A Complete Guide to the Clerks Award (Australia)

Unfortunately, these minimum employment rules are quite complex, and breaking one can lead to hefty fees, investigations, and reputational damage for your business. Fortunately, we’re here to help.

Below, we explain who the Clerks Award covers, plus how to classify employees, calculate entitlements, and stay compliant with Fair Work rules.

Award Basics

The Clerks—Private Sector Award 2020 outlines pay, conditions, and entitlements for administrative and clerical employees in Australia’s private sector. Coverage depends on what an employee does (not just what their job title is) as set out under the Fair Work Act: a key employment law in Australia.

The Clerks Award is an occupational Award. It can cover private-sector clerical work across many industries, but it doesn’t apply when the employer is covered by another modern Award that contains clerical classifications. Check the employer’s industry Award before relying on this one.

Employees covered by this Award are grouped into classification levels based on their skills, experience, and level of responsibility. These levels determine their pay rates and other entitlements.

Employees under 21 receive junior rates, with pay increasing as they get older and gain experience.

The Award also works alongside the National Employment Standards (NES), which cover minimum rights such as leave, maximum weekly hours, public holidays, notice, redundancy, casual employment, and superannuation. The Award can add to these rights but can’t reduce them.

Who’s covered under the Clerks Award?

Common covered roles include:

• Receptionists and front-office staff.
• Payroll and accounts clerks.
• Data entry or customer service officers.
• Administrative or office assistants.
• Executive and personal assistants.
• Office coordinators and team leaders.

Who isn’t covered under the Clerks Award?

This Award doesn’t apply when another modern Award covers the employer and contains a classification that is more appropriate to the employee’s work and workplace. Examples include:

• Legal Services Award 2020 (for paralegals or legal secretaries).
• Real Estate Industry Award 2020.
• Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2020.

Classifications & Levels

Classification levels in the Clerks Award Australia reflect an employee’s skills, level of supervision, and responsibility. As an employer, you can match each role to the Award’s criteria for the correct pay and entitlements (find these in Schedule A).

The levels apply to full-time, part-time, and casual staff. Full-time employees average 38 ordinary hours a week. Part-time employees work fewer than 38 ordinary hours and need a written agreement covering their hours, workdays, and start and finish times. They must be rostered for at least 3 consecutive hours per shift. Casual employees receive a 25% loading, must meet the current legal definition of casual employment, and must be paid for at least 3 hours on each engagement. Eligible casuals can use the employee choice pathway to seek permanent employment after 6 months, or after 12 months in a small business. (Learn more about these employee types in our Australian employment law guide.)

Employees progress through the year-based pay points within Level 1 and Level 2 as their experience increases. Service at the same classification level with a previous employer counts, and you can ask for reasonable evidence. Moving to a different classification level depends on the duties they perform, their skills, and their responsibility. Tell employees their classification, and any change to it, in writing. If you require an employee to perform higher-classification duties for more than one day, pay at least the higher classification rate for that period.

When you’re classifying roles, consider all of the following:

• The primary duties performed.
• The degree of supervision or autonomy.
• Whether higher-level responsibilities are regularly required.

​Pay Rates & Entitlements

The Clerks Award sets minimum pay for covered clerical and administrative employees and is reviewed annually by the Fair Work Commission (Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal). Minimum Award wages increased by 4.75% from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.

Current rates can be found in the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay and wages or the Fair Work Commission’s Modern Awards Pay Database. Enter the employee’s Award level and employment type to find the correct rate. Always check the latest review to avoid underpaying staff.

Minimum base rates (adults)

Here are the minimum adult rates for every classification and pay point. These rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026:

*Current from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, based on the consolidated Award and current Fair Work pay guide.

You may pay higher wages but can’t go below these minimum adult rates.

Employees under 21 receive 45% of the applicable adult rate if they’re under 16, then 50% at 16, 60% at 17, 70% at 18, 80% at 19, and 90% at 20. See Clause 16.4 of the Award or the Fair Work Ombudsman’s junior-rate information.

Penalty rates

Employees who work outside ordinary hours are entitled to “penalty rates”: higher pay for working these outside hours. Penalty rates are shown as a percentage of an employee’s usual hourly rate. For example, if they earn 125% of their base rate, they earn 25% extra.

Full-time and part-time employees working ordinary hours on weekends and public holidays receive the following penalty rates:

• Saturday ordinary hours: 125% of the minimum hourly rate.
• Sunday: 200%, with a minimum payment of 4 hours.
• Public holidays: 250%, with a minimum payment of 4 hours.

For example, a Level 3 clerk earning $31.11/hour must be paid $62.22/hour for ordinary hours on a Sunday. Casual ordinary rates already include the 25% loading: 150% on Saturday, 225% on Sunday, and 275% on a public holiday.

You can use the Fair Work Pay Calculator to check penalty rates.

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Loadings

Under the Clerks Award, loading refers to an additional percentage added to an employee’s base rate to compensate for specific work conditions. These conditions include missing out on paid leave (for casual employees) or not earning penalties while on leave (for employees who take annual paid leave).

• Casual loading: Casual employees receive a 25% loading on top of the minimum hourly rate. The Award’s casual overtime and penalty percentages already include that loading, so don’t add it again.
• Annual leave loading: Employees taking paid annual leave receive an additional 17.5% on top of their ordinary pay for the duration of that leave, unless they’d earn more through penalty rates during that period.

Overtime rules

Overtime applies when an employee works at your direction beyond their ordinary weekly hours, beyond 10 ordinary hours in a day, outside the spread of ordinary hours, or on an unsubstituted rostered day off. For part-time employees, it also starts when they work beyond the hours agreed in writing. Ordinary hours are generally worked between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and between 7 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

• For full-time and part-time employees, Monday-to-Saturday overtime is 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after that.
• Sunday overtime is 200% for all hours, and public-holiday overtime is 250%.
• Casual overtime is 175% for the first 2 hours Monday to Saturday, 225% after that and on Sunday, and 275% on a public holiday. Apply these percentages to the base minimum hourly rate. The 25% casual loading is already included.

Special rules apply when employees work through meal breaks or beyond their rostered hours, which can be found in Clause 21 and Clause 15.

Full-time and part-time non-shiftworkers should receive 10 consecutive hours off after overtime where reasonably practical. If you direct an employee to continue or resume without that break, pay 200% until they’re released and then give the full break without loss of ordinary pay. A return to duty after the usual finish generally carries a 3-hour minimum payment.

Time off instead of overtime requires a separate written agreement for each amount of overtime. The time off is hour for hour and must be taken within 6 months. If the employee asks to be paid, or the time isn’t taken within 6 months, pay the overtime at the rate that applied when it was worked.

Shiftwork

The Award has separate rules for employees who work ordinary hours on afternoon, night, or permanent night shifts. For full-time and part-time employees, ordinary shift rates are 115% for afternoon or night shifts, 130% for permanent night shifts, and 150% for shifts worked on Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday. Casual rates are 140%, 155%, and 175% respectively.

Shiftworkers receive one paid 20-minute meal break within 5 hours of starting the shift. They also receive one paid 10-minute rest break when working more than 3 but fewer than 8 ordinary hours, or two paid 10-minute breaks when working 8 ordinary hours or more. Shift penalties don’t stack with overtime rates.

Breaks & allowances

Breaks

Employees must take the following breaks:

• Meal break: Employees who work more than 5 hours at a time get one unpaid break of 30 to 60 minutes. It must be taken within the first 5 hours of work. If you require an employee to work through it, pay 200% of the minimum hourly rate from when the break should have started until a break is allowed.
• Rest breaks: Employees who work more than 3 but no more than 8 ordinary hours get one paid 10-minute break. Those who work more than 8 ordinary hours get two. An employee who works more than 4 hours of overtime on a Saturday morning gets one paid 10-minute break.

You’re required to include these Clerks Award breaks in rosters and payroll records.

Allowances

Employees may be entitled to additional payments, called “allowances,” when certain conditions apply. These allowances compensate for extra costs or responsibilities related to their work:

• Meal allowance ($20.75): Pay this or supply a meal when an employee works more than 1.5 hours of overtime after their normal finish and received less than 24 hours’ notice. If the overtime exceeds 4 hours, pay a further $16.62.
• Vehicle allowance: $1.00/km for a car or $0.34/km for a motorcycle when an employee must use their own vehicle for work, capped at 400 km a week.
• Laundry allowance: $3.64/week for a full-time employee, or $0.73 per shift for a part-time or casual employee, when they must launder a required uniform.
• First-aid allowance ($16.79/week): Applies when an employee holds current first-aid qualifications and you appoint them to perform first-aid duties.

These allowances are adjusted annually in Schedule C of the Award.

You’re required to show them clearly on payslips and include them in wage records.

How To Determine Clerks Award Coverage

Before setting pay rates or entitlements, it’s a good idea for you to confirm whether a role is covered by the Award.

The Award generally applies to private-sector employees who are wholly or principally engaged in clerical work. That can include data entry, payroll, recordkeeping, correspondence, reception, invoicing, and customer communication. First check whether the employer is covered by another modern Award that already contains clerical classifications.

To determine coverage:

• Review the role’s main duties. The employee must be wholly or principally engaged in clerical work, and duties matter more than the job title.
• Check the employer’s industry and any other applicable Award. If another modern Award covers the employer and contains clerical classifications, use that Award instead.
• Identify exclusions. Employees already covered under another modern Award—such as the Aged Care Award 2020, Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020, or Professional Employees Award 2020—aren’t covered by this Award.
• Confirming classification level. Use Schedule A to match the employee’s skills, experience, and supervision level to the correct classification (Levels 1–5).

Clerks’ Award: A practical example

Mia is a 20-year-old part-time administrative assistant at a logistics company. She works Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Her duties place her at Level 2, Year 1, and her written part-time agreement records those hours.

Here’s how her entitlements apply:

• At age 20, she receives 90% of the adult Level 2, Year 1 rate: $26.51/hour.
• Her overtime starts when she works beyond the hours agreed in writing. Monday-to-Saturday overtime is $39.77/hour for the first 2 hours and $53.02/hour after that.
• She works more than 5 hours, so she must receive a 30-to-60-minute unpaid meal break within the first 5 hours. If you require her to work through it, pay $53.02/hour from when the break should have started until she gets one. The overtime meal allowance is a separate entitlement and doesn’t apply just because a meal break is missed.
• When taking paid leave, she receives 17.5% leave loading.

This example shows how age, classification, written part-time hours, and break timing affect pay under the Clerks Award.

Employer Obligations & Record-Keeping

Employer obligations

To comply with the Clerks Award and the Fair Work Act 2009, employers must meet clear requirements for pay, classification, and documentation. Following these rules ensures compliance, transparency, and fairness across the workplace.

Here are your obligations:

• Classify employees correctly from Level 1–5 based on their duties and experience, and tell them their classification and any change to it in writing.
• Apply current Clerks Award pay rates and update payroll each July after the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review.
• Keep accurate payroll and attendance records to verify hours worked and entitlements.
• Provide payslips within 1 working day of payment.
• Give every new employee the Fair Work Information Statement. Give casuals the Casual Employment Information Statement when they start, then again after 12 months for small-business employees, or after 6 months, 12 months, and every further 12 months for other casuals. Give fixed-term employees the Fixed Term Contract Information Statement.
• Keep clear employment and wage records to demonstrate compliance during audits.
• Make the Award and NES available to covered employees, either near the workplace or electronically.
• Pay wages weekly or fortnightly unless a permitted monthly arrangement is agreed, and pay final Award and NES amounts no later than 7 days after employment ends.

Breaches can lead to back pay, civil penalties, and enforcement action. Intentionally underpaying an employee can also be a criminal offence. Check current Fair Work guidance before quoting a maximum penalty because the applicable amount depends on the employer and the type of contravention.

Employers must also meet broader NES requirements, including leave, flexible-work requests, public holidays, notice, redundancy, and termination rules.

Superannuation and the right to disconnect

Pay the super guarantee at 12% of ordinary time earnings where required. Under payday-super rules, contributions generally need to reach the employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. Check ATO guidance for exceptions, choice-of-fund rules, and stapled funds.

Employees can generally refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. Make sure after-hours contact, roster practices, and expectations respect the right to disconnect.

Record-keeping

Keeping complete, legible records is one of the most important obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009. Accurate documentation protects you against back-pay claims (about missing pay or entitlements) and ensures Fair Work inspectors can verify compliance.

Here’s how to comply with recordkeeping obligations:

• Retain wage and time records for at least 7 years, in English and in a form that’s accessible to inspectors.
• Document ordinary hours, overtime, penalty hours, and any allowances or loadings.
• Keep each part-time employee’s written agreement covering hours per day, days worked, and start and finish times. Record any agreed variation in writing as well.
• Track all leave balances and usage, including annual and other types of leave.

Other record-keeping obligations apply. For full details on required documentation and record-retention rules, see the Award and the Fair Work Ombudsman’s record-keeping page.

Common mistakes

• Not confirming part-time or flexible-hours arrangements in writing.
• Failing to update junior rates on each birthday from age 16 to 20, then moving the employee to the adult rate at 21.
• Misclassifying employees at a lower level than their actual duties justify.
• Assuming a salary removes Award obligations. The Award’s annualised wage arrangement applies to full-time employees and needs written details of what it covers, the calculation method, and outer limits for overtime and penalties. You must keep start, finish, and unpaid-break records, reconcile the arrangement at least every 12 months and on termination, and pay any shortfall within 14 days.
• Overlooking record-keeping obligations, including payslips, leave balances, and allowances.

Resources and Links

For further reading and official resources, visit:

• Clerks—Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002): The full Fair Work Commission document detailing all pay rates, conditions, and classifications.
• Clerks Award Pay Guide: Check current minimum, penalty, overtime, shiftwork, junior, and allowance rates.
• Fair Work Information Statement: Key information every new employee must receive when starting a job.
• Fair Work Pay Calculator: Estimate pay, penalty, and overtime rates.
• Modern Awards Pay Database: Check up-to-date award rates for all classifications.

FAQs: Clerks—Private Sector Award (Australia)

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. ​