Fitness Industry Award: Pay Rates, Classifications, and Obligations

Because of the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review, as of 1 July 2025, minimum pay rates under the Fitness Award increased by 3.5% from 1 July 2025, giving all classifications new minimum rates for full-time, part-time, and casual staff.

This means employers must review the Award carefully to ensure they’re paying workers correctly and avoid penalties for noncompliance.

This guide explains who the Award covers, how to classify staff, and the core entitlements you must factor into payroll.

Award Basics

The Fitness Industry Award 2020 [MA000094] sets the minimum pay rates and working conditions for employees in the fitness industry, including gyms, fitness centres, studios, pools, indoor sports venues, tennis clubs, martial arts and dance centres, recreational camps, and similar businesses across Australia.

The Award helps ensure staff are paid fairly and receive the correct core entitlements. That includes minimum base rates, weekend and public holiday rates, overtime, breaks, allowances, and leave, plus the general rights set out in the National Employment Standards (NES): minimum standards that apply to most Australian employees. 

Employees are grouped into classification levels based on the work they do and the skills and qualifications they use in their jobs. The Fitness Industry Award includes Level 1 through Level 7, plus specialist levels 3A and 4A. These cover entry-level assistants, instructors, swim teachers, lifeguards, coaches, supervisors, and centre managers, and they determine pay. 

The Fair Work Commission is the independent tribunal that creates and updates the Fitness Industry Award under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Ombudsman provides practical tools and pay guides that summarise current fitness industry award pay rates and entitlements in an easier-to-read format for businesses and employees.

Who’s covered under the Fitness Industry Award?

The Fitness Industry Award generally covers employers operating in the fitness industry. If your main business is providing fitness, sport, or recreational activities, there’s a good chance this Award applies.

Businesses covered

The Award covers businesses that operate or provide fitness-related services, including:

• Gyms and fitness centres
• Fitness services or group fitness classes
• Group fitness organisations
• Weight loss or weight management centres
• Aquatic centres and aquatic classes
• Indoor sports centres
• Golf driving ranges

Employees covered

The Award then applies to employees who fit into one of its classification levels and work in the fitness industry, including roles like:

• Receptionists and front desk staff in gyms or centres
• Swim teachers and swim coaches
• Tennis coaches
• Gymnastics coaches
• Lifeguards and pool attendants

It also covers employees supplied through labour hire or temp agencies while they’re placed in fitness businesses, as long as the work they’re doing matches the roles and levels covered by the Award.

Who isn’t covered under the Fitness Industry Award?

Workers who generally aren’t covered by the Fitness Industry Award include:

• Administrative and support staff who work away from the centre.
• Childminders employed by a fitness centre. 
• Employees of sporting organisations governed by national or state bodies.

The Fitness Industry Award also doesn’t apply when an employer or employee is covered by one of these other modern awards instead:

• Amusement, Events and Recreation Award
• Children’s Services Award
• Cleaning Services Award
• Hospitality Industry (General) Award
• Local Government Industry Award
• Registered and Licensed Clubs Award
• Security Services Industry Award

In those situations, the more appropriate award for the work being done will usually apply rather than the Fitness Industry Award.

Fitness Industry Award Classifications and Levels

Under the Fitness Award, employees are grouped in 2 ways:

• By classification level.
• By employment type.

More on these below. 

Main levels

Here’s an overview of the main levels and the sorts of roles that usually fall under each:

Employment types

The Fitness Award includes 3 main types of employment:

Full-time

Full-time employees work an average of 38 hours per week. They’re ongoing staff with consistent schedules and get all the standard entitlements, including paid annual leave, personal leave, and public holiday rights.

Part-time

Part-time employees work fewer hours than full-time staff, on a regular, agreed pattern. They get the same types of entitlements as full-time employees, but on a pro-rata basis (for instance, if they work half the hours of a full-time employee, they’ll usually get about half the annual leave and other entitlements).

Casual

You engage casual employees as needed. They have no guaranteed hours from week to week, but there are still limits on their ordinary hours (covered later in this guide). 

Instead of paid leave and job security, they receive a higher hourly rate, called casual loading. For weekday ordinary hours, this loading is 25% on top of their base rate. So, they’re paid their base rate plus 25%, which you can think of as 125% of their hourly base rate.

Casual employees can, in some cases, request to convert to permanent (part-time or full-time) employment under the NES. To check eligibility rules, timeframes, and the process for making a request, it’s best to refer to the NES and Fair Work’s guidance.

Ordinary Hours

Under the Fitness Industry Award, ordinary hours are the normal hours an employee works before overtime kicks in. These are the hours you’re required to roster on a regular basis, within certain daily and weekly limits, and within specific time windows each day. 

When can ordinary hours be worked?

Ordinary hours can be spread over any 5 days of the week, but only within these time windows:

• Monday–Friday: Between 5:00 am and 11:00 pm.
• Saturday and Sunday: Between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm.

Weekly and daily limits

To keep hours reasonable:

• Ordinary hours must average no more than 38 hours per week over a 4-week period.
• An employee’s ordinary hours can’t be more than 10 hours in a single day.

Broken shifts

In fitness, split shifts are common (for example, a morning class block and an evening class block with a long gap in between). 

Under the Award, a broken shift must:

• Be split into no more than 2 parts.
• Be at least 3 hours long in total (not counting meal breaks).
• Have a total span of no more than 12 hours from the start of the first part to the end of the second part.

For example, if someone starts at 6:00 am, works a few hours, and comes back in the evening, their last part of the shift must finish by 6:00 pm start for it to still be considered one broken shift of ordinary hours.

Minimum engagement 

Part-time employees must have a minimum of 3 hours per shift, or 3 hours total for a broken shift.

Casual employees usually have a minimum 3 hours per engagement, meaning they must be rostered (or paid) for at least 3 hours per shift, except for certain Level 2–5 instructors, trainers, tennis coaches and trainees doing practical work.

Pay Rates and Entitlements

Under the Fair Work Fitness Industry Award, pay rates and entitlements set the minimum standards for how much you’re required to pay your employees and what conditions they’re entitled to.

Minimum base rates

Below are the Fitness Industry Award pay rates for full-time and part-time employees:

For example, a full-time Level 2 employee at a fitness centre (such as a beginner instructor or frontline assistant) earns the current minimum weekly rate of $948.00. 

If a part-time employee is classified at the same level and works 20 hours per week, you’d have to pay them $24.95/hour or $499/week.

As another example, a casual Level 2 employee earns the same base rate of $24.95/hour, plus a 25% casual loading of $6.24/hour. This brings their casual rate to roughly $31.19/hour, so over 20 hours, they’d earn $624.

For more information, including rates for apprentices and juniors, download the official Fitness Industry Award Pay Guide.

Penalty rates

Penalty rates are higher pay rates for working inconvenient times, like weekends and public holidays. They apply only to ordinary hours. 

Full-time and part-time employees get these penalty rates:

• Saturday: 125% of their minimum hourly rate.
• Sunday: 150% of their minimum hourly rate.
• Public holidays: 250% of their minimum hourly rate.

For example, you’re required to pay a full-time or part-time Level 2 employee working ordinary hours on a Saturday 125% of their base rate (which is $24.95/hour). This comes to $31.19/hour. 

Casuals don’t get separate “weekend penalty” percentages in the same way as full-time and part-time staff. Instead, they get a higher casual loading of 30% for working ordinary hours on weekends and public holidays.

So, A casual Level 2 employee working ordinary hours on a weekend gets $24.95/hour plus an extra 30% of that rate (about $32.44/hour in total).

Overtime rules and rates

Under the Fitness Award, overtime is any time an employee works beyond their ordinary limits.

For example, overtime kicks in when someone:

• Works outside the ordinary span of hours (before 5:00 am or after 11:00 pm Monday–Friday, or before 6:00 am or after 9:00 pm on weekends).
• Works more than an average of 38 hours per week over a 4-week roster cycle.
• Works more than 10 hours a day.
• Is a part-time employee working beyond their agreed regular hours pattern.

Overtime rates are the same for full-time, part-time, and casual employees. The only difference is that casual loading doesn’t apply to overtime.

For example, if an adult employee has a minimum base rate of $24.95/hour (Level 2), any overtime worked from Monday to Saturday is paid at 150% for the first 2 hours ($37.43/hour) and 200% after that ($49.90/hour).

Employers and employees can agree in writing (even by email) for time off instead of overtime pay. The time off has to be taken within 6 months, and it’s hour-for-hour: 2 hours of overtime worked means 2 hours of paid time off later. If the time off isn’t taken in time, or the employee asks to be paid instead, you’re required to pay the overtime at the correct overtime rate. It’s worth checking the Award for all the detailed rules.

Breaks

The Fitness Industry Award breaks include:

• An unpaid meal break so workers can eat and properly switch off from work, and
• Paid rest breaks to recharge so they can work safely and sustainably.

Here’s how they work:

Allowances

You’re also required to provide employees with extra payments, called allowances, to cover work-related expenses or special conditions that arise in fitness roles.

Leave

Most leave comes from the NES, which applies no matter which award someone is under. The Fitness Industry Award then adds extra rules about certain leaves.

Annual leave

Here’s some basic info about annual leave under the Award:

• Full-time employees get 4 weeks of paid annual leave each year, and part-time employees get the same amount pro-rata (based on their ordinary hours), but casuals don’t.
• Annual leave accrues gradually based on an employee’s ordinary hours. Any unused leave normally rolls over from year to year.
• When an employee takes annual leave, the employer must pay their usual pay plus 17.5% leave loading on top of their minimum rate for that period. This loading is paid for the whole period of annual leave they take.
• If a public holiday falls during a period of annual leave, it’s treated as a public holiday and shouldn’t be deducted from the employee’s annual leave balance.

Advanced annual leave

Employees can take paid annual leave before they’ve fully accrued it, but only if both employee and employer agree in writing.

The written agreement should:

• State how much leave is being taken in advance, and
• The date the leave starts.

Employers must keep a copy of this agreement with the employee’s records. If the employee resigns or is terminated before they’ve accrued that leave, the employer can deduct the value of the unaccrued leave from their final pay.

Annual leave and temporary shutdowns

The Award lets you direct employees to take annual leave during a temporary shutdown, such as a period where the gym, pool, or centre closes for a break. 

• Employers must give affected employees written notice of the shutdown (usually at least 28 days to 1 month in advance, unless a shorter period is genuinely agreed with the majority of staff).
• Any direction to take accrued paid annual leave during the shutdown must be reasonable and in writing.
• If an employee doesn’t have enough annual leave to cover the whole shutdown, the employer and the employee can:
  • Agree in writing to annual leave in advance, or
  • Agree to unpaid leave for the balance of the shutdown period.

Excessive annual leave balances

An employee has an “excessive” leave balance when they’ve built up more than 8 weeks of paid annual leave.

The Award expects both sides to first try to agree on how to reduce it (for example, planning a few blocks of leave over the year).

If you can’t agree:

• In some cases, the employer can direct the employee to take leave, but there are conditions. For example, the direction:
  • Can’t take their balance below 6 weeks,
  • Must be for at least 1 week at a time, and
  • Must give at least 8 weeks’ notice (and no more than 12 months’ notice).
    
• In other cases, the employee can request to take leave to reduce an excessive balance, and the Award sets rules around:
  • How much they can request,
  • How much leave must remain (at least 6 weeks), and
  • The notice period and timing.

Cashing out annual leave

Annual leave can be cashed out. Here are the rules:

• The employee must always keep at least 4 weeks of annual leave after cashing out.
• They can cash out up to 2 weeks of leave every 12 months.
• The payment for cashed-out leave must be at least what they’d get if they actually took the leave, including any annual leave loading.
• Each cash-out arrangement needs its own written agreement, and employers must keep a copy.

For the full annual leave rules (including who’s eligible), check the Award.

Other NES leave

The NES also provides other types of leave that apply to most employees, including those under the Fitness Industry Award:

• Personal/carer’s leave: 10 days of paid leave for full-time employees who need time off due to illness (part-timers get pro-rata and casuals can take unpaid carer’s leave).
• Compassionate leave: Usually 2 days per occasion for dealing with family tragedies (paid for permanent staff, unpaid for casuals).
• Parental leave: Up to 12 months unpaid leave, with the right for employees to request another 12 months (for eligible employees).
• Community service leave. Unpaid leave for things like emergency services duties. Jury duty attracts make-up pay for the first 10 days for permanent employees.
• Family and domestic violence leave: 10 days of paid leave entitlement for all employees who must deal with domestic violence situations, including casuals, with extra confidentiality rules around records and payslips.

Check the NES and the Award together when working out leave so employees get the full entitlements they’re owed.

How To Determine the Right Fitness Industry Award Classification Level

To work out the right Fitness Industry Award classification level: 

• Look at your employee’s day-to-day duties (for example, reception, coaching, lifeguarding, program design, or centre management).
• Consider how much supervision they need. Are they closely supervised, generally supervised, or working quite independently?
• Factor in any relevant qualifications they use in the role (such as swim teaching, gymnastics, tennis, or fitness certificates).

Then compare this against Schedule A – Classification Definitions. Choose the level that best matches the highest level of skill and responsibility they regularly use, rather than occasional one-off tasks.

If you are unsure you’re using the right award, consider what your business and employee mainly does and whether a different award might instead apply. For instance, some golf driving ranges and their employees may fall under the Amusement, Events and Recreation Award.

If needed, cross-check the Fitness Award coverage.

Fitness Industry Award: A practical, real-world example

Let’s take George, a full-time employee at a busy inner-city gym.

George works at a fitness centre, not a café or restaurant, so he falls under the Fitness Industry Award, not the Hospitality Industry (General) Award. Each week, he:

• Supervises the front desk, including customer service and handling complaints.
• Rosters reception and floor staff, and coordinates shift swaps.
• Trains new employees and checks that service standards are followed.
• Helps oversee the day-to-day operations of the gym.

Because of these responsibilities, George is best classified as a Fitness Industry Award Level 6 employee because he has wider supervisory and coordination duties, including front desk supervision, rostering, training staff, and overseeing daily operations.

As a full-time Level 6 employee:

• He works around the Fitness Industry Award minimum hours, averaging 38 hours per week.
• His pay must at least match the Level 6 minimum weekly and hourly rates for his classification.

Employer Obligations and Compliance Tips

Under the Fitness Industry Award, you’re required to:

• Pay at least the minimum hourly and weekly rates according to your employees’ levels.
• Keep accurate records of hours worked, pay, loadings, penalty rates, allowances, and leave.
• Issue clear payslips that show base pay and any extra amounts (like allowances or overtime) separately.
• Keep written agreements for things like time off instead of overtime pay, annual leave in advance, and cashing out annual leave.

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Misclassifying staff (for example, paying someone doing supervisor duties at a lower instructor level).
• Not applying casual loading, weekend/public holiday rates, or overtime correctly.
• Not giving or recording proper roster changes, breaks, or shutdown notices in writing.
• Using old pay rates after the Award is updated.

Record-keeping

Good records are one of the easiest ways to stay compliant and avoid disputes. Under the Fair Work laws, one should:

• Keep accurate time and wage records.
• Keep records for at least 7 years.
• Issue payslips correctly and on time.
• Document agreements in writing.

For tools and templates, you can use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s free record-keeping and payroll guides.

Resources and Links
For further reading and official resources, visit:

• Fitness Industry Award [MA000094]: The official Fair Work Commission Award.
• Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS): A summary of employee rights and employer responsibilities under the NES.
• Annual Leave Cash-Out Agreement (Fair Work Commission): A template employers can use when arranging a lawful leave cash-out agreement with an employee.
• Connecteam: Australia Labor Laws Guide: Practical resource to help you understand key workplace laws and compliance requirements.

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.