If you run a business in the timber and wood industry and employ workers for tasks like harvesting, processing, wood product manufacturing, or pulp and paper operations, you’re likely covered by the Timber Industry Award [MA000071].
From 1 January 2025, “introductory” (entry-level) classifications in many awards (including the Timber Industry Award) can only be used for a limited time, with new minimum-pay rules. Additionally, from 1 July 2025, the Annual Wage Review increased all minimum award rates and allowances by 3.5%.
In this guide, we’ll break down who the Award covers, how to classify roles, and the key pay and conditions you need to apply.
Timber Industry Award: A Quick Summary for Busy Managers
Short on time? This covers the essentials.
The Timber Industry Award [MA000071] sets minimum pay rates and key conditions for many employees working in the timber and wood industry, including harvesting, processing/manufacturing, and related work.
To stay compliant, managers usually need to check:
- Award coverage: Make sure the role is covered by the Timber Award (and not another award like Silviculture, Graphic Arts and Printing, or the Road Transport awards).
- Employee type: Whether the employee is full-time, part-time, or casual.
- Classification: Which stream (General Timber, Wood & Timber Furniture, or Pulp & Paper) and level applies.
- Hours worked: Whether they work ordinary hours, weekends/public holidays, or overtime, because rates can change.
Don’t get caught out by the Award’s definition of timber or wood, which can extend to artificial, laminated, or manufactured materials that are worked in a similar way.
Common compliance slip-ups include picking the wrong stream or level, assuming a different award covers the role, or missing weekend/public holiday and overtime rules.
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 Timber Industry Award. |
| 1 July 2026 | If there’s an increase, the updated award rates for the timber industry generally start applying from the first full pay period that begins on or after 1 July. |
| 1 July 2026 | Payday Superannuation begins. Employers must pay super contributions at the same time as salary, replacing the old quarterly system. |
Award Basics
The Timber Industry Award 2020 sets the minimum pay rates and key working conditions for many employees working across Australia’s timber industry. It typically covers roles in timber harvesting and forest work, sawmilling and processing, wood products manufacturing (including furniture production), and pulp and paper operations.
The Award helps ensure employees are paid correctly and receive the right core entitlements. This includes minimum base rates for ordinary hours, penalty rates (like weekends and public holidays), overtime rates, break rules, allowances, and other employment conditions.
The Award also sits alongside the National Employment Standards (NES), which are the minimum workplace entitlements that apply to most employees in Australia (such as leave and redundancy rules). In practice, employers must comply with both the NES and the Timber Industry Award, but the higher entitlement prevails.
Did You Know?
The Fair Work Commission is an independent tribunal that creates and changes (varies) modern awards under Australia’s workplace relations system. The Fair Work Ombudsman provides practical tools and pay guides that help you check minimum pay rates and common entitlements under an award in a more user-friendly way.
Who’s covered under the Timber Industry Award?
Businesses covered
Your business is generally covered if it involves working with timber or wood, in sectors like:
- Harvesting and forestry management
- Milling and processing
- Manufacturing
- Panel products
- Pulp and paper
- Merchandising and retailing
Employees covered
Employees are commonly covered if they work in timber/wood roles, such as:
- Harvesting: Chainsaw operators, log segregators, measurers, loaders, cutters, machine operators, fallers (plantations).
- Milling/processing: Tradespeople (e.g., sawdoctors, wood machinists, millwrights), material graders, watch persons, boiler operators, trades assistants, machine operators.
- Panel products/manufacturing/merchandising: General hands, assemblers, non-trade painters, machine operators, customer service reps, maintenance workers, trades, and trades assistants.
- Pulp and paper: Machine operators, maintenance workers.
It also covers labour hire businesses and their employees when they’re placed with an organisation in the timber industry.
Who isn’t covered under the Timber Industry Award?
The Award doesn’t cover employers and employees when the work is covered by one of these other awards:
- Graphic Arts and Printing Award
- Silviculture Award
- Road Transport Award
- Road Transport (Long Distance) Award
Coverage self-check: Does the Timber Industry Award apply?
Consider whether the following statements apply to the business and role you’re checking:
- I operate a business that works with timber and wood in one or more of the following areas: harvesting/forestry management, milling/processing, panel products, manufacturing, merchandising/retailing, and pulp and paper.
- The employee’s day-to-day duties fit within one of the Award’s classification streams/levels (General Timber, Wood & Timber Furniture, or Pulp & Paper).
- The employee is not covered by a different award that clearly applies (e.g., the Silviculture Award).
- The employee is not covered by an enterprise agreement (i.e., set pay and conditions).
If these statements fit, the employee is likely covered by the Timber Industry Award.
Pro Tip
You can use the Fair Work Award Finder to confirm coverage based on your business type and the actual duties your employees perform.
Determining Timber Industry Award [MA000071] Requirements
Under the Timber Award, employees are usually grouped in 2 main ways:
- By employment type (full-time, part-time, or casual), which affects things like rostering and minimum engagement.
- By classification. This is based on what the employee does day-to-day, as well as the skills, training, and responsibilities the role requires.
The Award uses 3 main classification streams:
- General Timber Stream.
- Wood and Timber Furniture Stream.
- Pulp and Paper Stream.
Employees are then classified into Timber Industry Award levels within the relevant stream.
Employment types
The Timber Industry Award uses 3 main employment types: full-time, part-time, and casual (plus piecework in the General Timber Stream).
Full-time
A full-time employee works 38 ordinary hours per week (on average). For day workers, ordinary hours are usually 6.30 am to 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday (these hours can be averaged over a roster cycle).
Full-time workers are ongoing staff and usually get the standard entitlements that apply to permanent employees (like paid annual leave and paid personal and carer’s leave), alongside public holiday rights.
Part-time
A part-time employee works less than an average of 38 ordinary hours per week and must have a regular pattern of hours. Part-time employees generally get the same core conditions as full-time employees, but key entitlements like annual leave and personal/carer’s leave are paid based on the hours they work.
They must be rostered for a minimum of 3 consecutive hours per shift.
Casual
Casual employees are engaged as needed and paid the ordinary hourly rate plus a 25% casual loading, so 125%. They must be paid a minimum of 4 hours per day if engaged to work.
Piecework
Piece rates can be agreed in writing, but must be set so that an employee of average capacity can earn at least 25% above the relevant weekly base rate for the class of work.
Timber Industry Award classifications, streams, and levels
Under the Award, employees are organised into different streams, each with its own levels, and each stream is linked to a specific schedule as follows:
- Schedule A (General Timber Stream)—Levels 1–7
- Schedule B (Wood and Timber Furniture Stream)—Levels 1–7
- Schedule C (Pulp and Paper Stream)—Levels 1–9
Let’s look at Levels 1 and 2 in each of the 3 streams.
As a quick note, you’ll see “relativity” displayed as a percentage in the classification descriptions. This percentage shows how each level’s pay compares to the benchmark level (100%). Levels above the benchmark can exceed 100% (e.g., Level 7 at 115% is 15% higher than Level 5).
General Timber Stream
| Level | Relativity | Typical roles/work examples |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 78% | New to the industry. Does basic tasks while completing induction/skills training, works under direct supervision, follows instructions and safe procedures, uses basic hand tools/manual handling. |
| Level 2 | 82% | Trained to do work above Level 1, still under direct supervision (often in a team). Examples include sorting/stacking/binding materials, basic chainsaw use as part of duties, and helping prepare timber orders. |
Wood and Timber Furniture Stream
| Level | Relativity | Typical roles/work examples |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 78% | Entry-level furniture production worker doing routine production/labouring tasks like general labouring and cleaning under direct supervision (during induction/skill development). |
| Level 2 | 87% | Performs Level 1 tasks plus basic production work such as assembling components, glueing basic materials, preparing goods for dispatch, and keeping simple records. |
Pulp and Paper Stream
| Level | Relativity | Typical roles/work examples |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 85% | New starter completing induction. Works under direct supervision, follows standard procedures and safety rules, does mainly manual tasks, and exercises minimal judgement. |
| Level 2 | 90% | Completed Level 1 training. Works under direct supervision/instruction, communicates basic information, records basic production/quality indicators (may use a keyboard), understands basic process control, and can do minor mechanical procedures at this level. |
Note: Level 1 is intended as a short induction or training level under the General Timber Stream and the Wood and Timber Furniture Stream, and is generally limited to 3 months.
Timber Award Pay Guide and Entitlements Overview
Under the Timber Industry Award 2025, the pay rates and entitlements set the minimum standards for what you must pay covered employees, as well as the key rules for hours, overtime, penalty rates, allowances, and leave.
Minimum base rates
Below are the Timber Industry Award minimum pay rates for full-time and part-time adult employees (we’ve used Level 2 and Level 5 in each stream as examples).
General Timber Stream
| Level | Minimum weekly rate (full-time) | Minimum hourly rate (full-time & part-time) |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2 | $948.00 | $24.95 |
| Level 5 | $1,068.40 | $28.12 |
| *The information is based on the Fair Work Pay Guide (which was updated 25 June 2025). | ||
Wood and Timber Furniture Stream
| Level | Minimum weekly rate (full-time) | Minimum hourly rate (full-time & part-time) |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2 | $948.00 | $24.95 |
| Level 5 | $1,068.40 | $28.12 |
| *The information is based on the Fair Work Pay Guide (which was updated 25 June 2025). | ||
Pulp and Paper Stream
| Level | Minimum weekly rate (full-time) | Minimum hourly rate (full-time & part-time) |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2 | $999.40 | $26.30 |
| Level 5 | $1,068.40 | $28.12 |
| *The information is based on the Fair Work Pay Guide (which was updated 25 June 2025). | ||
To put the minimum base rate into practice, let’s take a Wood and Timber Furniture Stream employee (Level 2).
If they worked full-time, they’d earn the current minimum weekly rate of $948/week.
If they worked 20 hours per week part-time, you’d pay them $24.95/hour, which would total $499/week (20 × $24.95).
And if they were engaged as a casual Level 2 employee, they’d earn the same base rate of $24.95/hour, plus a 25% casual loading of $6.24/hour, which brings their casual rate to $31.19/hour. So over 20 hours, they’d earn $623.80 (20 × $31.19).
For more levels and other Timber Industry Award pay rates, refer to the Award and the Timber Industry 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 that apply when day workers work ordinary hours on certain days (like weekends and public holidays).
Day worker penalty rates (full-time and part-time):
| When ordinary hours are worked | (% of ordinary hourly rate) |
|---|---|
| Saturday (first 2 hours) | 150% |
| Saturday (after 2 hours) | 200% |
| Sunday | 200% |
| Public holiday | 250% |
Note: For weekly day workers, weekend/public holiday work has a minimum payment of 3 hours’ pay.
For instance, let’s say General Timber Stream Level 2 full-time and part-time employees earn $24.95 per ordinary hour.
If they work ordinary hours on Saturday, they’re paid 150%, which is $37.43/hour (minimum payment: 3 hours’ pay).
If they work ordinary hours on Sunday, they’re paid 200%, which is $49.90/hour (minimum payment: 3 hours’ pay).
For casuals, penalty rates already include the 25% loading (so you pay the casual penalty rate, not “casual loading + penalty” separately).
For more information (including shiftworker penalty rates), refer to the Award.
Overtime rules and rates
Overtime is any time an employee works outside their usual hours or longer than their ordinary hours for the day. For part-time employees, overtime begins when they work more hours than their agreed daily hours.
Overtime rates for day workers (full-time and part-time) are as follows:
| When overtime is worked | (% of minimum hourly rate of pay) |
|---|---|
| Monday–Saturday (first 2 hours) | 150% |
| Monday–Saturday (after 2 hours) | 200% |
Note: For Sundays, the Award treats most Sunday work as a penalty rate, not “overtime” in the usual sense—unless the employee is a shiftworker or the work is outside ordinary arrangements.
Quick extra rules for payroll
- Overtime is worked out day by day.
- The hourly rate for overtime is based on the weekly rate divided by 38 (even if an employee works more than 38 hours).
Again, let’s say a General Timber Stream—Level 2 full-time or part-time employee earns $24.95 per ordinary hour.
If they work 2 hours of overtime Monday–Saturday, you must pay 150% for those first 2 hours, which is $37.43/hour.
And after the first 2 hours on that day, any further overtime (Monday–Saturday) is paid at 200%, which is $49.90/hour.
For casuals, overtime is calculated on their casual hourly rate (which already includes the 25% casual loading), so you don’t add casual loading again on top of overtime.
Refer to the Award for more overtime rules, including shiftworker overtime, and when time off instead of overtime/penalty payments may be agreed.
Timber Industry Award redundancy pay
Redundancy pay is mainly set by the NES.
Key rules
- Moved to lower-paid duties: The employer must give notice of the change or pay a make-up amount so the employee is not worse off during the notice period.
- Time off to look for work: During the notice period, the employee can take up to 1 paid day off per week to attend interviews or job hunt.
- Leaving early after notice: The employee keeps their redundancy entitlements but isn’t paid for the unworked part of the notice period.
- Small business employers: The Award provides redundancy pay for some small business employees, except in the pulp and paper sector or where the NES excludes redundancy pay.
Here’s a quick reference table indicating how many weeks of pay a worker is entitled to based on the employee’s length of service:
| Continuous service | Weeks of pay |
|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 0 |
| 1 year to under 2 years | 4 |
| 2 years to under 3 years | 6 |
| 3 years to under 4 years | 7 |
| 4+ years | 8 |
For more information, check the Award directly.
Pro Tip
If you need the exact redundancy pay and notice amounts, use Fair Work’s Ending employment calculator to calculate the specific figures for your employee’s situation.
Breaks
Break rules help ensure employees get proper rest during shifts. The Award sets out what you must pay if a break is missed or delayed.
Here are some common rules from the Award:
| Break type | When it applies | What’s the rule? | Paid or unpaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meal break (ordinary hours) | During normal shifts. | Usually 1 hour (or a different duration if agreed). The employer can’t require an employee to work more than 5 ordinary hours without a meal break. | Unpaid |
| Work during a meal break | If an employee has to work through their meal break. | All work done during the meal break must be paid. | Paid at 200% |
| Delayed meal break | If the meal break is pushed back, and they keep working. | Time worked after the meal break should have started (until they get a break). For example, if their meal break is due at 12:00 pm but doesn’t start until 12:30 pm, the 12:00–12:30 pm period is paid at the delayed meal break rate. | Paid at 150% (most employees) 200% (Pulp & Paper) |
| Crib time (overtime) | If an employee works long overtime and continues working after the break. | A paid crib break of 20 minutes after 4.5 hours overtime (most employees) or 4 hours (Pulp & Paper). | Paid |
Allowances
An allowance is an extra payment on top of base pay that may apply in certain situations, such as when an employee has extra duties, works in specific conditions, or needs to cover work-related expenses.
Under the Award, allowances fall into 2 buckets: wage-related allowances (extra pay for certain duties/conditions) and expense-related allowances (to cover out-of-pocket costs). Let’s look at some examples:
Wage-related allowances
| Allowance | When it applies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Leading hand | When the employee is supervising other employees. | $35.26/week (supervising 2–6 others) or $54.49/week (more than 6). |
| First aid | When the employee has a first aid attendant certificate and works 3+ days a week. | $21.37/week (this one is not increased by penalties). |
Note: Under this Award, the forest work allowance and low loader allowance are considered all-purpose allowances. This means they’re treated as part of an employee’s pay and are included when calculating overtime, penalty rates, and leave.
Expense-related allowances
| Allowance | When it applies | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle allowance | When the employee uses their own car for work, by agreement. | $0.98 per km |
| Meal allowance (overtime) | When the employee works 2+ hours of overtime (and again after each further 4 hours, unless an exception applies). | $18.38 per meal |
For the full list of allowances, check the Award directly.
Leave entitlements
Most leave comes from the NES, which applies no matter which award an employee is under. The Timber Award then adds extra rules for some leave types.
Annual leave
Let’s look at the key information for annual leave:
- Who gets annual leave: Full-time employees get 4 weeks paid annual leave each year. Part-time employees get the same entitlement based on the hours they work. Casual employees don’t get paid annual leave.
- Pay during annual leave: Employees must be paid what they’d have earned for their ordinary hours if they were at work, including all-purpose allowances, loadings, and penalties, plus first aid allowance and any over-award payments (but not overtime, special rates, or expense reimbursements).
- Annual leave loading: 17.5%, or 20% for Pulp and Paper Stream day workers.
- Paid on the usual pay cycle: If an employee is normally paid by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), they can be paid as usual while on annual leave.
- Annual leave in advance: Annual leave can be taken early if there’s a written agreement specifying the amount of leave and when it starts.
- Cashing out annual leave: Only by written agreement. Employees must keep at least 4 weeks of accrued leave and can cash out up to 2 weeks in any 12 months.
- Annual leave during a shutdown: If employees are required to take annual leave during a temporary shutdown, employers generally need to give 28 days’ written notice (unless a shorter period is agreed with the majority).
For full details (including shiftworker annual leave rules), refer to the Award.
Other NES leave
The NES also provides other types of leave that apply to most employees, including those under this Award. These include:
- Personal/carer’s leave (sick leave): Paid leave for eligible full-time/part-time employees when they’re unwell or need to care for someone. If you’re searching “Timber Industry Award sick leave payout,” note that this Award is one of the few that can allow cashing out sick/carer’s leave in limited circumstances (it’s not a standard “payout” on exit).
- Compassionate leave: For things like a death or life-threatening illness/injury of an immediate family or household member.
- Parental leave: Unpaid parental leave and related entitlements for eligible employees.
- Community service leave: For activities like jury duty or volunteering in emergencies (where eligible).
- Family and domestic violence leave: Paid leave is available under the NES.
Pro Tip
You can use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Leave Calculator to check how much leave applies to your role.
How To Determine Timber Industry Award Coverage
Getting award coverage right matters because it affects the employee’s minimum pay rate and core entitlements, and helps you avoid underpayments and back-pay issues later.
Timber Award [MA000071]: A practical, real-world example
To see how it works in real life, here’s a simple paper mill scenario:
A 30-year-old casual Pulp and Paper Stream employee (Level 2):
- Helps run a production line, follows standard operating procedures, and records basic production or quality checks.
- Works 8 ordinary hours on a weekday, then stays back 2 extra hours.
How the Award applies:
- Coverage: Covered under the Timber Industry Award because the business is a pulp and paper operation.
- Classification and base rate: Pulp and Paper Stream—Level 2, minimum $26.30/hour.
- Casual rate: $32.88/hour after adding 25% casual loading.
- Overtime: The extra 2 hours are overtime, paid at 150% for the first 2 hours (calculated on the casual rate, not “loading + overtime” separately).
- Minimum engagement: If engaged for part of a day, a casual is generally paid at least 4 hours.
Pay summary:
| Hours | What it is | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Ordinary hours | 8 × $32.88 | $263.04 |
| 2 | Overtime (first 2 hours) | 2 × ($32.88 × 1.5) | $98.64 |
| Total | $361.68 |
Common scenarios and compliance tips
1. Sawmill hires a “machine operator” who mainly stacks or sorts timber and runs basic preset machines
Key checks:
- Classify based on what they do day-to-day (not the job title) to ensure the right stream and level.
- Check break rules. Employees mustn’t work more than 5 ordinary hours without a meal break.
- If the meal break is delayed and they keep working, pay the delayed time at the higher rate that applies.
- If hours go beyond ordinary hours/spread, treat them as overtime and apply the overtime rates.
2. Furniture workshop uses casuals for short “fill-in” shifts
Key checks:
- Confirm the worker is casual and make sure the 25% casual loading is included in their base casual rate.
- Check minimum engagement. Casuals generally need to be paid for at least 4 hours of work per day.
- Apply weekend/public holiday penalties (where relevant) using the Award’s rules; don’t “guess” a flat uplift.
3. Paper mill schedules long overtime, and someone works through breaks
Key checks:
- Meal breaks and “working through breaks” can trigger premium payments (work during a meal break is paid at 200%).
- If overtime runs long enough, check paid crib time triggers and timings.
- Overtime is commonly calculated day by day, and rates can change after the first 2 hours for day workers.
Common employer mistakes to avoid
- Classifying workers by job title instead of actual duties (wrong stream/level).
- Forgetting casual minimum engagement or assuming short shifts are fine.
- Missing break-related premium pay (delayed breaks or working through meal breaks).
- Paying allowances but not separating them on payslips, or missing “all-purpose” treatment where it applies.
Glossary
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 workers
Employees who work ordinary hours on “day work” (rather than on shiftwork), usually within the daytime spread of hours set by the Award.
Loading
An extra percentage paid on top of the base rate (e.g., 25% casual loading instead of paid leave).
Ordinary hours
The standard hours an employee is rostered to work at their base rate (before overtime applies).
Over-award payment
Extra pay above the Award minimum (e.g., paying $27/hour when the Award minimum is $24.95/hour to attract or retain staff).
Redundancy
When a job is no longer needed, the employee’s employment ends for that reason (rather than performance or misconduct).
Shiftworker
An employee who works on a shift roster (rather than standard day work), such as afternoon, night, or rotating shifts.
Resources and Links
For further reading and official resources, visit:
- Timber Industry Award 2020 [MA000071]: The official Award text.
- Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS): A summary of employee rights and employer responsibilities under the NES.
- Fair Work Record-Keeping Requirements: Guidance on pay slips, pay records, and what employers need to keep.
FAQs
1) Where can I find the official Timber Industry Award document?
You can read the current consolidated Timber Industry Award [MA000071] on the Fair Work Ombudsman Award page (also available via the Fair Work Commission).
2) Who is covered by the Timber Industry Award?
The Award generally covers employers and employees in the timber industry where the job fits one of the Award’s classifications across the 3 streams: General Timber Stream, Wood and Timber Furniture Stream, and Pulp and Paper Stream.
3) What is the minimum pay under the Timber Award?
It depends on the stream and level. In the current pay tables (1 July 2025), adult minimum ordinary hourly rates range from $24.28/hour (Level 1) up to $31.56/hour (Level 9).
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.