Manufacturing Award Pay Rates 2026-27

Manufacturing Award Pay Rates by Level

Adult minimum rates for full-time and part-time employees under the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020. Part-time employees are paid the same hourly rate as full-time employees at their classification — the difference is hours, not rate. The casual column adds the 25% loading (cl 11.1(a)).

Weekly rates are the award’s minimum weekly rate for a full-time employee (cl 20.1(a)); hourly is the weekly rate divided by 38.

Which level am I?

• C14: Engineering/Manufacturing Employee — Level I (up to 38 hours' induction training).
• C13: Engineering/Manufacturing Employee — Level II (in-house training).
• C12: Engineering/Manufacturing Employee — Level III (Engineering Production Certificate I or Certificate II in Engineering, or equivalent).
• C11: Engineering/Manufacturing Employee — Level IV (Engineering Production Certificate II or equivalent).
• C10: Engineering/Manufacturing Tradesperson — Level I (a recognised trade certificate or Certificate III in Engineering), or Engineering/Manufacturing Systems Employee — Level V. The trade rate.
• C9: Engineering/Manufacturing Tradesperson — Level II, or Engineering/Laboratory Technician — Level I.
• C8: Engineering/Manufacturing Tradesperson — Special Class Level I, or Engineering/Laboratory Technician — Level II.
• C7: Engineering/Manufacturing Tradesperson — Special Class Level II, or Engineering/Laboratory Technician — Level III.
• C6: Advanced Engineering Tradesperson — Level I, or Engineering/Laboratory Technician — Level IV.
• C5: Advanced Engineering Tradesperson — Level II, or Engineering/Laboratory Technician — Level V.
• C4 – C2(b): Engineering Associate / Laboratory Technical Officer levels through to Principal Technical Officer (Advanced Diploma level).

Manufacturing Award Pay Guide 2026-27: Every Level, Every Day

The hourly rate for each classification at each penalty band, in the layout of the Fair Work pay guide. Find your level, then the day you worked.

Full-time and part-time

Casual

Casual figures apply each percentage to the casual ordinary hourly rate (the minimum rate plus 25%), as this award requires. Figures are rounded to the cent. A dash means the column does not apply to that classification.

Manufacturing Award Penalty Rates

Day workers' ordinary hours are Monday to Friday between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm (cl 17.2). Saturday and Sunday are ordinary hours only by agreement — without one, weekend work is paid as overtime.

For casuals every percentage applies to the casual ordinary hourly rate, which already includes the 25% loading (cl 11.1(d)). A casual Saturday at 150% is therefore 187.5% of the base rate — this award compounds where most others add.

Saturday, Sunday and public holiday shift rates replace the afternoon and night shift loadings rather than adding to them (cl 33.2(i)–(j)). Extra rates, other than special rates and public holiday rates, are not cumulative beyond double the ordinary hourly rate (cl 26).

Manufacturing Award Overtime Rates

Overtime for casuals is calculated on the casual ordinary hourly rate (cl 32.1(f)). Each day's overtime stands alone (cl 32.1(e)), and the hourly rate is the weekly rate divided by 38 even in a week of more than 38 ordinary hours (cl 32.1(d)).

A call back after leaving work is paid for at least 4 hours at overtime rates, or 3 hours for an employee regularly required to be ready for call back (cl 32.13).

Manufacturing Award Junior Rates

Junior rates are a percentage of the C13 / V2 rate (cl 25.1), and apply to unapprenticed juniors, as a percentage of the C13 / V2 rate — not foundry juniors (cl 25.3) or juniors on the heavy operations in cl 25.4, who have their own rules. The dollar columns apply the percentage to C13 / V2 ($1,004.90 a week) and divide by 38. The full adult rate applies from age 21.

For how junior scales compare across awards and against the National Minimum Wage, see our junior pay rates guide.

Manufacturing Award Allowances

Fixed-dollar allowances in cl 30, operative from 1 July 2026. Each is paid only where the clause’s conditions are met.

Minimum Shifts and Hours

• Casuals must be paid for a minimum of 4 consecutive hours each time they attend work, or 3 hours where the employee requests it and the employer agrees (cl 11.2).
• Day workers' ordinary hours average 38 a week, up to 152 in 28 days, and normally no more than 8 a day unless agreed (cl 17.2).

What This Page Does Not Cover

These parts of the award carry rules or rates we have not verified line by line, so we publish no figures for them:

• Vehicle manufacturing employees under Part 9 (cl 48–57), which carry their own loadings, allowances and overtime rules
• Apprentice, adult apprentice, cadet and trainee rates (cl 21–24)
• Supervisor/Trainer/Coordinator rates, which are a formula on the rate of the employees supervised (cl 20.1(g))
• Phased-in rates for employees without relevant work experience (cl 20.1(e)–(f))
• Height money, ship repair and the other special rates in cl 30.4 not listed here

An enterprise agreement, if one covers your workplace, replaces these award rates — though it must leave you better off overall.

When These Rates Took Effect

Applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, not universally 1 July. If your pay period began before 1 July 2026, the previous rate lawfully applies to that whole period and the rise starts with the next one. The award was varied by determination PR799291 following the Annual Wage Review 2026. If you have been paid below these rates, our backpay calculator works out what is owed.

Frequently Asked Questions