Manufacturing Award pay guide 2026/2027

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

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

• The Manufacturing Award [MA000010] uses the metal/engineering classification structure: C14 (entry) up through the C10 trade rate to C4 and above.
• 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:
  • C14 (entry): full-time/part-time $25.74/hr, casual $32.18/hr.
  • C10 (trade): full-time/part-time $29.45/hr, casual $36.81/hr.
• Penalties (day workers): Saturday +50%, Sunday +100%, public holidays +150%; casual rates are higher again.
• Apprentices and shiftwork (afternoon/night/permanent-night) have their own rates.
• Get classification, employment type and shift type right for every employee.

The Manufacturing Award — full name the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 [MA000010] — is the modern award that sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for its industry. It covers manufacturing, engineering and associated industries — food processing, metal fabrication, plastics, printing and general production. Its classification structure is the well-known C14 to C1 scale, where C10 is the trade rate for a qualified tradesperson and everything above and below is benchmarked against it.

Pay is built from four things, in this order: the classification level the employee’s duties fall into (11 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 Manufacturing Award covers a broad range of manufacturing and associated industries and occupations, including:

• Engineering and metal trades, fabrication and machining, food and beverage manufacturing, plastics, rubber, chemicals, building products, printing-adjacent manufacturing and more.
• Employees from entry-level (C14) through trade-qualified (C10) to technical and professional officers (C4 and above).

Important — who’s covered by other awards: meat processing → Meat Industry Award; electrical contracting → Electrical Award; road transport/distribution → Road Transport Award; plumbing → Plumbing Award. Confirm coverage with Fair Work’s PACT tool before applying rates.

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

Ordinary weekday rates for the C14–C4 classifications:

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

Apprentice rates (general manufacturing, started on or after 1 January 2014, did not complete year 12). Apprentices who completed year 12 are paid higher rates — see the pay guide.

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

C14 – Manufacturing employee level I — $25.74/hour full-time/part-time (casual $32.18/hour, $978.10/week full-time). Entry-level / induction.

C13 – Manufacturing employee level II — $26.44/hour full-time/part-time (casual $33.05/hour, $1004.90/week full-time). Basic operative duties.

C12 – Manufacturing employee level III — $27.08/hour full-time/part-time (casual $33.85/hour, $1029.10/week full-time). Operating / assembly with some skill.

C11 – Manufacturing employee level IV — $27.97/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.96/hour, $1062.90/week full-time). Skilled operative / laboratory tester.

C10 – Manufacturing tradesperson level I — $29.45/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.81/hour, $1119.10/week full-time). Trade-qualified (the trade rate).

C9 – Manufacturing tradesperson level II — $30.38/hour full-time/part-time (casual $37.98/hour, $1154.30/week full-time). Trade + post-trade skills.

C8 – Tradesperson special class level I — $31.30/hour full-time/part-time (casual $39.13/hour, $1189.40/week full-time). Advanced trade / technician.

C7 – Tradesperson special class level II — $32.13/hour full-time/part-time (casual $40.16/hour, $1221.10/week full-time). Advanced trade / technician level III.

C6 – Engineering/laboratory technician — $33.77/hour full-time/part-time (casual $42.21/hour, $1283.10/week full-time). Advanced technical officer.

C5 – Engineering/laboratory technician — $34.46/hour full-time/part-time (casual $43.08/hour, $1309.50/week full-time). Senior technical officer.

C4 – Engineering technical officer — $35.38/hour full-time/part-time (casual $44.23/hour, $1344.50/week full-time). Principal-level technical officer.

Classification follows skills, training and responsibility — using the metal/engineering C-grade structure:

• C14–C11 are production/operative levels, from induction (C14) through increasingly skilled operative work.
• C10 is the trade rate — a qualified engineering/manufacturing tradesperson.
• C9–C4 (and above) cover post-trade, special-class, technical and professional officers.
• Apprentices are paid stage/year-based rates; trade-qualified juniors must be paid the adult rate.

Write each employee’s C-grade 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 process worker, factory hand or packer starts at C14 — $25.74/hr (casual $32.18/hr) during induction and moves to C13 — $26.44/hr and C12 — $27.08/hr as basic competencies are gained.

A machine operator or assembly line worker sits at C12–C11 ($27.08–$27.97/hr). A CNC operator with trade qualifications sits at C10 — $29.45/hr.

C10 — $29.45/hr (casual $36.81/hr) is the trade rate: a qualified fitter, welder, electrician or mechanic. Post-trade skills move to C9, and special-class tradespeople to C8–C7.

A production supervisor or quality controller sits at C8–C6 ($31.30–$33.77/hr) depending on technical responsibility, with technical officers at C5–C4.

General manufacturing penalties (day workers, on the ordinary rate):

• Saturday: 150% (full-time/part-time and casual base)
• Sunday: 200% (full-time/part-time and casual base)
• Public holiday: 250% (day worker and non-continuous shiftworker)
• Shiftwork loadings (separate from the calculator): afternoon and night shifts attract a loading on the ordinary rate, with a higher permanent night shift loading, and weekend shiftwork has its own rates.
• Overtime: time-and-a-half for the first hours then double time, with extra entitlements for short breaks between shifts.

The calculator above covers ordinary, Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday rates for day workers. For shiftwork and overtime, 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. Part-time hours should be agreed in writing.

• Paid a 25% casual loading instead of paid leave, with a minimum engagement per shift.
• Casual weekend and public-holiday rates are higher than the permanent rates — under this award the penalty applies to the loaded casual ordinary rate (so, for example, casual Saturday is 150% of the casual ordinary rate).

The Manufacturing Award has many allowances — these are some of the most common:

• Tool allowance – about $0.47/hr for most tradespersons ($0.89/hr for carpenters/joiners/boatbuilders).
• Leading hand – about $1.29/hr (3–10 employees), $1.93/hr (11–20).
• First aid – about $22.26 per week.
• Meal (overtime) – about $19.14 per meal.
• Cold places – about $0.82/hr; confined spaces – about $1.12/hr.

Many trade, disability and industry-specific allowances also apply. 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 and stream (general manufacturing; not meat, electrical, road transport or plumbing).
• Download the latest pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Classify each employee by C-grade and apprentice stage.
• Set base rates and apply weekend/public-holiday penalties, shiftwork loadings, tool and other allowances, and overtime.
• Use award-interpreting software so shiftwork and overtime are calculated automatically, and keep records for 7 years.

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

Apprentice rates step up at each stage or year of the apprenticeship. Progression is automatic under the award whether or not anyone updates payroll.

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.

C14 is an induction rate — it is not a permanent classification. An employee who has learned the job has moved to C13 or C12 whether or not the payroll system was updated, and the difference accrues every shift.

• C-grade structure: C14 entry → C10 trade rate → C4 and above.
• Saturday +50%, Sunday +100%, public holidays +150% for day workers.
• Apprentice and shiftwork rates are separate — don’t forget them.
• Tool and trade allowances are easy to miss.
• Update every July and keep good records.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.