Fast Food Award pay guide: rates, penalties & classifications 2026/2027

Most fast-food outlets employ casual crew. Here are the casual rates you need to know for ordinary weekday hours (Mon–Fri, before 10pm). These figures are generated from the current Fair Work pay guide:

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

• The Fast Food Industry Award 2010 [MA000003] sets minimum pay and conditions for quick-service / counter-service food outlets.
• Minimums are reviewed each July after the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review. 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%.
• Get four things right for every staff member: award coverage, classification level (Level 1 crew, Level 2, Level 3 in-charge), employment type, and age (most fast-food workers are juniors).
• Example of 2026/27 adult minimum pay:
  • Level 1 crew: full-time/part-time $27.81/hr, casual $34.76/hr (includes 25% casual loading).
  • Level 2: full-time/part-time $29.45/hr, casual $36.81/hr.
• Junior rates are common: 40% (under 16), 50% (16), 60% (17), 70% (18), 80% (19), 90% (20) of the adult rate.
• Sunday is level-dependent: Level 1 crew get 125%, but Level 2–3 get 150%. Saturday is 125% for all; public holidays 225%.
• Casuals must be paid a minimum of 3 hours per shift, and there are specific meal/rest break rules.

Think of the Fast Food Award as a standard contract template you can’t go below. It sets minimum hourly rates by level and age, extra pay for evenings/weekends/public holidays and overtime, allowances, and rules about casuals, breaks and classification — linking into the National Employment Standards (NES) for leave.

You can always pay more, but never less than the Award. It’s reviewed each July. Your job: confirm coverage, classify staff correctly, pay at least the Award minimum (including junior rates, penalties and allowances), and update rates each year.

The Fast Food Award covers businesses where counter / quick service is the main method, with limited or no table service:

• Major fast-food chains (burgers, fried chicken, sandwiches/subs)
• Pizza shops and takeaway outlets
• Food-court and drive-thru outlets
• Counter-service cafés where customers order and collect themselves

Opening one of these as a franchise? Our cost breakdowns for Subway, KFC, Domino’s and McDonald’s break down the labour costs under this award.

Important: If table service is a key feature (staff take orders at tables and deliver food), you’re likely under the Restaurant Award. Pubs, bars and hotels fall under the Hospitality Award. Coverage depends on the service model, not the venue’s label.

This section is a practical snapshot of the current FY2026/27 rates. All figures are minimums from the Fair Work pay guide effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, generated from the same data that powers the calculator above.

The rates below assume correct award coverage and classification.

For adult employees (21+), ordinary weekday hours before 10pm:

Casuals receive the same base rate plus a 25% casual loading. Adult casual rates for ordinary weekday hours:

Most fast-food crew are juniors. Junior rates are a percentage of the adult rate for the same level: under 16 → 40%, 16 → 50%, 17 → 60%, 18 → 70%, 19 → 80%, 20 → 90%, 21+ → 100%. Junior penalty rates use the same percentages applied to the junior base rate. FY2026/27 Level 1 examples (full-time/part-time): under 16 $11.12, 16 $13.91, 17 $16.69, 18 $19.47.

Below is the 2026/27 ordinary hourly rate for each classification in the Fast Food 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.

Level 1 – Crew member — $27.81/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.76/hour, $1056.80/week full-time). Food preparation and cooking of a limited range, serving customers, cleaning, cash handling.

Level 2 – Higher-skill crew — $29.45/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.81/hour, $1119.10/week full-time). Cooking/food preparation requiring more skill, and overseeing/training Level 1 employees.

Level 3 – In charge of 1 or no other employees — $29.91/hour full-time/part-time (casual $37.39/hour, $1136.40/week full-time). Employee in charge of a shift with one or no other employees.

Level 3 – In charge of 2 or more employees — $30.27/hour full-time/part-time (casual $37.84/hour, $1150.40/week full-time). Employee in charge of a shift with two or more other employees.

The Fast Food Award has a simple structure based on duties and responsibility, not job title:

• Level 1 – Crew: food preparation and cooking of a limited range, serving customers, cleaning, cash handling. Most employees are Level 1.
• Level 2: cooking/food preparation requiring more skill, and overseeing or training Level 1 crew.
• Level 3 – In charge: an employee in charge of a shift — a lower rate when in charge of one or no other employees, and a higher rate when in charge of two or more.

Write each employee’s level, employment type and age into your payroll/rostering system. If unsure, confirm the right level with our free checker.

Here’s how common fast-food roles map to classifications and 2026/27 casual ordinary rates:

• Crew member (Level 1): counter service, food prep, cleaning — $34.76/hr casual
• Higher-skill crew (Level 2): more complex cooking, training crew — $36.81/hr casual
• Shift supervisor (Level 3, in charge of 1 or none): $37.39/hr casual
• Shift supervisor (Level 3, in charge of 2+): $37.84/hr casual

Most crew are juniors, so their actual rate is a percentage of these adult figures (see the junior scale above).

• Around 38 hours per week, ongoing, with guaranteed regular hours
• Entitled to paid annual leave and paid personal (sick & carer’s) leave, plus other NES leave

• Less than 38 hours per week, with a regular agreed pattern
• Paid leave on a pro-rata basis
• Hours and the pattern should be agreed in writing so it’s clear when overtime applies

• No firm advance commitment to ongoing work
• Paid a 25% casual loading instead of paid leave
• Must be paid a minimum of 3 hours per shift

Casual conversion now mainly operates through the employee choice pathway under the Fair Work Act, alongside the Award clause. A casual may request conversion if they’ve been employed at least 6 months (12 for small businesses) and their work pattern has become regular and ongoing. On conversion they lose the 25% loading, gain paid leave, and are treated as permanent. Because the rules depend on hire date and business size, get advice before refusing a request — see our casual conversion guide.

The Fast Food Award sets different pay for evenings, weekends, public holidays and overtime:

• Evening (Mon–Fri 10pm–midnight): 110% · early morning (midnight–6am): 115%
• Saturday: 125% (all levels)
• Sunday: 125% for Level 1 crew, 150% for Level 2–3 (full-time/part-time). Casual Sunday: 150% (Level 1), 175% (Level 2–3)
• Public holiday: 225% (full-time/part-time), 250% (casual) — plus a substitute day off for permanents
• Overtime: 150% for the first 2 hours, 200% after

The level-dependent Sunday rate is a common fast-food trap — the calculator above applies the right rate for the level you pick.

Beyond hourly pay and penalties, the Fast Food Award has allowances for specific situations:

• Laundry – about $6.42/week (full-time) or $1.28/shift (part-time/casual) if you require special clothing.
• Meal allowance (overtime) – about $17.33 (plus a further $15.66 after 4+ hours of overtime).
• Cold work – about $0.38/hr (plus $0.59/hr below 0°C) for work in cold areas.
• Transport – reimbursement of reasonable transport costs when finishing after 10pm.

Exact amounts update each pay guide and are listed under “Allowances” in the Fair Work pay guide.

Three rules in the Fast Food Award cause more disputes than anything else — and all three are ones a roster built in a spreadsheet quietly breaks. Clause numbers below are from the consolidated Fast Food Industry Award 2020 [MA000003].

A part-time employee must be rostered for a minimum of 3 consecutive hours on any shift (cl 10.2). A casual employee has the same floor — a minimum daily engagement of 3 consecutive hours (cl 11.3).

There is no shorter option for either. A 90-minute peak-hour shift is not compliant, even if the employee agrees to it, and even if you pay them for the time actually worked.

This is the clause most fast food employers fall short of. At the time of engaging a part-time employee, you and the employee must agree in writing on a regular pattern of work, and that agreement must include all of the following (cl 10.3):

• the number of ordinary hours to be worked each day;
• the days of the week the employee will work;
• the actual start and finish times each day;
• when meal breaks may be taken, and how long they are;
• that the daily engagement is a minimum of 3 consecutive hours; and
• that any variation will be in writing (including by text message).

You must keep a copy and give one to the employee (cl 10.4). A contract that says “approximately 4 hours per week” with no days and no times does not satisfy cl 10.3.

An employee’s notice period is the same as the employer’s (cl 31.1(b)) — 1 week for up to a year of service, 2 weeks for 1–3 years, 3 weeks for 3–5 years, 4 weeks beyond that.

If they do not give it, cl 31.1(d) lets you deduct from wages due under the award, but only inside three limits:

• The employee must be at least 18 years old. If they are under 18, no deduction can be made at all — this is the limit most often missed, and it matters in an industry with a young workforce.
• The deduction is capped at no more than one week’s wages for that employee. On a 4-hour-a-week part-time contract, a week’s wages is 4 hours.
• No deduction is available if you agreed to a shorter notice period (cl 31.1(e)), and any deduction must not be unreasonable in the circumstances (cl 31.1(f)).

If the written-pattern requirement is pushing you towards more casuals, price it first — the loading is not always the cheaper option once penalties and leave are counted. Our casual vs part-time cost calculator compares the true hourly cost of both for a Fast Food Award roster.

The Award sits on top of the National Employment Standards (NES).

• Paid annual leave – generally 4 weeks per year (pro-rata for part-time).
• Paid personal/carer’s leave – based on ordinary hours.
• Compassionate, parental, and family and domestic violence leave, plus other NES entitlements.

• No paid annual or personal/carer’s leave.
• Instead, they receive the 25% casual loading.

Check your outlet fits the Fast Food Award (counter / quick service). If unsure, confirm with Fair Work’s PACT.

Grab the official Fast Food Award pay guide (FY2026/27) and save it as your “price list”.

For each staff member record level, employment type and age (juniors are the majority and their rate depends on age bracket).

Enter the right base rate for each level and age — e.g. Level 1 adult FT/PT $27.81, Level 1 casual $34.76, a 17-year-old Level 1 at 60% of the adult rate.

Use Fair Work’s PACT or award-interpreting software with payroll integration — it handles the level-dependent Sunday rate, evening loadings, the 3-hour minimum and meal/rest breaks.

Keep rosters, timesheets, pay records and contracts for 7 years. Digital time and attendance makes this easy and accurate.

Paying a 17-year-old at the 16-year-old rate (or not increasing the rate on a birthday). Junior rates step up every year.

Applying 150% Sunday to Level 1 crew (it’s 125%) or 125% to Level 2–3 (it’s 150%). Sunday is level-dependent.

Rostering casuals for short shifts without paying the 3-hour minimum engagement.

Not giving the required meal break, or not paying overtime when a meal break is missed.

Still paying last year’s rates. Download the new pay guide every July and compare it to your payroll.

Applying the Fast Food Award correctly isn’t optional — but it doesn’t have to be hard:

• Get the basics right: confirm the award, classify staff, and record age for juniors.
• Mind the quirks: the level-dependent Sunday rate, junior age brackets, the 3-hour minimum, and meal/rest breaks are where most errors happen.
• Review casuals for conversion, update every July, and keep good records.
• Use the right guide: table service → Restaurant Award; pubs/hotels → Hospitality Award.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.