Fitness Award pay guide 2026/2027

Casual rates for ordinary weekday hours, generated from the current Fair Work pay guide:

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

• The Fitness Industry Award 2020 [MA000094] covers gyms and fitness centres, with employees classified Levels 1–7 (including 3A and 4A).
• 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 adult minimum pay:
  • Level 1: full-time/part-time $25.74/hr, casual $32.18/hr.
  • Level 3 (qualified instructor): full-time/part-time $27.97/hr, casual $34.96/hr.
• Full-time/part-time penalties: Saturday +25%, Sunday +50%, public holidays +150%.
• Casual weekend/PH ordinary hours are a flat ~130% of the base.
• Get level, employment type and shift type right for every employee.

The Fitness Award — full name the Fitness Industry Award 2020 [MA000094] — is the modern award that sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for its industry. It covers gyms, fitness centres, indoor sports centres, swim schools and personal-training businesses. Contractors who genuinely run their own personal-training business are not employees, but an instructor rostered onto a gym floor almost always is.

Pay is built from four things, in this order: the classification level the employee’s duties fall into (9 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 Fitness Industry Award covers fitness centres, gyms and health clubs — reception and customer-service staff, gym and group-fitness instructors, personal trainers, and supervisory/management roles. Employees are classified Levels 1–7 (including 3A and 4A) by skill and responsibility.

Important — who’s covered by other awards: sporting and recreation clubs may fall under the Registered & Licensed Clubs Award; council-run leisure centres may fall under the Local Government Award. Confirm coverage with Fair Work’s PACT tool before applying rates.

A snapshot of the current FY2026/27 rates, generated from the same data that powers the calculator above.

Ordinary weekday rates for fitness employees Levels 1–7:

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

Below is the 2026/27 ordinary hourly rate for each classification in the Fitness 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 — $25.74/hour full-time/part-time (casual $32.18/hour, $978.10/week full-time). Entry-level / reception / general assistant.

Level 2 — $26.44/hour full-time/part-time (casual $33.05/hour, $1004.90/week full-time). Gym instructor / customer service.

Level 3 — $27.97/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.96/hour, $1062.90/week full-time). Qualified fitness instructor.

Level 3A — $29.45/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.81/hour, $1119.10/week full-time). Experienced fitness instructor.

Level 4 — $30.66/hour full-time/part-time (casual $38.33/hour, $1165.10/week full-time). Advanced instructor / personal trainer.

Level 4A — $32.13/hour full-time/part-time (casual $40.16/hour, $1221.10/week full-time). Senior instructor / coordinator.

Level 5 — $33.87/hour full-time/part-time (casual $42.34/hour, $1287.20/week full-time). Supervisor / program coordinator.

Level 6 — $33.58/hour full-time/part-time (casual $41.98/hour, $1276.00/week full-time). Manager (stream B).

Level 7 — $34.89/hour full-time/part-time (casual $43.61/hour, $1325.70/week full-time). Senior manager (stream B).

Classification follows skills, qualifications and responsibility:

• Level 1–2 cover reception, customer service and basic gym-floor duties.
• Level 3 / 3A are qualified fitness instructors; Level 4 / 4A advanced instructors and personal trainers.
• Level 5 covers supervisors and program coordinators; Levels 6–7 are a management stream.
• Juniors (under 20) are paid a percentage of the adult rate.

Write each employee’s level 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 gym instructor sits at Level 2 — $26.44/hr (casual $33.05/hr), rising to Level 3 — $27.97/hr once formally qualified.

A personal trainer or group fitness instructor employed by the centre sits at Level 4 — $30.66/hr (casual $38.33/hr), with senior instructors at Level 4A — $32.13/hr.

A swim instructor is classified on qualification, typically Level 3. Reception and general assistants sit at Level 1 — $25.74/hr (casual $32.18/hr).

A fitness centre manager sits at Level 5 — $33.87/hr, or Level 6/7 in the management stream.

Penalties under the Fitness Award depend on employment type:

Full-time & part-time (on the ordinary rate):

• Saturday: 125%
• Sunday: 150%
• Public holiday: 250%

Casual: instead of the above, casuals are paid the 25% loading on ordinary weekday hours, and a single flat rate of about 130% of the base for ordinary hours worked on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. This is an unusual feature of the Fitness Award — always confirm casual public-holiday work with PACT.

• Broken shifts, delayed meal breaks and overtime have their own rates.

The calculator above lets you compare full-time/part-time and casual rates by day. For overtime and broken shifts, 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, plus standard Saturday/Sunday/public-holiday penalties.

• Paid a 25% casual loading on ordinary weekday hours instead of paid leave, with a minimum engagement per shift.
• For ordinary hours worked on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, casuals are paid a single flat rate (about 130% of the base) under this award — not the full-time/part-time penalty. Confirm casual public-holiday work with PACT.

Common allowances under this award include:

• Broken shift – about $18.07 per day (plus $2.15 for excess fares).
• First aid – about $3.40 per day.
• Leading hand / supervisor (Levels 1–4A) – from about $31.89 per week, by team size.

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 (fitness centre/gym; not a sporting club or council leisure centre).
• Download the latest pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Classify each employee by level and age (for juniors).
• Set base rates and apply the correct weekend/public-holiday treatment by employment type, plus broken shifts and overtime.
• Use award-interpreting software so the full-time/part-time vs casual difference is handled automatically, and keep records for 7 years.

These are the errors that show up most often when employers audit their own Fitness 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.

Junior rates are a percentage of the adult rate that steps up on each birthday, and stop applying entirely at 21. A birthday that passes unnoticed in payroll becomes an underpayment from that day.

This award carries 3 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.

Issuing an ABN does not make someone a contractor. An instructor who is rostered, wears your uniform and cannot send a substitute is an employee, and sham contracting carries penalties on top of the back pay.

• Levels 1–7 (with 3A/4A) cover reception, instructors, trainers and management.
• Full-time/part-time: Saturday +25%, Sunday +50%, public holidays +150%.
• Casual weekend/PH ordinary hours are a flat ~130% of base — an unusual feature; confirm PH with PACT.
• Broken shifts are common in fitness — don’t forget the allowance.
• Update every July and keep good records.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.