Electrical Award pay guide 2026/2027

Casual rates for ordinary weekday hours (all-purpose, including the industry allowance and — for grades 5+ — the tool allowance), generated from the current Fair Work pay guide:

If you only skim one section, make it this one:

• The Electrical Award [MA000025] covers electrical contracting, with electrical worker grades 1–10 (grade 5 is the qualified-electrician trade rate).
• Minimums are reviewed each July. The FY2026/27 pay guide took effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, lifting all rates by 4.75%.
• Example 2026/27 all-purpose adult pay:
  • Grade 1: full-time/part-time $27.53/hr, casual $34.41/hr.
  • Grade 5 (electrician): full-time/part-time $31.13/hr, casual $38.91/hr.
• Ordinary hours are Mon–Fri; Saturday is overtime (1.5× then 2×), Sunday 2×, public holidays 2.5×.
• Apprentice and shiftwork rates apply separately.
• Get grade, allowances, employment type and shift type right for every employee.

The Electrical Award — full name the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 [MA000025] — is the modern award that sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for its industry. It covers electrical, electronic and communications contracting businesses and their employees. Its rates already include the industry allowance and, from grade 5 up, the tool allowance, which is why the hourly figures look higher than other trades awards at the same grade.

Pay is built from four things, in this order: the classification level the employee’s duties fall into (10 in this award), their employment type (full-time, part-time or casual — casuals receive a 25% loading instead of paid leave), when the shift was worked (weekend, public holiday, evening or overtime penalties), and any allowances that apply. Get one of the four wrong and the pay is wrong.

The Electrical Award covers employers and employees in the electrical, electronic and communications contracting industry — electrical installation, maintenance, data and communications cabling and related work. Employees are classified into electrical worker grades 1–10, with grade 5 the qualified-electrician trade rate.

Important — who’s covered by other awards: electricians employed in general manufacturing may fall under the Manufacturing Award; plumbers/gasfitters under the Plumbing Award. Confirm coverage with Fair Work’s PACT tool before applying rates.

A snapshot of the current FY2026/27 all-purpose rates, generated from the same data that powers the calculator above. Grades 1–4 include the industry allowance; grades 5–10 include the industry and tool allowances.

All-purpose ordinary weekday rates for grades 1–10:

Casuals receive the same all-purpose rate plus a 25% loading. Ordinary weekday casual rates:

Below is the 2026/27 ordinary hourly rate for each classification in the Electrical Award (full-time and part-time), with the casual rate (base + 25% loading) in brackets. Weekend, public-holiday and overtime penalties apply on top. Classification follows duties, qualifications and responsibility — not the job title.

Electrical worker grade 1 — $27.53/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.41/hour, $1046.31/week full-time). Entry-level / labourer (incl. industry allowance).

Electrical worker grade 2 — $27.75/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.69/hour, $1054.51/week full-time). Basic electrical duties (incl. industry allowance).

Electrical worker grade 3 — $28.64/hour full-time/part-time (casual $35.80/hour, $1088.31/week full-time). Semi-skilled (incl. industry allowance).

Electrical worker grade 4 — $29.53/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.91/hour, $1122.01/week full-time). Advanced semi-skilled (incl. industry allowance).

Electrical worker grade 5 (tradesperson) — $31.13/hour full-time/part-time (casual $38.91/hour, $1182.82/week full-time). Qualified electrician (incl. industry + tool).

Electrical worker grade 6 — $32.05/hour full-time/part-time (casual $40.06/hour, $1218.02/week full-time). Electrician + post-trade (incl. industry + tool).

Electrical worker grade 7 — $33.81/hour full-time/part-time (casual $42.26/hour, $1284.82/week full-time). Advanced electrician (incl. industry + tool).

Electrical worker grade 8 — $35.44/hour full-time/part-time (casual $44.30/hour, $1346.82/week full-time). Special-class electrician (incl. industry + tool).

Electrical worker grade 9 — $36.14/hour full-time/part-time (casual $45.18/hour, $1373.22/week full-time). Senior special-class (incl. industry + tool).

Electrical worker grade 10 — $38.91/hour full-time/part-time (casual $48.64/hour, $1478.72/week full-time). Technician / supervisor (incl. industry + tool).

Classification follows skills, qualifications and licensing:

• Grades 1–4 cover entry-level and semi-skilled electrical workers (with the industry allowance).
• Grade 5 is the qualified-electrician trade rate; grades 6–10 cover post-trade, special-class, technician and supervisory roles (with industry and tool allowances).
• Licensed electricians also receive an electrician’s licence allowance, already built into the all-purpose rate.
• Apprentices are paid stage/year-based rates with their own licence-allowance components.

Write each employee’s grade, licensing and employment type into your payroll/rostering system. If unsure, confirm the right level.

Here’s how the most common roles map to classifications and 2026/27 rates. Use these as a starting point, then confirm the level against the employee’s actual duties.

A trade-qualified electrician sits at grade 5 — $31.13/hr (casual $38.91/hr), inclusive of the industry and tool allowances. This is the benchmark rate most electrical contractors work from.

An entry-level worker or labourer sits at grade 1 — $27.53/hr, moving up grades 2–4 as competencies are gained. Apprentice rates are a percentage of the trade rate and step up each year.

A special-class electrician sits at grade 8 — $35.44/hr, and a technician or supervisor at grade 10 — $38.91/hr (casual $48.64/hr). A site supervisor on an electrical contract usually sits at grade 9 or 10.

Electrical workers’ ordinary hours are Monday–Friday; weekend work is paid at overtime rates (on the all-purpose rate):

• Saturday (overtime): time-and-a-half (150%) for the first 2 hours, then double time (200%).
• Sunday: double time (200%).
• Public holiday: 250%.
• Shiftwork loadings apply for afternoon, night and permanent-night shifts, and for work on a rostered day off (separate from the calculator above).
• Living-away and travel allowances apply for distant work.

The calculator above covers ordinary hours, Saturday (first 2 hours overtime), Sunday and public-holiday rates. For shiftwork, later overtime hours and travel, use Fair Work’s PACT tool or award-interpreting software.

• Full-time is around 38 hours per week, ongoing; part-time has a regular agreed pattern.
• Both receive paid annual and personal/carer’s leave (pro-rata for part-time) and other NES entitlements. Part-time hours should be agreed in writing.

• Paid a 25% casual loading on the all-purpose rate instead of paid leave, with a minimum engagement per shift.
• Casual overtime, Sunday and public-holiday rates are higher than the permanent rates — the penalty applies to the loaded casual rate.

The Electrical Award has several all-purpose allowances that are built into the rates above:

• Industry allowance – included in all grades.
• Tool allowance – included in grade 5+ rates.
• Electrician’s licence allowance – about $40.29/week, included for licensed electricians.

Other allowances apply separately, including first aid (about $23.50/week), leading hand (from about $48.12/week), overtime meal (about $20.60/meal) and travel/living-away allowances. Exact amounts update each pay guide — see the Fair Work pay guide.

Leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES), which apply on top of the award and cannot be reduced by it. Casual employees receive the loading instead of paid leave, but still get unpaid carer’s and compassionate leave, and paid family and domestic violence leave.

Four weeks per year for full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time, accruing progressively from the first day. Employees the award defines as shiftworkers receive a fifth week. Most awards also add annual leave loading — check the leave clause of this award for the rate that applies. See our annual leave guide for how accrual, cash-out and payout on termination work.

• Personal/carer’s leave: 10 days per year for full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time. It accrues and carries over year to year.
• Compassionate leave: 2 days per occasion.
• Family and domestic violence leave: 10 days per year, available to casuals as well, renewing each year rather than accruing.
• Parental leave: 12 months unpaid with a right to request a further 12, alongside the government paid parental leave scheme.
• Public holidays: employees are entitled to be absent on a public holiday; if they work it, the award’s public-holiday penalty applies.

Tracking accruals across mixed full-time, part-time and casual teams is where spreadsheets break down — leave management software keeps balances, requests and approvals in one place.

• Confirm the award applies (electrical contracting; not manufacturing or plumbing).
• Download the latest pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Classify each employee by grade, licensing and apprentice stage.
• Set all-purpose rates (industry/tool/licence allowances) and apply overtime, Sunday, public-holiday and shift rates.
• Use award-interpreting software so overtime and allowances are calculated automatically, and keep records for 7 years.

These are the errors that show up most often when employers audit their own Electrical Award payroll.

Awards classify on what the employee actually does, their qualifications and their level of responsibility. Two people with the same title can sit on different levels, and someone doing higher duties is owed the higher rate for those hours.

Casual weekend and public-holiday rates are not the permanent penalty plus 25% bolted on afterwards. The award publishes a single casual figure for each penalty — use the rate sheet or the calculator above rather than stacking percentages by hand.

This award carries 6 common allowances. They are easy to overlook because they are not part of the hourly rate, but they are still legally owed — the rate sheet above lists every one.

The published grade rates in this award are all-inclusive of the industry allowance (and the tool allowance from grade 5). Paying the grade rate and then adding those allowances again overpays; leaving them out of an EBA comparison understates the award floor.

• Grades 1–10, with grade 5 the qualified-electrician trade rate.
• Rates are all-purpose — they bundle industry (and tool, for grade 5+) allowances.
• Ordinary hours are Mon–Fri; Saturday is overtime, Sunday 2×, public holidays 2.5×.
• Apprentice and shiftwork rates are separate.
• Update every July and keep good records.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.