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

Here are the casual rates for ordinary weekday hours under the Gas Industry Award 2020 [MA000061], generated from the current Fair Work pay guide:

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

• The Gas Industry Award 2020 [MA000061] sets minimum pay and conditions for employees in the transmission, distribution, wholesaling and retailing of gas in Australia.
• Minimums are reviewed each year 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.
• Adult minimum rates run from $26.44/hr (Level 1, $1,004.90/week) to $36.89/hr (Level 8, $1,401.80/week) for a 38-hour week, across a single 8-level ladder.
• Casuals receive a 25% loading on top of these ordinary rates — e.g. a Level 5 gas fitter is $39.45/hr casual for ordinary hours.
• On top of base rates you may also pay shift loadings (afternoon 115%, night 130%), weekend and public-holiday penalties (Saturday 150%, Sunday 200%, public holiday 250%), overtime (150% first 2 hours, 200% after), and allowances such as the availability duty allowance ($290.97/week).
• Get four things right for every worker: award coverage, classification level (Level 1–8), employment type (full-time, part-time, casual), and when they work (day, afternoon/night, weekend, public holiday, overtime).

Think of the Gas Industry Award (MA000061) as the legal minimum standard you can’t go below for covered gas-industry work.

It sets:

• Minimum hourly and weekly rates for Levels 1 to 8
• Extra pay for afternoon/night shifts, weekends, public holidays and overtime
• Allowances (availability duty, first aid, meal and others)
• Rules about casuals, shiftwork, early starts, rostering and breaks
• A link into the National Employment Standards (NES) for leave and other basic rights

You can always pay more — and many gas employers do, via enterprise agreements — but you can’t legally pay less than the Award. It’s updated roughly every July after the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review.

In simple terms, the Gas Industry Award covers employers and employees in the gas industry — the transmission, distribution, wholesaling and retailing of gas to industrial, commercial and domestic consumers.

Typical roles include meter readers, gas fitters and installers, network and distribution operators, maintenance workers, and customer service/retail staff — all mapped onto the single Level 1–8 ladder.

The Award specifically excludes several kinds of work that people often assume are “gas”:

• Manufacture, making or processing of industrial, medical and special gases
• Liquefied petroleum (LP) gas transport and sale
• Work covered by the Electrical Power Industry Award 2020

Upstream gas production (extraction) sits outside the transmission-to-retail scope of this award. When in doubt, check the Award on the Fair Work website and use Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT), or work through our guide on how to find which award applies.

This section is a practical snapshot of the current FY2026/27 minimum rates so you can sanity-check payroll. All figures are minimums from the official 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.

For adult employees, ordinary hours (based on a 38-hour week):

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

Apprentice rates (below) are for an apprentice who started on or after 1 January 2014. Apprentices who started earlier are calculated differently — use Fair Work’s PACT or the pay guide.

Getting the classification wrong is one of the most common causes of underpayment. The Gas Industry Award uses a single ladder of Levels 1–8, based on skill, responsibility, qualifications and autonomy.

• Level 1 – new starters/trainees doing basic tasks under supervision.
• Level 2–3 – field and operations employees (including meter readers) with growing experience and autonomy.
• Level 4 – technical and metering employees with additional skills.
• Level 5–6 – advanced technical and trade-qualified employees, such as gas fitters and network specialists.
• Level 7–8 – senior technicians, leading hands and supervisors (the top classifications).

Read the classification descriptors in the Award for the exact definitions — match the level to the employee’s actual duties, not just their job title.

For each employee, record the award, level and employment type, for example:

This classification should appear in the employment contract, your HR/payroll system, and any award-interpretation software you use. If you’re unsure, confirm the right classification level with our free checker.

Here’s how common gas-industry roles map to Award classifications. Remember these are Award minimums — enterprise agreements often pay above them. For detailed duties by role, browse our free gas industry job description templates.

• Meter reader (Level 2–3): $27.31–$28.30/hr permanent, from $34.14/hr casual
• Gas fitter / technician (Level 5): $31.56/hr permanent, $39.45/hr casual
• Network / distribution specialist (Level 6): $33.78/hr permanent, $42.23/hr casual
• Senior technician / supervisor (Level 8): $36.89/hr permanent, $46.11/hr casual
• Afternoon/night shift loadings, weekend penalties and overtime apply on top — use the calculator above.

The Award works alongside the national definitions of full-time, part-time and casual employment.

• Full-time is generally 38 ordinary hours per week (often averaged over a roster cycle for shiftworkers).
• Part-time employees work fewer, regular hours with an agreed pattern.
• Both accrue paid annual leave and personal/carer’s leave under the NES (pro-rata for part-time).

• No firm advance commitment to ongoing work with an agreed pattern.
• Paid a 25% casual loading instead of paid leave.
• On weekends, shifts and public holidays the loading combines with the relevant penalty.

Gas networks and call centres often run beyond standard hours, so shift loadings and penalties are where the real cost — and most underpayment risk — sits. The key rules under MA000061:

• Afternoon shift: a 15% loading (115%).
• Night shift: a 30% loading (130%).
• Saturday: 150%.
• Sunday: 200%.
• Public holidays: 250%.
• Early starts and overtime: 150% for the first 2 hours, 200% after.
• Availability (on-call) duty: an availability duty allowance of $290.97/week for employees required to be available outside ordinary hours.

Overtime is triggered when an employee works beyond their ordinary rostered/averaged hours or outside the agreed span, and early-start penalties apply when work begins before the rostered start. If you run on-call rosters or make lots of last-minute changes, check overtime and availability rules — not just base rates. See our guide to calculating overtime costs.

Beyond hourly pay and penalties, the Gas Industry Award includes allowances that apply in specific situations. Current FY2026/27 amounts:

The Award sits on top of the National Employment Standards (NES), which set minimum leave for permanent employees.

Permanent employees are entitled to, among other things:

• Paid annual leave – generally 4 weeks per year based on ordinary hours (shiftworkers may be entitled to additional annual leave under the Award/NES), paid with 17.5% leave loading.
• Paid personal/carer’s leave (sick leave) – 10 days per year based on ordinary hours.
• Compassionate leave, parental leave, family and domestic violence leave, and other NES entitlements.

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

A simple process you can actually follow.

• Confirm your operation is covered by MA000061 and not gas manufacturing, LP gas or the electrical power industry.
• Check whether a registered enterprise agreement applies — if so, its terms generally replace the Award (but must beat it on the BOOT).

• Grab the official Gas Industry Award pay guide from Fair Work and save it as your “price list”.

For each worker, write down: the award (MA000061), the level (1–8), employment type (full-time, part-time, casual) and shift pattern. Match this to their actual duties, not just their job title.

• Enter the correct base rate per classification, and configure the availability-duty, first-aid and meal allowances so they’re easy to apply.

Use Fair Work’s PACT each pay run, or use award-interpreting rostering/payroll software with payroll integration that understands the Gas Award and calculates shift loadings, weekend/public-holiday penalties and overtime automatically.

Keep rosters, timesheets, pay records and contracts. Consider HR software with digital employment contracts to keep everything organised.

The traps that trip up gas employers most often.

Applying the Gas Industry Award to gas manufacturing, LP gas or electrical-power work (or vice versa) — those are excluded and have their own awards.

Paying flat rates for afternoon/night shifts, or forgetting the $290.97/week availability duty allowance for on-call employees.

Paying a trade-qualified gas fitter at an operator level, or missing progression up the 8-level ladder.

Regular, ongoing casuals on fixed rosters can create backpay and casual-conversion risk.

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

Applying the Gas Industry Award correctly is a legal requirement — but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming:

• Confirm coverage first: MA000061 vs gas manufacturing, LP gas and electrical power, and check for an enterprise agreement.
• Classify correctly: the right level across the 1–8 ladder.
• Don’t ignore shift loadings, penalties and the availability allowance: this is where most underpayments happen. You can estimate weekend and overtime costs before you publish a roster.
• Update every July and keep good records.

For official guidance, see the Gas Industry Award [MA000061] on Fair Work, the Fair Work pay guide and PACT.