General Retail 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 General Retail Industry Award 2020 [MA000004] covers most retail shops and stores, with retail employees classified into Levels 1–8.
• 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 $27.81/hr, casual $34.76/hr.
  • Level 4: full-time/part-time $29.45/hr, casual $36.81/hr.
• Penalties: evening (after 6pm) and Saturday +25%, Sunday +50%, public holidays +125% (full-time/part-time); casual rates are higher again.
• Junior rates apply for staff under 21 (from 45% under 16 up to 90% at 20).
• Get classification, age, employment type and shift type right for every employee.

The General Retail Award — full name the General Retail Industry Award 2020 [MA000004] — is the modern award that sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for its industry. It covers general retail businesses — supermarkets, department stores, clothing, hardware, newsagents and speciality shops — and their employees. Fast-food outlets, cafés and restaurants inside a retail centre are usually covered by the Fast Food, Restaurant or Hospitality awards instead.

Pay is built from four things, in this order: the classification level the employee’s duties fall into (8 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 General Retail Award covers employers and employees in the general retail industry — the sale or hire of goods to the public:

• Supermarkets and grocery stores, department stores, clothing and footwear, electronics, hardware, furniture, newsagents and most other shops.
• Retail employees from entry-level sales assistants (Level 1) through to store/section managers (Level 8).

Important — who’s covered by other awards: fast-food outlets → Fast Food Award; pharmacies → Pharmacy Award; hair and beauty salons → Hair and Beauty Award; clubs → Registered & Licensed Clubs 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 retail employee Levels 1–8:

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

Every retail employee is classified into one of eight levels. Here is the 2026/27 ordinary hourly rate for each (full-time and part-time). Casual employees add the 25% loading (shown in brackets); evening, weekend and public-holiday penalties apply on top, and juniors under 21 are paid a percentage of the Level 1 rate.

Level 1 — $27.81/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.76/hour). Entry-level work: sales assistant, checkout operator, shelf filler. Most retail staff start at Level 1.

Level 2 — $28.45/hour full-time/part-time (casual $35.56/hour). For employees with some experience or added responsibility, such as ordering or handling stock.

Level 3 — $28.89/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.11/hour). For a trade-qualified employee or one performing specialised duties.

Level 4 — $29.45/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.81/hour). Supervisory, senior sales or department-level responsibilities.

Level 5 — $30.66/hour full-time/part-time (casual $38.33/hour). Supervisor of a section or a small store.

Level 6 — $31.11/hour full-time/part-time (casual $38.89/hour). Tradesperson or advanced specialised role.

Level 7 — $32.67/hour full-time/part-time (casual $40.84/hour). Senior supervisor or coordinator.

Level 8 — $33.99/hour full-time/part-time (casual $42.49/hour). Manages a section or store and supervises other staff — the top retail classification.

Classification follows duties, skills and responsibility — not job title.

• Levels 1–8 progress from entry-level sales and checkout (Level 1) through specialised, trade-qualified and supervisory roles to store and section managers (Level 8).
• Juniors (under 21) are paid a percentage of the adult Level 1 rate: about 45% under 16, 50% at 16, 60% at 17, 70% at 18, 80% at 19 and 90% at 20, reaching the full adult rate at 21.
• Baking-production and shiftwork roles attract separate loadings (see penalties).

Write each employee’s level, age 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 retail sales assistant, checkout operator or stock replenisher sits at Level 1 — $27.81/hr (casual $34.76/hr). This is where most retail staff sit.

A retail team leader or floor supervisor sits at Level 4 — $29.45/hr, and a department supervisor running a section at Level 5 — $30.66/hr.

A store manager or retail assistant manager who supervises staff and runs a store sits at Level 8 — $33.99/hr (casual $42.49/hr).

Employees under 21 are paid a percentage of the adult rate for their level. Junior percentages are set out in the rate sheet above — a 17-year-old Level 1 casual is paid well below the adult casual figure.

General Retail Award penalties (on the ordinary rate):

• Evening (Mon–Fri after 6pm): 125% (full-time/part-time), 150% (casual)
• Saturday: 125% (full-time/part-time), 150% (casual)
• Sunday: 150% (full-time/part-time), 175% (casual)
• Public holiday: 225% (full-time/part-time), 250% (casual)
• Shiftwork and baking-production loadings apply for non-baking shiftworkers and early-morning/night baking-production employees (separate from the calculator above).
• Overtime: time-and-a-half for the first 3 hours then double time; double time on Sundays and public holidays.

The calculator above covers ordinary, evening, Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday rates. For shiftwork, baking production and overtime, use Fair Work’s PACT tool or award-interpreting software. For setting up these public holiday rates correctly in RosterElf, see how to pay staff for public holidays in RosterElf.

• Full-time is around 38 hours per week, ongoing; part-time has a regular agreed pattern of hours.
• 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 instead of paid leave, with a minimum engagement of 3 hours per shift.
• Casual evening, weekend and public-holiday rates are higher than the permanent rates because the loading is added to the penalty (for example, casual Sunday is 175% of the base rate).

Common allowances under this award include:

• Cold work – about $0.38/hr (0°C and above) or $0.97/hr (below 0°C).
• First aid – about $14.55 per week.
• Laundry – about $6.42/week (full-time) or $1.28 per shift (part-time/casual).
• Liquor licence – about $34.69 per week where a licence is required.
• Meal (overtime) – about $24.56, with a further $22.27 after more than 4 hours of overtime.
• Vehicle – about $1.00 per km.

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 (general retail; not fast food, pharmacy or hair/beauty).
• Download the latest pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Classify each employee by level and age; review junior rates on each birthday.
• Set base rates and apply evening/weekend/public-holiday penalties, shiftwork and overtime.
• Use award-interpreting software so evening and weekend rates are calculated automatically, and keep records for 7 years.

These are the errors that show up most often when employers audit their own General Retail 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 7 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.

• Levels 1–8 cover sales assistants through to store managers.
• Evening (after 6pm) and Saturday are +25%, Sunday +50%, public holidays +125%.
• Junior rates step up with age — review them on each birthday.
• Casual loading is 25% with a 3-hour minimum engagement.
• Update every July and keep good records.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.