Fitness Industry Award rates in Australia 2025/2026

Quick summary for time-poor owners

If you only read one section, read this:

Your pay outcomes depend on four things:

Quick answers to common questions

What the fitness industry Award is

The Fitness Industry Award 2020 (MA000094) is a modern award that sets minimum pay rates and conditions (hours, penalties, allowances, overtime rules, etc.) for covered employers and employees in the fitness industry. It started operation on 1 January 2010 and has been varied since.

It operates alongside the National Employment Standards (NES). You can pay above the Award, but you can't pay below it.

Who the fitness Award covers (and who it doesn't)

Commonly covered businesses and work

The Fair Work award summary describes the "fitness industry" broadly (fitness centres, aquatic centres, indoor sports centres, martial arts centres, dance centres, tennis coaching/centres, recreational camps, and some outdoor education programs).

Commonly covered roles (examples)

Examples listed include receptionists, swim/tennis/gymnastics coaches, lifeguards, fitness class teachers, and personal trainers.

Labour hire

The award summary also notes it covers labour hire businesses and employees placed with an organisation in the fitness industry.

Who may not be covered (examples)

Examples given include:

• admin/support workers employed away from the centre
• child minder employed by a fitness centre
• sporting organisations governed by national/state/territory bodies

And it lists awards that can apply instead (Hospitality, Cleaning, Children's Services, Registered Clubs, Security, etc.).

2025 pay rates (minimums as at 1 July 2025)

These rates reflect changes from the Annual Wage Review effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025.

Adult minimum rates (weekly + hourly)

Adult minimum weekly and hourly rates by classification (as at 1 July 2025):

Full-time & part-time: ordinary, weekend and public holiday rates (adult)

For full-time and part-time employees (adult):

Public holiday minimum engagement (full-time/part-time): If required to work on a public holiday, they must be engaged/paid for at least 4 hours.

Overtime rates (adult)

Overtime is paid at:

• Mon–Sat: 150% for first 2 hours, then 200%
• Sunday: 200%
• Public holiday: dealt with under the public holiday clause

Award note: casual loadings are not paid for overtime hours.

Casual minimum rates (adult)

Casuals are paid the minimum hourly rate plus:

• 25% loading for Monday–Friday ordinary hours (total 125%)
• 30% loading for Saturday/Sunday/public holiday ordinary hours (total 130%)

Reminder: The casual loading is not paid on overtime hours.

Junior rates (percentages + ready-to-use table)

Junior rates are a percentage of the adult minimum rate for the classification:

• Under 17: 55%
• 17: 65%
• 18: 75%
• 19: 85%
• 20: 100%

Junior ordinary hourly rates (Mon–Fri) by level:

Employment types in the fitness Award

Full-time

A full-time employee is engaged to work an average of 38 hours per week.

Part-time

A part-time employee:

• works less than 38 hours/week,
• has reasonably predictable hours, and
• gets pro-rata equivalent pay and conditions.

At engagement, the employer and part-time employee must agree in writing on a regular pattern of work (days/hours/start & finish times), and any variations must be recorded in writing.

Minimum engagement (part-time): minimum 3 consecutive hours per shift or 3 hours (exclusive of meal breaks) on a broken shift.

Casual

Casuals receive the casual loading structure described above, and have minimum engagement rules.

Becoming permanent: casual "employee choice" pathway

The Award points to the NES for changing from casual to permanent employment.

Key high-level points from Fair Work Ombudsman guidance:

• Eligible casuals can provide written notice of their intention to change to permanent employment under the employee choice pathway.
• Employers must respond within 21 days.
• Transitional rules apply depending on when the casual started and whether the employer is a small business employer (including specific "from" dates for some requests).

Ordinary hours, broken shifts, rosters and breaks

Ordinary hours (span of hours)

Ordinary hours may be worked over any 5 days of the week, between:

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

Ordinary hours must not exceed an average of 38 hours/week over 4 weeks, and must not exceed 10 hours on any one day.

Broken shifts

Broken shifts are allowed, but only if:

• not broken into more than 2 parts
• total length not less than 3 hours (exclusive of meal breaks)
• span from start of first part to end of second part not more than 12 hours.

Rosters and roster changes

Employees must be notified of rostered hours, and at least 7 days' notice must be given of changes (except emergencies).

Meal and rest breaks

• Meal break: unpaid 30–60 minutes, no later than 5 hours after starting work and 5 hours after resuming from a previous meal break.
• If required to work through a meal break: paid 200% until a meal break is allowed.
• Rest break: paid 10 minutes between start & meal break, and meal break & finish; casuals working 3 hours or less aren't entitled to a paid rest break.

Right to disconnect

The Award includes the right to disconnect clause, including its application dates.

Penalty rates & overtime (how to apply correctly)

What counts as overtime?

Overtime includes time worked:

• outside the ordinary span, or
• over an average of 38 hours/week across 4 weeks, or
• over 10 hours/day.

For part-time employees, time worked in excess of agreed hours is overtime.

Break between shifts (10-hour rule)

Employees are entitled to a minimum 10-hour break between shifts. If an employee resumes without a 10-hour break, they must be paid 200% until they receive a 10-hour break (with an exception where only 3 consecutive hours or less were worked before the break).

Weekend penalties and public holidays

• Full-time/part-time weekend penalties: Saturday 125%, Sunday 150%.
• Public holiday full-time/part-time: 250% with minimum 4 hours.
• Casuals: weekend/public holiday ordinary hours paid under the 30% loading method.

Time off instead of overtime (TOIL)

The Award allows time off instead of overtime pay by written agreement, and includes rules about taking it within 6 months, paying it out on request or on expiry, record keeping, and a template agreement (Schedule E).

Allowances

Allowances are payable only when the Award's conditions are met. Amounts below are as at 1 July 2025.

Wage-related allowances (common)

• Leading hand / supervisor allowance (for eligible Level 4A or below employees in charge of others):
  • 1–5 employees: $30.44/week (or hourly equivalent for non-full-time)
  • 6–10 employees: $41.60/week
  • 10+ employees: $55.81/week
• Broken shift allowance: $17.25/day, plus excess fares $2.15/day where applicable.
• First aid allowance: $3.25/day when appointed to perform first aid duties.

Expense-related allowances (common)

• Meal allowance (overtime): $14.97 if required to work overtime for more than 1.5 hours immediately after ordinary hours and a meal isn't provided.
• Vehicle allowance: $0.98/km when required to use own vehicle.
• Motorcycle allowance: $0.32/km when required to use own motorcycle.
• Uniforms/protective clothing: reimbursement of reasonable cost of purchasing and laundering/dry cleaning where required and not provided/maintained by the employer.
• Travel between workplaces: travel time treated as working time and fares reimbursed when required to travel from one place to another.

Sleepover allowance (relevant for camps/outdoor programs)

Where the Award's sleepover clause applies, the allowance is equivalent to 3 hours at the employee's ordinary rate, and it compensates for sleepover and necessary work up to 2 hours during the sleepover (additional work beyond that is paid overtime).

Leave & super

Leave

Leave entitlements (annual leave, personal/carer's leave, compassionate leave, etc.) come from the NES, with some Award-specific provisions.

Annual leave loading: during annual leave, employees must be paid an annual leave loading of 17.5% of their minimum rate of pay.

The Award also contains rules and template agreements for:

• annual leave during shutdowns (notice and directions)
• annual leave in advance
• cashing out annual leave

Superannuation

Employers must make superannuation contributions in line with the Award and superannuation law. The Super Guarantee rate is 12% from 1 July 2025.

How to support your compliance efforts with the fitness Award

Follow these steps for every employee.

Common mistakes to avoid

Watch out for these common underpayment risks:

• Wrong award (e.g., applying Hospitality/Cleaning/Clubs rules instead of Fitness Award)
• Misclassification, especially for instructing/teaching roles (e.g., swimming teaching without direct supervision should not be Level 1)
• Part-time agreements not in writing, or variations not recorded
• Minimum engagement breaches (part-time 3 hours; casual 3 hours unless the 1-hour exception applies)
• Applying casual loading on overtime (not allowed)
• Public holiday errors (250% + 4-hour minimum for full-time/part-time; casual paid under the casual rule)
• Broken shift errors, including missing broken shift allowance/excess fares
• Meal break non-compliance, including not paying 200% when required to work through a meal break

Key things to remember

• The Fitness Award covers most gyms, aquatic centres, sports centres, and dance studios—but not everyone. Check the exclusions carefully.
• Get three things right: correct classification, casual loading (but not on overtime), and proper rosters with accurate records.
• Always cross-check your pay calculations with Fair Work's tools and keep all agreements and records on file.
• If you manage staff across multiple industries, check our other award rate guides including Hospitality, Restaurant, and General Retail.

Classification examples

Level 1

Entry-level roles under direct supervision—reception, bookings, membership enquiries, basic customer service. Typically after in-house training.

Level 2

After 456 hours training or 6 months at Level 1. Includes swim and water safety teaching (without direct supervision), or holding specific coach accreditations.