40 hours per week—well, in fact, 80 hours per fortnight. Secondly the employer suffers a series of financial penalties for asking doctors to work antisocial hours or patterns. These range from 15% extra for night shifts, to double time for Sundays, to 250% for some public holidays, with many shades of grey between. For example, if you work any overtime or more than 10 hours in a day your hourly rate rises, at this point, to 150% basic. If you were on what we might understand as a full shift roster, you'd be on 200% for any overtime. In any case, after three hours of overtime …