BIG W's agreement prints only its 2023 rates. Each July they rise by the Annual Wage Review percentage plus a Boosted Leave increase — 4.75% + 0.5% = 5.25% in 2026 — so the 2026 figures here are our calculation from that formula, not a BIG W table. The agreement says the increases "do not compound"; if that is read as applying every rise to the 2023 rate, Level 1 would be $28.14 rather than $28.29. Check your payslip, and ask the SDA if it shows less.
Boosted Leave does not change your hourly rate. Permanent staff who elect it (or who do not choose by 31 May, which counts as electing it) get extra paid leave — 3 days in 2026–27 for a full-timer — and its value is taken back out of pay in equal weekly amounts. Unused Boosted Leave is paid out at the end of the financial year. Casuals cannot elect it.
From the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026, the Retail Award pays 18- and 19-year-olds with more than 6 months' service 75% and 85% of the award rate ($20.86 and $23.64). That is more than BIG W's 70% and 80%, and an agreement cannot pay a base rate below the award, so those staff must get at least the award figure.
Which agreement sets Big W pay
Big W department store staff are paid under the BIG W Stores Enterprise Agreement 2023 (AG2023/5064, AE523762). It covers BIG W team members who work in BIG W stores. Salaried supervisors, department managers, night fill managers and store managers are excluded, and BIG W distribution centres have their own agreements.
- Approved by the Fair Work Commission: 13 March 2024 ([2024] FWCA 849, with undertakings), operating from 20 May 2024
- Nominal expiry date: 1 October 2027
- Employer: Woolworths Group Limited and Woolworths (South Australia) Pty Ltd, trading as BIG W
Next scheduled increase: First full pay period on or after 1 July 2027. Every level rises by the 2027 Annual Wage Review percentage plus a 0.75% Boosted Leave increase (cl 4.2.1) — the last rise before the agreement's nominal expiry on 1 October 2027.
For the underlying award minimums across every employer in the industry, see Retail Award rates 2026.
Big W hourly pay rates by level (adults)
Base hourly rates before tax for adult employees. Casual rates include the 25% casual loading, paid instead of leave entitlements.
| Level | Full-time & part-time | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| Store Team Member Level 1Checkouts, service desk, fill and inventory, online pick and pack, merchandising, fitting rooms, cleaning; Clerical Assistant Level 1 | $28.29 | $35.36 |
| Store Team Member Level 2Forklift operator, ride-on equipment operator | $28.94 | $36.18 |
| Store Team Member Level 4Supervisor of fewer than 15 people (including self), cash office; Clerical Officer Level 2 | $30.36 | $37.95 |
| Store Team Member Level 6Helps lead the store team; Clerical Officer Level 3 | $31.65 | $39.56 |
Big W pay rates by age (junior rates)
Junior employees are paid a set percentage of the adult Store Team Member Level 1 rate for their age. BIG W pays the full adult rate from 20 (cl 4.3.1). Junior percentages apply only at Store Team Member Levels 1 and 2; a junior at Level 4 or 6 gets the adult rate (cl 4.3.2). The table shows Level 1.
| Age | % of adult | Full-time & part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 and under | 50% | $14.14 | $17.68 |
| 17 | 60% | $16.97 | $21.21 |
| 18 | 70% | $19.80 | $24.75 |
| 19 | 80% | $22.63 | $28.29 |
| 20 and over | 100% | $28.29 | $35.36 |
The percentages are the instrument’s own. The dollar figures are our arithmetic — the percentage applied to the adult Store Team Member Level 1 rate, rounded to the cent — because the instrument does not print junior dollars. Your payslip may differ by a cent.
For how junior rates work across every award, and when you move to the adult rate, see junior pay rates in Australia.
Big W penalty rates: evenings, weekends and public holidays
Penalty rates are a percentage of the base hourly rate for your level (or, where stated, a flat amount per hour) for hours worked at the times below.
| When | Full-time & part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm | Base rate | Base + 25% |
| Monday to Friday, 6pm to 11pm | Base + 25% | Base + 50% |
| Saturday, 7am to 11pm | Base + 25% | Base + 50% |
| Monday to Saturday, 11pm to 7am | Base + 50% for the first 3 hours, then + 100% | Base + 75%, then + 125% |
| Sunday, 9am to 11pm | Base + 50% | Base + 75% |
| Sunday, before 9am and after 11pm | Base + 100% | Base + 125% |
| Public holiday | Base + 125% | Base + 150% |
- Casual rates include the 25% loading, and casuals are not paid a penalty on a penalty (cl 4.1.3). The loadings replace each other rather than stacking (cl 6.2).
- For an adult Level 1 team member that is $35.36 an hour on a weekday evening or Saturday ($42.44 casual), $42.44 on a Sunday ($49.51 casual) and $63.65 on a public holiday ($70.73 casual) — our arithmetic on the formula rate.
- Under BIG W's undertaking to the Fair Work Commission, the span of ordinary hours is the Retail Award's, and hours outside it are paid at overtime rates. Overtime is not reduced by the lower penalty in the table.
Overtime
| When | Full-time & part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Saturday, first 3 hours | 150% | 175% |
| Monday to Saturday, after 3 hours | 200% | 225% |
| Sunday | 200% | 225% |
| Public holiday | 250% | 275% |
To price a mix of weekday, weekend and overtime hours, use the overtime and penalty rate calculator.
How much Big W pays a week
Gross weekly pay for an adult at Store Team Member Level 1, with every hour at the ordinary weekday rate. Weekend and evening shifts push these figures up; tax comes off them.
| Hours a week | Part-time / full-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| 15 hours | $424.35 | $530.40 |
| 25 hours | $707.25 | $884.00 |
| 38 hours | $1,075.02 | $1,343.68 |
A full-time year (38 hours × 52 weeks) at $28.29 is $55,901 before tax. See take-home pay on $55,000 (the nearest salary we publish) and $28.44 an hour as a yearly salary (the nearest hourly rate we publish).
Enter your hourly rate and hours in the weekly pay calculator to see tax withheld and what lands in your account. Casual or part-time with a second job? Check the second job tax calculator.
What this page does not show
We publish only what we could read from a primary source. Left off rather than estimated:
- BIG W's own 2025 and 2026 pay tables — not public, so the 2026 dollars are calculated from the agreement's formula.
- The dollar value of the weekly Boosted Leave offset — the agreement does not print one.
- Saved-rate employees (Appendix D) and salaried managers — paid outside the rate table.
Big W pay questions
Pay rates at other employers
How this page is sourced▼
Every rate on this page was read from the BIG W Stores Enterprise Agreement 2023 (AG2023/5064, AE523762) as lodged with the Fair Work Commission on 24 September 2026. Nothing is estimated or averaged. Junior dollar figures the instrument does not print are calculated from its own percentages and labelled as such.
Rates change on dates written into the agreement, and a new agreement can replace this one. Re-check against your payslip and the instrument itself; the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) can confirm what applies to you.
Sources & References
- 1BIG W Stores Enterprise Agreement 2023 (AE523762)— Fair Work Commission
- 2BIG W Stores Enterprise Agreement 2023, with approval decision [2024] FWCA 849 and undertakings— Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association
- 3General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)— Fair Work Commission
Last verified: 24 September 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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