Pay rates for common NSW awards
The lowest rate of pay that can lawfully be paid to an adult wage earner in an award is referred to as a minimum wage.
This is a list of pay rates for common NSW awards.
The wage clause in an award specifies the minimum wage that must be paid for each classification or grade of employee covered by the award. Each employee must receive this amount as a minimum.
Sometimes the actual minimum weekly pay consists of a normal award wage plus compulsory additional components such as industry allowances or tool allowances. There are often additional rates to be paid for very specific circumstances such as working in the wet or dealing with toxic substances.
The wage clause in an award often specifies how casual or part-time rates should be calculated, that is, what additional loading they receive.
Junior employees are sometimes paid a percentage of the adult rate, depending on their age.
Awards may also provide for the payment of penalty rates to employees who work their ordinary hours at certain times of the week, such as on a Saturday or Sunday or outside the ordinary span of hours on weekdays.
Wages should normally be paid on the same day each week. The Industrial Relations Act 1996 requires employers to provide their employees with a pay slip detailing all pay matters and deductions such as income tax, superannuation payments, union dues, health fund and all other deductions.
Employers and employees can use Check Your Pay to calculate wages and other entitlements under selected awards.
To find pay rates for awards not list here, please choose the award title from this alphabetical list of current NSW awards.