From 1 July 2026 the Aircraft Cabin Crew Award sets a minimum of $1,097.40 a week ($57,064.80 a year) for a full-time cabin crew member. The Cabin Crew 1 salary ($56,246.04, or $1,081.65 a week) is lower. Every level's hourly rate is above the award's $28.88 — the weekly figure is lower because the agreement's full-time week is 36 hours, not 38. An agreement's base rate can't be below the award's base rate for the same work (Fair Work Act s 206); if you think your pay falls short, check with the Fair Work Ombudsman or your union.
The CC1, CC2 and SC1 salaries rose by 3.5% in November 2025, not the 3% printed in the table: the agreement guarantees those levels the Annual Wage Review percentage when it is higher, up to 4%, and the 2025 review gave 3.5%. The figures here apply that rule; your payslip may differ by a cent.
The agreement reached its nominal expiry date on 31 August 2026 and prints no rise after November 2025. Any further increase depends on a new agreement.
Which agreement sets Virgin Australia pay
Virgin Australia cabin crew staff are paid under the Virgin Australia Cabin Crew Agreement 2023 (EA6) (AG2024/723, AE523884). It covers Virgin Australia Airlines employees working as Cabin Crew or Cabin Managers, but not cabin crew management. Virgin Australia Regional Airlines cabin crew have a separate agreement. The agreement passed its nominal expiry date on 31 August 2026 and keeps applying until a new one replaces it.
- Approved by the Fair Work Commission: 19 March 2024 (PR772515), operating from 26 March 2024
- Nominal expiry date: 31 August 2026
- Employer: Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd
Virgin Australia 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%) |
|---|---|---|
| Cabin Crew 1 (CC1)New cabin crew start here: $56,246.04 a year ($1,081.65 a week) — the 2024 salary plus the 3.5% award-protected rise | $30.05 | $37.56 |
| Cabin Crew 2 (CC2)$58,409.19 a year — the 2024 salary plus the 3.5% award-protected rise | $31.20 | — |
| Senior Crew 1 (SC1)$60,572.34 a year — the 2024 salary plus the 3.5% award-protected rise | $32.36 | — |
| Senior Crew 2 (SC2)$65,664 a year | $35.08 | — |
| Senior Crew 3 (SC3)$69,995 a year | $37.39 | — |
| Senior Crew 4 (SC4)$72,162 a year | $38.55 | — |
| Cabin Manager 1 (CM1)Cabin manager without an ad hoc trainer, line check or CCTL qualification: $75,142 a year | $40.14 | — |
| Cabin Manager 2 (CM2)Cabin manager with an ad hoc trainer, line check or CCTL qualification: $84,955 a year | $45.38 | — |
Virgin Australia pays cabin crew an annual base salary for a 36-hour week. The hourly figures are the agreement's Base Hourly Rate — full-time salary ÷ 52 ÷ 36 — calculated by us from the November 2025 salaries, because the agreement's printed hourly table stops at November 2024. Each level's salary is in its description.
Casual cabin crew are paid the Cabin Crew Base Hourly Rate plus a 25% casual loading (cl 2.12.4): about $37.56 an hour at the CC1 rate. The agreement has no casual rate for Senior Crew or Cabin Managers, and the casual rate is reviewed each year to keep it at or above the Aircraft Cabin Crew Award.
Virgin Australia 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Weekends and public holidays (ordinary hours)The full-time salary already pays for weekend and public holiday work (cl 3.1.1) | Included in base salary | Base Hourly Rate + 25% |
| Each of the 10 listed public holidays you complete a duty onNew Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas, Boxing Day, Labour Day, King's Birthday (Schedule A Part 4) | +$85 (Cabin Manager +$115) | Not confirmed |
| Working a designated day off | +$300 (Cabin Manager +$350) | — |
| Rest break not given (cl 3.5) | $13.37 (CC1 to SC1), up to $18.39 (CM2) | — |
- Virgin cabin crew have no percentage weekend or evening penalty: the base salary covers weekends and public holidays, and the agreement adds fixed payments instead (Schedule A Parts 3 to 5, from 1 November 2025).
- A Daily Travel Allowance is paid for every hour from sign-on to sign-off at home base: $8.49 an hour for a single-day duty and $7.48 for a multi-day trip (from 1 November 2025).
- Overtime is paid on top of the Base Hourly Rate; the agreement's overtime clause does not apply to casuals (cl 2.12.4).
Overtime
| When | Full-time & part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic or short haul international: over 9 hours, up to 11 | +50% (time and a half) | — |
| Domestic or short haul international: over 11 hours | +100% (double time) | — |
| Long haul international: over 16 hours | +100% (double time) | — |
| Roster period: over 140 hours, up to 144 | +50% | — |
| Roster period: over 144 hours, or over 1,872 hours a calendar year | +100% | — |
To price a mix of weekday, weekend and overtime hours, use the overtime and penalty rate calculator.
How much Virgin Australia pays a week
Gross weekly pay for an adult at Cabin Crew 1 (CC1), 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 | $450.75 | $563.40 |
| 25 hours | $751.25 | $939.00 |
| 38 hours | $1,141.90 | $1,427.28 |
A full-time year at Cabin Crew 1 (CC1) is $56,246 before tax (the agreement’s salary). See take-home pay on $55,000 (the nearest salary we publish) and $30.00 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:
- Virgin Australia's actual payroll figures for CC1, CC2 and SC1 after the award-protection rule — our calculation, not published by Virgin.
- Whether casual crew receive the public holiday payment — the agreement's casual clause does not say clearly.
- Virgin Australia Regional Airlines cabin crew pay (separate agreement AE525417) and cabin crew management pay.
Virgin Australia pay questions
Pay rates at other employers
How this page is sourced▼
Every rate on this page was read from the Virgin Australia Cabin Crew Agreement 2023 (EA6) (AG2024/723, AE523884) 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
- 1
- 2Aircraft Cabin Crew Award 2020 (MA000047), cl 14.2 minimum rates from 1 July 2026— Fair Work Commission
- 3
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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