Award rates · Updated 8 September 2026
Building and Construction Award rates, 2026-27
MA000020 is a federal modern award, so the same classification minimums apply in every state and territory. Below are the 2026-27 weekly and hourly minimums for a full-time adult employee, the allowances that sit on top of them, the sector limits that decide which of those allowances are payable at all, and a calculator that adds them up for a crew. Every figure names its clause.
Read this before the table
The table rates are not the rate you pay
Clause 19.1(b) says it in terms: the rates in clause 19.1(a) prescribe minimum classification rates only, and the payment of additional allowances is required by other clauses of the award in respect of both weekly and hourly payments. Clause 2 then defines the ordinary hourly rate as the clause 19.1(a) hourly rate plus the industry allowance, and where an employee is entitled to an additional all-purpose allowance, that allowance forms part of their ordinary hourly rate too. Pay the table figure on its own and the employee is underpaid.
Classification minimum
$1,119.10 a weekLevel 3 (CW/ECW 3), the trade level, clause 19.1(a).
Plus the industry allowance
$67.15 or $53.72 a week$67.15 in general building and construction, civil construction, and metal and engineering construction. $53.72 in residential building and construction. Clause 22.1, paid for all purposes by clause 22.3.
Plus the tool allowance, where one applies
$41.22 a week for a carpenterTrade-specific rather than level-specific, and paid for all purposes. Five amounts, clause 21.1(a).
Plus any other all-purpose allowance
VariesUnderground, air-conditioning and refrigeration, electrician's licence, in charge of plant, and the leading hand allowance all form part of the ordinary hourly rate where they are payable. Clauses 19.2, 19.3(b), 23.2, 23.7, 23.8 and 23.9.
Then divide by 38
Weekly hireClause 19.3(b) adds the amounts above and divides the total by 38 to reach the ordinary hourly rate.
Or multiply by 52 over 50.4, then divide by 38
Daily hireClause 19.3(a) takes a narrower sum than clause 19.3(b): the clause 19.1 minimum, the clause 22 industry allowance and, where applicable, the clause 21.1 tool allowance and the clause 23.2 underground allowance. That sum is multiplied by 52 over 50.4, rounded to the nearest cent, then divided by 38 (31 for a carpenter-diver). The clause 23.7, 23.8 and 23.9 allowances are not inside the uplifted sum.
Worked example, a CW3 carpenter
General building and construction, daily hire. $1,119.10 minimum plus $67.15 industry allowance plus $41.22 tool allowance is $1,227.47. Multiplied by 52 over 50.4 and rounded to the nearest cent that is $1,266.44, and divided by 38 it is $33.33 an ordinary hour. The same carpenter on weekly hire is $1,227.47 over 38, which is $32.30. The clause 19.1(a) figure for the same person is $29.45. The gap between $29.45 and $33.33 is the whole reason clause 19.1(b) exists. The inputs are the Commission's; the hourly result is arithmetic on them.
The 2026-27 minimums
Minimum weekly and hourly rates, clause 19.1(a)
A full-time adult employee. The instrument is the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 [MA000020], and this table was set by determination PR799301, item 1, which deleted and replaced the whole clause 19.1(a) table. The figures take effect from the first full pay period that starts on or after 1 July 2026, not from 1 July itself. The hourly rate is the weekly rate divided by 38.
| Level | Minimum weekly rate | Minimum hourly rate | Sectors it applies in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 (CW/ECW 1), level a | $1,013.50 | $26.67 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 1 (CW/ECW 1), level b | $1,033.50 | $27.20 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 1 (CW/ECW 1), level c | $1,047.30 | $27.56 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 1 (CW/ECW 1), level d | $1,066.00 | $28.05 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 2 (CW/ECW 2) | $1,087.50 | $28.62 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 3 (CW/ECW 3) | $1,119.10 | $29.45 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 4 (CW/ECW 4) | $1,154.40 | $30.38 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 5 (CW/ECW 5) | $1,189.60 | $31.31 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 6 (CW/ECW 6) | $1,221.30 | $32.14 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 7 (CW/ECW 7) | $1,256.30 | $33.06 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 8 (CW/ECW 8) | $1,286.70 | $33.86 | General building and construction, civil construction, residential building and construction, and metal and engineering construction |
| Level 9 (ECW 9) | $1,309.50 | $34.46 | Metal and engineering construction only |
What CW and ECW mean
Clause 19.1(c): CW refers to construction workers in the general building and construction and civil construction sectors, and ECW refers to engineering construction workers in the metal and engineering construction sector. Levels 1 to 8 are shared as CW/ECW. Level 9 exists only as ECW 9, and there is no CW 9.
CW1 is one level with four steps
Levels a to d are progression steps under Schedule A, A.2.1, not four separate grades: level a on commencement in the industry, level b after 3 months, level c after 12 months, and level d on fulfilling the substantive CW1 requirements.
The standard rate
Clause 2 defines the standard rate as the weekly or hourly minimum for a Level 3 (CW/ECW 3) employee, so for 2026-27 it is $1,119.10 a week and $29.45 an hour. Every percentage allowance in Schedule B is a percentage of that figure.
Where the increase came from
The Annual Wage Review 2026 decision [2026] FWCFB 3500, handed down 2 June 2026, increased modern award minimum wages by 4.75 per cent, subject to a structural adjustment for the lowest-paid classifications. MA000020 sits above that floor, so every level took the plain 4.75 per cent: $1,068.40 times 1.0475 is $1,119.149, which rounds to the $1,119.10 in the determination.
This table is a reference, current at 7 September 2026. Confirm your own case with the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool, which calculates pay rates including penalty rates and allowances, or with its pay guide listing all the pay rates for an award.
Weekly cost
What a crew on the minimum costs in a week
Pick a sector, a classification and a headcount. The panel adds the clause 19.1(a) minimum, the clause 22.1 industry allowance for that sector and, if you choose one, the clause 21.1(a) tool allowance, then divides by 38 the way clause 19.3 does. It shows the superannuation guarantee at the rate for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 and what the same work would cost with the casual loading instead.
Weekly cost on the award minimum
Choose a sector to see the clause 19.1(a) minimum, the clause 22.1 industry allowance that goes with it, and the weekly figure the two produce. The classification minimums are identical across the sectors; the allowance stacked on them is not.
This is arithmetic on published rates, not a payroll engine. It adds the figures in the tables on this page and divides by 38. It does not decide anybody's classification, does not know whether an enterprise agreement applies to your site, and does not calculate a pay run.
Figures are the Fair Work Commission's, current at 7 September 2026, and apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. The Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool calculates pay rates, including penalty rates and allowances, and it publishes a pay guide for each award. Confirm your own case before you pay on it.
Allowances, part one
The industry allowance, and why the sector decides it
Clause 22.1 requires the industry allowance to be paid in addition to the weekly rate in clause 19, for work in each of the sectors it names. The all-purpose character comes from clause 22.3, not from clause 22.1: the industry allowances payable under clause 22 are to be paid for all purposes of the award, which is what drives the allowance into the ordinary hourly rate under clause 19.3.
| Sector | Amount | Was in 2025-26 | Schedule B percentage | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General building and construction, civil construction, and metal and engineering construction | $67.15 a week | $64.10 in 2025-26 | 6.0% of the weekly standard rate | Clause 22.1(a) |
| Residential building and construction | $53.72 a week | $51.28 in 2025-26 | 4.8% of the weekly standard rate | Clause 22.1(b) |
The residential test, as a test
Clause 22.2(b) defines the residential building and construction industry as the activities identified in clause 4.3(a) undertaken in relation to a single occupancy or dual occupancy residential building which is not a multistorey building as defined in clause 23.3(c). Clause 23.3(c) defines a multistorey building as one that will, when complete, consist of 5 or more storey levels, and counts basement levels and mezzanine or similar levels, excluding half floors such as toilet blocks or store rooms located between floors, and a plant room on the top of a building where it occupies 25% of the total roof or an area of 100 square metres, whichever is the lesser. Whether your job meets that definition is your call; this page does not make it.
There is no daily industry allowance
MA000020 prescribes the industry allowance as a weekly amount only. It reaches an hourly figure through the clause 19.3 calculation, never through a separate daily rate. The only per-day travel-type payment in the award is the fares and travel pattern allowance of $22.41 a day. A source using the phrase daily site allowance is almost certainly describing an enterprise agreement rather than the award. Check whether an agreement covers your site.
Allowances, part two
Tool and expense-related allowances
All set by determination PR799458, Expense-related allowances 2026, effective from 1 July 2026. These move by CPI under Schedule B B.2.2, not by the annual wage review percentage, which is why they do not rise by the same 4.75 per cent the wage table did. The tool allowance is trade-specific rather than level-specific and is paid for all purposes of the award, so it goes into the ordinary hourly rate.
| Trades | Amount |
|---|---|
| Artificial stoneworker, carpenter and/or joiner, carpenter-diver, carver, bridge and wharf carpenter, floor sander, letter cutter, marble and slate worker, stonemason or tilelayer | $41.22 a week |
| Caster, fixer, floorlayer specialist or plasterer | $34.10 a week |
| Refractory bricklayer or bricklayer | $29.26 a week |
| Roof tiler, slate-ridger or roof fixer, and tradespersons in the metals and engineering construction sector | $21.59 a week |
| Signwriter, painter or glazier | $9.89 a week |
Tools and clothing the table does not cover
Clause 21.1(b), (c) and (d): where any other tools are required by the employer, or any protective or other clothing or equipment other than safety boots is required, the employer either reimburses the employee by agreement or provides the item. Where steel toe capped safety boots are required by the employer or by legislation, the employer reimburses the cost of purchase on commencement of work and, subject to fair wear and tear, boots are replaced each 6 months if required and sooner if agreed.
| Allowance | Amount | Clause | What it is limited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meal allowance, overtime | $19.74 per meal | Clause 21.2(a) | Payable where overtime of at least 1.5 hours is worked after ordinary hours. Clause 21.2(c) sets the same amount for an operator employee after the completion of each 4 hours from the commencement of overtime. |
| Clothes and tools lost or destroyed | Maximum $2,390 | Clause 21.3(b) | A maximum, not a fixed payment. |
| Fares and travel pattern allowance | $22.41 per day | Clause 26.1(a) | The only per-day travel payment in the award. There is no daily industry allowance in MA000020; the industry allowance is prescribed as a weekly amount only. |
| Travelling between construction sites, own vehicle | $1.00 per kilometre | Clause 26.2(b)(ii) | An award rate. It is unrelated to the ATO cents per kilometre rate used for a work-related car deduction. |
| Distant work, own vehicle | $0.60 per kilometre | Clause 26.4(b)(ii) | Distant work only, which clause 25 defines. |
| Living away from home, distant work | $102.92 per day | Clause 25.3(a)(i) | Distant work only. |
| Camping allowance | $266.44 per complete week, $38.02 per day for broken parts of a week | Clause 25.4(b) | Two figures, and the daily one applies only to broken parts of a week. |
| Meal allowance, forward journey | $19.74 per meal | Clause 25.6(a)(i) | Distant work travel, separate from the clause 21.2 overtime meal allowance. |
| Return journey, additional for daily hire employees | $26.77 per journey | Clause 25.6(b)(i) | Daily hire employees only. |
| Weekend return home | $45.36 per occasion | Clause 25.6(e)(i) | Per occasion. |
Allowances, part three
Wage-related allowances, and the limits that travel with them
All set by determination PR799301, effective from 1 July 2026. Every one of these has a condition on it, and the condition decides whether the figure is payable at all. The limit sits beside each figure below.
Underground allowance
Clause 23.2$20.14 a week, or $4.48 per day or shift
The weekly amount is for an employee other than one in an Operator classification and is paid for all purposes. The daily amount applies where no more than 4 days or shifts are worked underground in an ordinary week.
Multistorey allowance, regular storey levels
Clause 23.3(e)(i)$0.77 an hour from the commencement of building to the 15th floor level, $0.91 from the 16th to the 30th, $1.41 from the 31st to the 45th, $1.83 from the 46th to the 60th, and $2.24 from the 61st floor level onward
Paid to all employees on site while engaged in the construction or renovation of a multistorey building. The higher rate applies to everyone on the site once structural steel, reinforcing steel, boxing or walls rise above the designated floor level, and the highest rate reached continues until the building is complete (clause 23.3(a)).
Multistorey allowance, structure without regular storey levels
Clause 23.3(d)$0.94 an hour above 15 metres, and a further $0.94 an hour for each additional 15 metres
So work at 31 metres attracts $1.88 an hour.
Multistorey allowance, service core
Clause 23.3(f)(i)The main structure's multistorey rate plus $0.94 an hour, and a further $0.94 for each additional 15 metres
Applies where the work is more than 15 metres above the highest point of the main structure.
Laser safety officer allowance
Clause 23.4(c)$3.95 per day or part thereof
Per day or part of a day.
Carpenter-diver allowance
Clause 23.5$1.33 an hour
A carpenter-diver's hourly rate is calculated on a divisor of 31 rather than 38 (clause 19.3(a)(iii)).
First aid allowance, minimum qualifications
Clause 23.6(b)(i)$4.03 per day
Clause 23.6(a) requires the employee to be appointed by the employer, to be required by the employer to hold a qualification at that level, to hold a qualification satisfying the relevant statutory requirement at the location, and to be doing first aid duties in addition to their normal duties. The clause names the relevant State or Territory Occupational Health and Safety legislation, with a Western Australian alternative of a Senior First Aid or Industrial First Aid certificate or equivalent from the St John Ambulance Association or a similar body.
First aid allowance, higher first aid certificate
Clause 23.6(b)(ii)$6.38 per day
Clause 23.6(c): an employee is paid only for the level of qualification the employer requires them to hold, and there is no double counting for an employee who holds more than one.
Air-conditioning industry and refrigeration industry allowance
Clause 23.7$88.41 a week
Paid in addition to the clause 19.1 minimum rate. It does not apply to a lift industry employee under clause 42 (clause 42.3).
Electrician's licence allowance
Clause 23.8(a)$35.81 a week
Paid for all purposes, and only for an appropriate electrician's licence, which clause 23.8(b) defines state by state: New South Wales, a NSW Electrician's Licence; Victoria, an A Grade Electrician's Licence; South Australia, an A Grade Electrical Worker's Licence; Tasmania, an A Grade Electrician's Licence; Queensland, an Electrical Mechanic's or Electrical Fitter/Mechanic's Licence. Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are not named in clause 23.8(b).
In charge of plant allowance
Clause 23.9(b)$52.60 a week
An all-purpose allowance under clause 19.3(b).
Mobile cranes, capacity adjustment
Clause 19.5$26.86 a week
For each additional 40 tonnes over a maximum lifting capacity of 100 tonnes, added to the base rate for Level 5 (CW/EW5) and above. Schedule B abbreviates this to over the maximum limit, which cannot be calculated; the 100 tonne threshold is in clause 19.5.
Lift industry allowance
Clause 42.2(a) and 42.2(f)$165.63 a week
Paid for all purposes in addition to the clause 19.1 weekly rates, and it switches other allowances off: clause 42.2(c) removes the clause 23.10 special rates, and clause 42.3 removes clauses 23.2 and 23.7. Apprentices receive a proportion under clause 42.2(b): 55% in the 1st year, 65% in the 2nd, 75% in the 3rd and 90% in the 4th.
Computing quantities
Clause 23.10(b)(i)$6.86 per day or part thereof
General building and construction sector only. Clause 23.10 is headed Special rates applicable only to the general building and construction sector. Clause 23.10(b)(ii) also withholds it from an employee classified as a leading hand who is receiving the clause 19.2 allowance.
Scaffolding or rigging certificate
Clause 23.10(c)$0.94 an hour
General building and construction sector only, under the same clause 23.10 heading. Clause 23.10(a)(ii) provides that the special rates are paid irrespective of the times at which work is performed and, except where specified, are not subject to any premium or penalty conditions.
There is no allowance called a special allowance
MA000020 contains no allowance of that name. Clause 23.10 is headed Special rates applicable only to the general building and construction sector, and it contains exactly two items: computing quantities and the scaffolding or rigging certificate allowance. Clause 23.10(a)(iii) provides that they are paid in addition to the other rates in the award.
Who each rule reaches
Sector limits, rule by rule
The classification minimums in clause 19.1(a) are identical across general building, civil, residential and metal and engineering construction. Almost everything stacked on top of them splits by sector, and a residential or general building employer with a handful of staff is outside several of these rules entirely.
General building and construction sector only
Computing quantities and the scaffolding or rigging certificate allowance. The clause heading states the limit: Special rates applicable only to the general building and construction sector.
General building and construction and civil construction only
Clause 24.1: clause 24 applies to general building and construction and the civil construction sector only. Residential building and construction and metal and engineering construction fall outside the whole regime, not merely outside one payment in it.
Metal and engineering construction sector only, and not for employers with fewer than 30 employees
Clause 43.1: clause 43 applies to forepersons and supervisors in the metal and engineering construction sector covered by this award but does not apply to any employer employing fewer than 30 employees. Both limits apply: the sector and the headcount.
Metal and engineering construction only
ECW 9 exists in the clause 19.1(a) table. There is no CW 9 (clause 19.1(c)).
Metal and engineering construction
It also switches off the clause 23.10 special rates and clauses 23.2 and 23.7 (clauses 42.2(c) and 42.3).
Split by sector
$67.15 a week in general building and construction, civil construction, and metal and engineering construction. $53.72 a week in residential building and construction.
Supervision
Leading hands, forepersons and supervisors
Two separate regimes, and only one of them reaches a small builder. The leading hand allowance in clause 19.2 applies across the award. The foreperson and supervisor minimum rates in clause 43 do not.
Leading hand allowance, clause 19.2
A percentage of the weekly rate in clause 19.1(a) of the highest classification supervised, or of the employee's own rate, whichever is higher: 2.4% in charge of 1 person, 5.3% for 2 to 5 persons, 6.7% for 6 to 10 persons, and 9.0% for more than 10 persons. It applies for all purposes of the award. For a daily hire employee the hourly value is that amount multiplied by 52 over 50.4 and divided by 38, or by 31 for a carpenter-diver (clause 19.2(b)).
| Role | Supervision of 3 or more tradespersons, excluding leading hands | Supervision of other than 3 or more tradespersons, excluding leading hands |
|---|---|---|
| Foreperson/supervisor | $1,202.00 a week | $1,303.00 a week |
| General foreperson/supervisor | $1,169.50 a week | $1,275.50 a week |
The table reads counter-intuitively, and that is how the award prints it. In both the consolidated award and PR799301 item 20, the higher figures sit under supervision of other than 3 or more tradespersons, and a general foreperson is paid less than a foreperson in the same column. Clause 43.3 defines the two roles: a foreperson/supervisor is an employee other than a leading hand appointed as such or required by the employer to be mainly engaged in the direct supervision of employees including leading hands, and a general foreperson/supervisor is mainly engaged in the direct supervision and coordination of the work of at least 2 forepersons/supervisors, and does not include site managers, departmental heads and the like.
Rain, heat and stoppages
Inclement weather, in two sectors only
Clause 24.1 states the limit before anything else in the clause: clause 24 applies to general building and construction and the civil construction sector only. Residential building and construction and metal and engineering construction fall outside the whole regime, so nothing below is a residential builder's obligation under this award.
The payment, and its ceiling
Clause 24.7: where an employee is not able to perform any work at any location because of inclement weather, the employee receives payment at the ordinary hourly rate for ordinary hours, subject to a maximum of 32 hours pay in any 4 week period. The ceiling is the part most summaries drop.
A pour finished in the wet
Clause 24.6: a concrete pour completed after the weather has set in is paid at 200% of the ordinary hourly rate, calculated to the next hour, with adequate wet weather gear provided.
Starting mid-cycle
Clause 24.8: an employee who commences employment during a 4 week period is credited with 32 hours if they commence on any working day within the first week, 24 hours in the second week, 16 hours in the third and 8 hours in the fourth.
What is not covered
Inclement weather occurring during overtime is not taken into account and attracts no payment for stoppages (clause 24.11). Part-time weekly hire employees are entitled on a pro rata basis (clause 24.10).
Ordinary hours
38 hours, RDO accrual, and the 36 hour week question
Clause 16.1: except as provided in clause 17 for shiftwork, the ordinary working hours are 38 per week, averaged over a 20 day 4 week cycle to allow for the accrual and taking of rostered days off, worked between 7.00 am and 6.00 pm Monday to Friday. Clause 16.2 sets 8 hours each day, of which 0.4 of one hour accrues towards an RDO and 7.6 hours are paid, so an employee accrues 7.6 hours towards an RDO each 19 days of ordinary hours worked.
The 36 hour week is not in this award
It is a feature of construction enterprise agreements. MA000020 requires 38 ordinary hours, and every hourly rate in the award is a weekly rate divided by 38, or by 31 for a carpenter-diver.
An agreed early start is not overtime
Clause 16.11(a): the working day may start at 6.00 am or at any time between that hour and 8.00 am, and the working time then begins to run from the time fixed, with the meal break adjusted accordingly. The change to the start time requires agreement between the employer and the employees and their representatives, if requested.
Caps on banking and on the day
No more than 5 accrued RDOs may be banked at any time (clause 16.5(a)). Daily ordinary hours must not exceed 8 for a part-time employee (clause 16.9(a)) or for a casual (clause 16.10), and an agreed alternate arrangement must stay within 8 ordinary hours a day and inside the clause 16.1 spread (clause 16.8).
Working on a rostered RDO
Clause 16.6(b): an employee who works on a day rostered for the taking of an RDO is paid the penalty rates prescribed for Saturday work in clause 30, and retains the accrued RDO.
Overtime and penalties
Day worker rates, as percentages of the ordinary hourly rate
The award states these as a percentage of the ordinary hourly rate, so 150% is the whole payment rather than a loading added to it. Remember what the ordinary hourly rate is: the clause 19.1(a) figure plus the industry allowance plus any other all-purpose allowance, not the table figure on its own. Shiftwork is a separate regime under clause 17 with two different sets of rules, and it is not covered on this page.
| When | Rate | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday overtime, first 2 hours | 150% | Of the ordinary hourly rate, for all time worked beyond ordinary working hours inclusive of time worked for accrual purposes. Clause 29.4(a). |
| Monday to Friday overtime, after 2 hours | 200% | Clause 29.4(a). |
| Saturday, first 2 hours | 150% | Ordinary hours for a day worker are Monday to Friday (clause 16.1), so for a day worker all Saturday work is overtime. Clause 30.1(a). |
| Saturday, after 2 hours and all work after 12 noon | 200% | Clause 30.1(a) and 30.1(b). |
| Saturday following Good Friday | 250% | For all work performed. Clause 30.1(c). Clause 29.12 carries no rate of its own; it is a signpost to clause 30. |
| Sunday | 200% | For all time worked. Clause 30.1(d). |
| Public holidays, and substituted days or part-days | 250% | For all work performed. Clause 30.1(e). |
| A day rostered for the taking of an RDO | Saturday penalty rates | An employee who works on a day rostered for an RDO is paid the penalty rates prescribed for Saturday work in clause 30 and retains the accrued RDO. Clause 16.6(b). |
Minimum engagements, clause 30.2
- Saturday overtime: at least 3 hours of work, or payment for 3 hours.
- Saturday following Good Friday: at least 4 hours.
- Sunday overtime: at least 4 hours.
- Public holidays and substituted days: minimum payment for 4 hours. Hours immediately before or after a part-day public holiday that form one continuous shift count towards that minimum.
Casual employees, clause 12
The award's own note under clause 12.5 records that these rates were calculated by adding the casual loading in clause 12.4 to the overtime and weekend penalty rates in clauses 29.4(a) and 30.1. They are additive, not compounded: 150% plus the 25% loading is 175%, not 187.5%.
| When | Rate | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours | 125% | The 25% casual loading in clause 12.4, paid as compensation for annual leave, personal and carer's leave, community service leave, notice of termination, redundancy benefits and public holidays not worked. |
| Where the relevant penalty rate is 150% | 175% | Clause 12.5(a). |
| Where the relevant penalty rate is 200% | 225% | Clause 12.5(b). |
| Public holiday | 275% | Clause 12.6. |
Clause 12.3 requires payment for a minimum of 4 hours of work per engagement, plus the relevant fares and travel allowance and the clause 25 and 26 expenses, on each occasion the casual is required to attend work.
Apprentices and trainees
Percentages of the standard rate, plus allowances
Clause 19.7 sets apprentice rates as a percentage of the standard rate, which for 2026-27 is $1,119.10 a week. The percentages differ by the date the contract of training started, by the nominal term, and by whether the apprentice completed year 12.
Contracts from 1 January 2014, four year term
Clause 19.7(b)(i)(A), excluding the Electrotechnology Training Package. Stage 1: 50% of the standard rate, or 55% if year 12 was completed. Stage 2: 60% or 65%. Stage 3: 75%. Stage 4: 90%. On a three year nominal term, clause 19.7(b)(i)(B) sets stage 1 at 55%, stage 2 at 75% and stage 3 at 90%.
Allowances are added on top
Clause 19.7(c): in addition to those rates, apprentices are paid the amounts prescribed in clause 21.1 for tools and protective or other clothing or equipment, and in clause 22 for the industry allowance, and where applicable the clause 23.2 underground allowance, as part of the ordinary weekly rate for all purposes.
Completed apprenticeships and adult apprentices
A person who has completed a full apprenticeship must not be paid less than the standard rate (clause 19.7(a)). An adult apprentice is paid the ordinary hourly rate for the lowest paid classification in clause 19.1, or the clause 19.7 rate for the relevant year, whichever is greater (clause 19.8(d)).
No junior rates
The Fair Work Ombudsman states that the Building and Construction Award does not have junior pay rates, which means all employees other than apprentices are paid adult rates of pay.
Full-time trainee weekly rates, Schedule D
Civil construction, Schedule D.4.1(a): stage 1 base $874.90 plus the $67.15 industry allowance is $942.05; stage 2 $916.70 plus $67.15 is $983.85; stage 3 $966.80 plus $67.15 is $1,033.95. Other sectors, Schedule D.4.1(b) and (c): in general building and construction and metal and engineering construction, wage level B base $788.20 plus $67.15 is $855.35 and wage level A base $806.20 plus $67.15 is $873.35; in residential building and construction the same bases plus the $53.72 allowance are $841.92 and $859.92. An AQF Certificate Level IV traineeship is the relevant Level III rate increased by 3.8%. School-based trainee hourly rates under Schedule D.4.2(c) are $14.21 for year 11 or lower and $15.66 for year 12.
Superannuation
12.00%, and a change in how it is worked out
The super guarantee is 12.00% for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, from the ATO's key superannuation rates and thresholds. In the legislation the figure sits in s 17A(2) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, where the charge percentage means 12. For a 2026-27 pay run, s 17A(2) is the operative provision and s 19(2) is not.
Payday Super, the bigger operational change
The ATO states that with the introduction of Payday Super, employers must pay super guarantee for each payday, and that from 1 July 2026 the minimum super guarantee is calculated as a percentage of each eligible employee's qualifying earnings. For quarters ending on or before 30 June 2026 it was calculated as a percentage of ordinary time earnings and paid at least quarterly. For a construction payroll that is a bigger change than the rate itself.
The maximum contributions base changed shape
For 2026-27 it is $270,830, an annual figure, calculated as the concessional contributions cap of $32,500 times 100 divided by the charge percentage, rounded down to the nearest multiple of $10 (s 10A(5)). Up to and including the quarter ending 30 June 2026 it was a quarterly earnings amount. The ATO notes it does not affect any additional super contributions required under an award or enterprise agreement.
The funds the award nominates
Clause 28.4, substituted by PR794718 and operative 23 January 2026, names Cbus Super, BUSSQ, AustralianSuper, CareSuper, Australian Retirement Trust and HOSTPLUS, along with a fund the employer was contributing to before 12 September 2008 in defined circumstances, and a defined benefit fund the employee is a member of. The list applies only where the employee has not chosen a fund and has no stapled fund: the stapled fund rules in superannuation legislation come first.
What this page will not tell you
Which components of a construction pay run are qualifying earnings. The calculator above applies 12.00% to its weekly figure as plain arithmetic. Whether every allowance in that figure is qualifying earnings is a question for your payroll software, your accountant or the ATO.
Sources
Where every figure on this page came from
Every figure above is current at 7 September 2026 and names the clause or provision it comes from.
- Fair Work Commission, Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 [MA000020]
The consolidated award, incorporating all amendments up to and including 1 July 2026.
- Fair Work Commission, determination PR799301
Annual Wage Review 2026 (C2026/1), 19 June 2026. Wages and wage-related allowances.
- Fair Work Commission, determination PR799458
Expense-related allowances 2026 (AM2026/14), 19 June 2026.
- Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Review 2026 decision [2026] FWCFB 3500
2 June 2026. Paragraph [5] for the 4.75 per cent, paragraph [146] for the operative date.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Pay under the Building and Construction Award
The Ombudsman's own guidance page, including its statement that the award has no junior rates.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Pay and Conditions Tool
Where pay rates including penalty rates and allowances can be calculated for a particular employee.
- Australian Taxation Office, Super guarantee
Key superannuation rates and thresholds, including the super guarantee percentage table.
- Australian Taxation Office, Maximum contribution base
The 2026-27 annual maximum contributions base and how it is calculated.
Three questions this page does not answer: which classification an employee falls into, whether a particular job is residential or general building, and whether an enterprise agreement displaces the award. A wrong answer to any of them costs real money. The tests and clauses are set out above; the Fair Work Ombudsman or a workplace relations adviser can apply them to your case.
Common questions
Which award covers on-site building and construction work in Australia?
The Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 [MA000020] covers on-site building, metal and civil construction work. It is a federal modern award made by the Fair Work Commission, so the classification minimums and the industry allowance apply uniformly in every state and territory. Off-site joinery, electrical contracting, plumbing and metal manufacturing work are covered by their own awards, and the Fair Work Ombudsman's award finder identifies which one applies to a given business.
What is the CW/ECW 3 trade rate under MA000020 for 2026-27?
The clause 19.1(a) minimum for a Level 3 (CW/ECW 3) employee is $1,119.10 a week, or $29.45 an hour, set by determination PR799301 and applying from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. That is a minimum classification rate and not the payable rate: clause 19.1(b) says so in terms, and the industry allowance and any tool allowance are added before the total is divided by 38. Level 3 is also the award's standard rate, which every percentage allowance in Schedule B is a percentage of.
Why is the hourly rate a carpenter is actually paid higher than the table figure?
Because the table is only the first line of the sum. Clause 2 defines the ordinary hourly rate as the clause 19.1(a) hourly rate plus the industry allowance, plus any other all-purpose allowance the employee is entitled to. A CW3 carpenter on daily hire in general building and construction adds $67.15 industry allowance and $41.22 tool allowance to $1,119.10, giving $1,227.47, which clause 19.3(a) multiplies by 52 over 50.4 to $1,266.44 and then divides by 38: $33.33 an ordinary hour against the $29.45 in the table.
Does the building award have a 36 hour week?
No. Clause 16.1 sets ordinary working hours at 38 per week, averaged over a 20 day 4 week cycle to allow for the accrual and taking of rostered days off. Clause 16.2 sets 8 hours each day, of which 0.4 of an hour accrues towards an RDO and 7.6 hours are paid, so an employee accrues 7.6 hours towards an RDO each 19 days of ordinary hours worked. The 36 hour week is a feature of construction enterprise agreements, not of MA000020, and so is the daily site allowance those agreements commonly carry.
Which MA000020 allowances only apply in some sectors?
Four groups. The clause 23.10 special rates, computing quantities and the scaffolding or rigging certificate allowance, are limited to the general building and construction sector by the clause heading itself. The clause 24 inclement weather regime applies to general building and construction and civil construction only, so residential and metal and engineering fall outside all of it. Clause 43 forepersons and supervisors applies in the metal and engineering construction sector only and not to any employer with fewer than 30 employees. The clause 22 industry allowance is $67.15 a week in three sectors and $53.72 in residential.
When do the 2026-27 award figures start applying to my pay run?
Not on 1 July. Both determinations come into operation on 1 July 2026, but under s 286(5) of the Fair Work Act 2009 for wages and s 165(3) for expense-related allowances they do not take effect for a particular employee until the start of that employee's first full pay period beginning on or after 1 July 2026. An employer whose fortnight began on 29 June 2026 stayed on the 2025-26 rates until 13 July 2026. The date that decides it is the pay period start date, not the pay date.
What superannuation rate applies to a construction employee in 2026-27?
The super guarantee is 12.00% for the period 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, from the ATO's key superannuation rates and thresholds, and in the legislation from s 17A(2) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, where the charge percentage means 12. The bigger operational change is Payday Super: from 1 July 2026 the minimum super guarantee is calculated as a percentage of each eligible employee's qualifying earnings and paid each payday, where for quarters ending on or before 30 June 2026 it was a percentage of ordinary time earnings paid at least quarterly.
Do apprentices on the building award get junior rates?
The Fair Work Ombudsman states that the Building and Construction Award does not have junior pay rates, so all employees other than apprentices are paid adult rates of pay. Apprentices are paid a percentage of the standard rate set by clause 19.7, and clause 19.7(c) adds the clause 21.1 tool and clothing amounts and the clause 22 industry allowance, and the clause 23.2 underground allowance where it applies, as part of the ordinary weekly rate for all purposes. An employee who has completed a full apprenticeship must not be paid less than the standard rate.
Keep reading
The rest of the build, once the crew is priced
Labour is one input. These three cover what happens to it on the way to a price and onto the books.
Keep the books while you work out the wages
The ledger, profit and loss, balance sheet, GST and BAS reports are on every OneBookPlus plan, including the free one. Rostering and payroll is a paid add-on. Single Touch Payroll is not lodged from OneBookPlus, and BAS is prepared rather than lodged. Nothing in this app decides an award classification for you, and the rates above are published here as a reference rather than wired into a pay run.
Rather look before you sign up? Open a live demo account with real data in it, or compare the AUD plans on the pricing page.
Last reviewed and updated: by Bishal Shrestha
About the author
Bishal Shrestha
Founder & CEO, OneBookPlus
Bishal spent a decade running digital projects for Australian small businesses before founding OneBookPlus. He writes and maintains these pages, and publishes what OneBookPlus does not do alongside what it does.
Read the founder bioHow this page was researched
Every award figure on this page comes from the Fair Work Commission's consolidated MA000020 and determinations PR799301 and PR799458, and every superannuation figure from the ATO and the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, all linked in the sources list above with the clause or section beside each number. Two figures are arithmetic on those sources rather than figures the Commission publishes, the ordinary hourly rate and the daily hire rate, and both are shown with their formula. Everything said about OneBookPlus describes what the product does today.
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