If your business sells or leases business equipment, and you also install, maintain, or service that equipment, and you employ people to do this work, you’re likely covered by the Business Equipment Award [MA000021].
From 24 April 2025, the pay guide update changed a few allowances that were previously paid hourly to weekly. Additionally, from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2025, minimum award wages increased by 3.5%.
In this guide, we explain who the Award covers, how to classify roles, and the key pay and conditions employers need to apply.
The Business Equipment Award: A Quick Summary for Busy Managers
The Business Equipment Award 2020 [MA000021] sets minimum pay and conditions for many businesses that sell or lease business equipment and provide related installation or servicing.
To stay compliant, managers must consider:
- Coverage fit: Confirm the role is not better covered by the Professional Employees Award (e.g., where the employee is doing professional IT duties that fit that Award’s classifications).
- Employee type: Full-time, part-time, and casual employees can end up on different rates. For casuals, the Award sets loading rates that change depending on the day and time worked.
- Classification: Match the job to the right stream and level, not the job title. The Award uses Technical (Technical employee Levels 1–2 and Technician Levels 3–6), Clerical and Administration (Levels 1–5), and Commercial Travellers (sales roles).
- Hours and timing: Check ordinary hours and when extra payments apply, including overtime once work goes outside or beyond ordinary hours.
One easy-to-miss quirk:
For day workers, Saturday, Sunday, and outside-spread payments are set as hourly allowances, while public holidays are paid as a percentage rate.
Coming up: Award dates and deadlines you need to know
| Date | What’s happening? |
|---|---|
| March to June 2026 | The Fair Work Commission conducts its annual review of the National Minimum Wage and all modern award rates, including the Business Equipment Award. |
| 1 July 2026 | Payday Superannuation begins. Employers must pay super contributions at the same time as wages, replacing the old quarterly system. |
Award Basics
The Business Equipment Award 2020 sets the minimum pay and conditions for many workplaces mainly involved in the sale or lease of business equipment and related services, including installation, servicing, and maintenance. It commonly covers roles such as technicians and technical services employees, clerical and administrative staff, and commercial traveller sales roles.
The Award specifies key pay rules, including minimum hourly and weekly rates, as well as extra payments, such as weekend and public holiday rates, overtime rates, allowances, breaks, and ordinary hours arrangements.
The Award works alongside the National Employment Standards (NES), which set the minimum legal entitlements for most employees, including core leave and public holiday rules. The Award then adds industry-specific minimum pay rates and extra conditions on top of the NES.
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Looking for a broader overview of Australian workplace rules? Check out Connecteam’s Australian Employment Law Guide for insights on employment types, leave laws, and more.
Who’s covered under the Business Equipment Award?
You’re generally covered by the Award if you operate in the business equipment industry, meaning the sale or lease of business equipment and any related installation or servicing.
Businesses covered
Employers involved in the sale or lease and related installation or servicing of business equipment, such as:
- Data processing equipment and computers
- Accounting and adding machines (such as calculators)
- Fax machines, photocopiers, and cash registers
- Related equipment (such as keyboards, display screens, printers, routers, and multifunction devices)
Employees covered
Common examples include:
- Technical employees and technicians
- Clerical and administrative employees
- Salespersons
- IT apprentices and trainees working in the business equipment industry
It can also apply to labour-hire employees when they’re placed in a business-equipment workplace.
Who isn’t covered under the Business Equipment Award?
The Award doesn’t cover:
- Managerial employees
- Employees in formal training or schooling
- Employees of electrical contractors
- Employees of business equipment manufacturers
- Retail employees
If this Award doesn’t fit, Fair Work suggests checking one of these awards:
Coverage self-check: Does the Business Equipment Award apply?
To see if the Award applies to your business and employees, check the following statements:
- I operate a business in the business equipment industry, meaning the sale or lease of business equipment, along with any related installation or servicing.
- Business equipment includes computers, data processing equipment, photocopiers, and related equipment such as keyboards, display screens, and multifunction devices.
- The employee’s day-to-day duties match a classification in this Award, such as a technical employee or technician, clerical or administrative employee, or salesperson.
- The employee isn’t mainly employed in a managerial position.
- The employee’s primary work isn’t covered elsewhere (e.g., retail work covered under the Retail Award).
- There’s no enterprise agreement or other enterprise instrument covering the employee (if there is, it usually sets pay and conditions, subject to the usual rules).
If most of these apply, the employee is likely covered by the Business Equipment Award 2020.
If coverage isn’t clear, check the Award wording and run the role through Fair Work’s Award Finder.
Determining Business Equipment Award [MA000021] Requirements
Under the Business Equipment Award, employees are grouped in 2 ways:
- Employment type (full-time, part-time, or casual). This affects arrangements such as ordinary hours and minimum engagement, especially for casuals.
- Classification (the role’s day-to-day duties, plus the skill, training, and responsibility involved).
Employment types
The Award uses 3 main employment types: full-time, part-time, and casual.
Full-time
A full-time employee works an average of 38 ordinary hours per week.
For day workers, ordinary hours are a maximum of 8 hours per day, worked between 6.30 am and 6.30 pm, Monday to Friday (unless an agreement changes the spread or includes weekend ordinary hours). By agreement, ordinary hours can be up to 12 hours per day, excluding meal breaks.
Full-timers are regular employees and receive the usual permanent entitlements, like paid annual leave.
Part-time
A part-time employee works a regular schedule of fewer than 38 ordinary hours per week. They’re paid the minimum hourly rate for each ordinary hour worked.
They usually get the same core conditions as full-time employees, but key entitlements are calculated based on the hours they work. (You’ll see this referred to as pro rata.)
Casual
Casual employees are paid an hourly rate plus a 25% casual loading for each ordinary hour worked.
Each time a casual is required to attend work, the minimum engagement is 2 continuous hours.
Did You Know?
In some cases, casual employees can request conversion to part-time or full-time employment under the NES. For more details, check the Fair Work Ombudsman for guidance on casual conversion and becoming a permanent employee.
Classifications, streams, and levels
The Award uses 3 classification streams:
- Technical (Technical employee Levels 1–2, Technician Levels 3–6)
- Clerical and Administration (Levels 1–5)
- Commercial Travellers (Trainee Salesperson, Salesperson Levels 1–3)
Levels group employees by the complexity of their work and the skills, training, and responsibilities needed by the role, which determine the employee’s minimum pay.
Let’s look at the Technical Services stream as an example.
Technical Services stream
The Technical Services stream groups levels by:
- Technical employee (Levels 1–2). Usually does more hands-on routine work like assembly and basic handling tasks.
- Technician (Levels 3–6). Usually does higher-level service work, such as diagnosing faults and repairing equipment.
Here, we highlight Levels 1–4 to show the difference between a Technical employee and a Technician.
| Levels | Typical roles | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Technical employee | Assembly worker, production assembler | Does routine assembly work, checks their own work quality, works under direct supervision, follows clear instructions, measures and inspects items against set standards, and uses the lifting equipment needed for the job. |
| Level 2 Technical employee | Store and dispatch worker, warehouse support, routine maintenance support | Can do Level 1 work plus higher tasks, works under routine supervision, follows repair instructions, keeps basic records, and may do receiving and dispatch, basic inventory tasks, mobile equipment operation, and routine maintenance. |
| Level 3 Technician | Field service technician, basic site support technician | Applies routine diagnostics, fixes routine faults, performs preventive maintenance and repairs, supports customers, keeps reports, and can work independently at a customer site when assigned. |
| Level 4 Technician | Senior field technician, installation technician | Provides technical service support and installation services, and installs networks and communication facilities, diagnoses more complicated hardware faults, and may help with on-the-job training. |
If your employees better fit the streams below, the Award sets out separate level definitions for each one.
- Clerical and Administration stream (Levels 1–5): Office support and admin work, from basic supervised tasks through to higher-level coordination and complex office responsibilities (e.g., admin assistant, receptionist, customer service support, accounts admin, and office coordinator).
- Commercial Travellers stream (Salesperson Levels 1–3): Sales roles where the employee sells or solicits orders for business equipment and related operating supplies, and has been assigned a sales quota after training (e.g., field sales representative, business equipment salesperson, and account manager for business equipment).
You can find full details in Schedule A of the Award.
Business Equipment Award Pay Rates and Entitlements Overview
Under the Business Equipment Award, pay rates and entitlements set the minimum standards for what covered employees must be paid and the key conditions they receive, including ordinary hours, overtime, penalty rates, allowances, and leave.
Note: The Award can switch off some Award rules (such as ordinary hours, meal breaks, overtime, and some shiftwork provisions) for streams where salary thresholds apply. Refer to this section for those provisions.
Minimum base rates
Using our Technical Services stream, Levels 1–4 examples, let’s see what the Business Equipment Award minimum pay rates for full-time and part-time adult employees look like:
| Levels | Minimum weekly rate (full-time) | Minimum hourly rate (full-time and part-time) |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | $948.00 | $24.95 |
| Level 2 | $982.00 | $25.84 |
| Level 3 | $1,014.20 | $26.69 |
| Level 4 | $1,068.40 | $28.12 |
| *This information comes from the Fair Work Pay Guide, last updated on 26 June 2025. | ||
Here’s how the 2025 minimum pay rates work in practice for a Technical employee, Level 1:
- If they work full-time, you’d pay at least the minimum weekly rate of $948.
- If they work part-time, you’d pay the minimum hourly rate of $24.95. So, 20 hours per week would be $499 per week (20 × $24.95).
- If they’re casual, you’d pay the same base hourly rate plus 25% casual loading. 25% of $24.95 is $6.24, so the casual rate is $31.19 per hour ($24.95 + $6.24). Over 20 hours, that is $623.80 (20 × $31.19).
For the full list of pay rates, check the Business Equipment Award Pay Guide.
Pro Tip
Find the latest pay rates using the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) or the Fair Work Commission’s Modern Awards Pay Database.
Penalty rates
Penalty rates are higher rates paid when employees work at certain times, like weekends, public holidays, or outside the usual spread of ordinary hours. They’re paid on top of the minimum base rate.
| When worked | Penalty rate or allowance (full-time, part-time, and casual) |
|---|---|
| Ordinary hours worked outside the spread of hours (6.30 am to 6.30 pm, Monday to Friday) | $6.95 per hour |
| Saturday | $16.65 per hour |
| Sunday | $23.33 per hour |
| Public holiday | 250% of the ordinary hourly rate275% for casual (inclusive 25% casual loading) of the ordinary hourly rate |
Note: There’s also a minimum of 4 hours’ pay at the public holiday rate if the employee is available to work 4 hours. For day workers, Saturday, Sunday, and outside the spread are set as hourly allowances, not a percentage penalty rate.
Now, let’s see how the rates work in practice using a Level 3 Technician on $26.69 per ordinary hour.
- If they work ordinary hours on Saturday as a day worker, the Award pays a Saturday allowance of $16.65 per hour, so the total is $43.34 per hour ($26.69 + $16.65).
- If they work on a public holiday, the rate is 250%, which is $66.73 per hour ($26.69 × 2.5).
- For casuals, the hourly rate already includes the 25% casual loading, so start with the casual base rate first and don’t add the loading again on top of penalties.
- For example, a Level 3 Technician casual rate is $33.36 per hour. If they work ordinary hours on Saturday as a day worker, adding the $16.65 per hour Saturday allowance gives $50.01 per hour ($33.36 + $16.65).
For shiftwork penalty rates, it’s worth checking the Award.
Overtime rules and rates
Overtime is extra work that exceeds an employee’s ordinary hours (beyond their scheduled finish) or is performed on a day off.
Under this Award, overtime is based on the number of overtime hours worked, plus whether it’s worked on a day off, with a special rule for Sunday (when it’s a day off).
| When overtime is worked | Full-time and part-time employees (% of minimum hourly rate of pay) | Casual employees (% of minimum hourly rate of pay) |
|---|---|---|
| First 3 hours | 150% | 187.5% |
| After 3 hours | 200% | 250% |
| Overtime on Sunday (when Sunday is a day off) | 200% | 225% |
Note: Ordinary Sunday hours get the Sunday (penalty) allowance, while Sunday overtime hours get overtime rates.
If an employee is required to work overtime on a Saturday or Sunday, they must be paid for at least 4 hours at the overtime rate. The exception is where the overtime is worked immediately before or after ordinary hours, in which case they’re paid for the actual time worked at the overtime rate.
To see how overtime rates work, here’s an example using a Level 3 Technician, with a minimum base rate of $26.69 per hour.
If they’re full-time or part-time and work 2 hours of overtime after their ordinary hours on a weekday, those hours are paid at 150% because they fall within the first 3 overtime hours. That makes the overtime rate $40.04 per hour ($26.69 × 1.5), so for 2 hours you’d pay $80.08 (2 × $40.04).
Casuals can also get overtime, but it’s applied at a rate that already includes the 25% casual loading (so don’t add the loading again on top). For the first 3 overtime hours, a casual Level 3 Technician is paid 187.5%, which is $50.04 per hour ($26.69 × 1.875).
For the full overtime rules (including time off instead of overtime pay and the minimum rest break between shifts after overtime), refer to the Award.
Breaks
Breaks are set rest times during a shift, so employees can stop work and recover.
| Break type | What’s the rule | Paid or unpaid |
|---|---|---|
| Meal break | Must be 30–60 minutes. Taken usually after 5 hours (or 6 hours if there’s a majority agreement and can be shortened to at least 20 minutes). | Unpaid |
| Working past the meal break point | If the employer requires the employee to continue working past the meal break point, the employee must be given their usual meal break as soon as possible. | Paid at 150% for the meal period (until the break is provided), then paid as normal for that break time. |
For the full meal break rules and exceptions, it’s best to check the Award.
Allowances
Allowances are extra amounts paid on top of base rates when certain duties, working conditions, or work-related expenses apply.
Under this Award, the Technical and Clerical streams include both wage-related allowances and expense-related allowances. The Commercial Travellers stream uses only expense-related allowances.
Here are a few examples of both types for the Technical and Clerical streams.
Wage-related allowances
| Allowance type | When it applies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Leading hand allowance | When someone is put in charge of other employees. |
|
| First aid allowance | When someone has a current first aid qualification and is appointed to do first aid duties. | $25.11 per week |
Note: Under this award, the leading hand is considered an all-purpose allowance. This means the allowance is treated as part of the employee’s pay, so it’s included when working out overtime, penalty payments, and leave pay.
Expense-related allowances
| Allowance type | When it applies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Motor vehicle allowance | When an employee needs to use their own vehicle for work. | Daily use: $786.31 per month Country territory duties: $910.46 per month Plus $0.43 per km for work travel OR For intermittent casual use only: $0.98 per km |
| Meal allowance (overtime rest break) | When an employee takes a qualifying* overtime rest break, unless a meal is provided or the employee can reasonably go home. *Paid 20-minute break when 2+ hours of overtime are worked, then every 4 hours. | $18.36 per meal |
For full details and for allowances that apply to the Commercial Travellers stream, refer to the Award.
Leave entitlements
Most leave comes from the NES, which applies even if an award covers the employee. The Business Equipment Award adds a few extra rules about annual leave.
Annual leave
- Who gets annual leave: Full-time employees get 4 weeks of paid annual leave each year. Part-time employees get it pro rata, and casuals don’t get paid annual leave (they’re paid a casual loading instead).
- Annual leave loading: When a day worker takes annual leave, they’re paid for the ordinary hours they would’ve worked, plus a 17.5% leave loading.
- Annual leave in advance: Annual leave can be taken before it accrues if there’s a written agreement, and the employer must keep a copy as a record.
- Cashing out annual leave: This option can only happen through a separate written agreement each time. The employee must keep at least 4 weeks of accrued leave, and the maximum that can be cashed out in any 12 months is 2 weeks.
- Country employees: If an employee is required to stay away from their usual home more than 2 nights per week (Monday to Sunday) for each week of the working year, they get an extra 7 continuous days’ leave on top of their annual leave.
- Excessive leave accruals: The Award includes extra rules for managing large leave balances. Annual leave is generally treated as excessive if it’s more than 8 weeks (or more than 10 weeks for shiftworkers).
For full details, including shiftworker annual leave rules, shutdown directions, and rules about untaken annual leave on termination, refer to the Award.
Other NES leave
Employees covered by this Award also receive NES leave, including personal, carer’s, compassionate, parental, community service, and family and domestic violence leave.
How To Determine Business Equipment Award Coverage
A quick coverage check helps confirm the Award is the right fit and that pay and conditions are set up correctly.
Business Equipment Award [MA000021]: A practical, real-world example
To see the rules in action, here’s a simple scenario in a business equipment service and installation workplace.
A 30-year-old full-time Technician Level 4 employee:
- Works in field service, support, and installation.
- Is rostered on Saturday, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm (8 hours), then stays back 2 extra hours (to 7.00 pm).
How the Award applies:
- Classification and base rate: Technician Level 4 minimum base rate is $28.12 per hour.
- Saturday ordinary hours: For day workers, ordinary hours on Saturday are paid using a $16.65 per hour Saturday allowance (not a percentage).
- Overtime: The extra 2 hours after the rostered finish are overtime paid at 150% (first 3 hours). Because it’s worked right after ordinary hours, it’s paid for the actual time worked, not a 4-hour minimum.
- Meal allowance: A meal allowance of $18.36 can apply when the employee qualifies for the overtime rest break rule (a paid 20-minute break at the start of overtime when 2 or more hours are worked), unless a meal is provided or they can reasonably go home for a meal.
Pay summary:
| Hour type | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Saturday hours (ordinary) | 8 × ($28.12 + $16.65) | $358.16 |
| 2 overtime hours (Saturday) | 2 × ($28.12 × 1.5) | $84.36 |
| Meal allowance (if it applies) | Flat amount | $18.36 |
| Total | $460.88 |
Common scenarios and compliance tips
Use these key checks for scenarios you might face:
1. Business hires a “technician” who mostly does basic assembly and packing
Key checks:
- Business Equipment Award coverage is likely if the work is in business equipment sales or lease and related servicing or installation.
- Classify based on what the employee actually does day-to-day, not the job title, and match it to the Technical stream level descriptions.
- Pay the right base rate once the correct level is set, and review if duties increase over time.
2. Day worker is rostered outside the spread and on weekends
Key checks:
- For day workers, working outside the spread or on Saturday or Sunday is paid using hourly allowances, not percentage penalty rates.
- Public holidays are paid at a percentage rate and may require a minimum of 4 hours’ pay if the employee is available to work 4 hours.
- Check whether any extra time becomes overtime and apply the overtime rates if ordinary hours are exceeded.
3. Employee works past the meal break point, or weekend overtime is needed
Key checks:
- Meal breaks are usually required after 5 hours, with limited flexibility by agreement, and extra pay can apply if the employee is directed to work past the break point.
- Overtime is based mainly on the number of overtime hours worked, with extra rules for work on a day off and minimum payments for Saturday or Sunday, unless it attaches to ordinary hours.
- If an employee is entitled to the overtime rest break rule, a meal allowance may apply unless a meal is provided or they can reasonably go home for a meal.
Common employer mistakes to avoid
Here are a few common slip-ups to watch for under the Award:
- Placing someone at the wrong level (relying on job titles rather than matching real duties, skills, and responsibilities to the right stream and level).
- Missing casual conditions (using the wrong casual rate for the time worked, or overlooking the casual minimum engagement).
- Not checking when hours turn into overtime (extra time becomes overtime once work goes beyond ordinary hours).
- Forgetting extra payments (not paying or clearly listing allowances like leading hand, first aid, or the overtime meal allowance when the conditions are met).
Glossary
Accrued leave
When an employee has built up leave over time and can take it later (e.g., annual leave).
All-purpose allowance
“All-purpose” refers to how the allowance is applied, not what it’s paid for. It’s treated as part of an employee’s ordinary rate of pay and is added to the base rate to calculate overtime, penalty rates, and leave.
Day worker
An employee who works ordinary day hours (not shiftwork) under the Award’s rules. For example, a technician rostered Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm with no night shifts.
Loading
An extra percentage paid on top of the minimum rate (e.g., 25% casual loading instead of paid leave).
Minimum engagement
The minimum amount of time an employee must be paid for each shift, even if they work less than that (e.g., if the minimum engagement is 2 hours and someone works 1 hour, they’re still paid for 2 hours).
Ordinary hours
The standard hours an employee is rostered to work at their minimum/base rate (before overtime applies).
Pro-rata
A proportional amount based on hours worked (e.g., part-time leave and pay are calculated based on the hours worked).
Salary threshold
A set yearly pay amount that, if met, can switch off some Award rules (such as ordinary hours, meal breaks, overtime, and some shiftwork provisions). For example, a Technical stream employee paid $76,795 or more.
Resources and Links
For official details and templates, see:
- Business Equipment Award 2020 [MA000021]: Full Award text.
- Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS): Summary of key workplace rights and employer obligations under the NES.
- Fair Work Record-Keeping Guidance: What to keep for pay records and payslips, plus templates.
- Annual Leave Cash-Out Agreement: Template for recording an agreement to cash out annual leave.
- Annual Leave In Advance Agreement: Template for agreeing to annual leave in advance.
FAQs
The Business Equipment Award 2020 [MA000021] sets minimum pay and conditions for employers in the business equipment industry, including the sale or lease of business equipment and related installation or servicing.
Minimum rates depend on the classification stream and level (e.g., a Technical Services stream employee at Level 1 is paid $24.95 per hour, while a Clerical and Administration stream employee at Level 1 is paid $25.86 per hour). For the latest 1 July 2025 rates, use the Business Equipment Award Pay Guide.
Sometimes, yes. Fair Work notes the Business Equipment Award can cover unqualified IT employees working for a business that sells, leases, installs, or services computers (under the Technical stream), but other awards may apply depending on the industry and duties.
Disclaimer
The information provided here is a summary only and does not constitute legal advice. While we have made every effort to ensure the information provided is up to date and reliable, we cannot guarantee its completeness, accuracy, or applicability to your specific situation. Laws change frequently, and outcomes may vary depending on your business circumstances. We recommend consulting a qualified employment lawyer before making decisions related to workforce management. Please note that we cannot be held liable for any actions taken or not taken based on the information presented on this website.