Maritime Offshore Oil & Gas Award guide: coverage, schedules & rates 2026/2027
A plain-English guide to the Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award 2020 [MA000086] for Australian employers
Updated • FY2026/27 rates — effective the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026
Written by
Steve Harris
Summarise with AI
This guide provides general information about the Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award 2020 [MA000086] and related Australian workplace laws as at the date of publication.
It does not constitute legal, financial, payroll or employment advice. This award is unusually complex — it spans eight vessel schedules and 70+ classifications, and pay is expressed through base hourly rates, aggregate annual salaries (with rolled-up overtime) and a leave multiplier. The figures here are indicative examples only. Always work out exact entitlements from the official Fair Work pay guide and Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT), and confirm coverage before setting pay.
If you need award-specific guidance, see:
Looking for MA000086?
This is it. MA000086 is the official Fair Work code for the Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award 2020 (also known as Maritime Offshore Award) . This guide covers its pay rates, classifications, penalties and compliance for 2026/27.
View official MA000086 on Fair Work →What the Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award is
Why there’s no calculator on this page: unlike most awards, MA000086 doesn’t use a single classification ladder with simple time-window penalties. Pay depends on the vessel type first, then the role, and much of it is delivered as aggregate annual salaries with overtime rolled in. A generic hourly calculator would mislead, so this guide explains how it works and points you to the official pay guide for exact figures.
The Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award 2020 [MA000086] sets minimum pay and conditions for maritime employees working on vessels connected to Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry — masters, mates, engineers, integrated ratings and catering crew.
It’s one of the most structurally complex modern awards:
- Classifications are grouped under eight vessel schedules (see below), each with its own rate set.
- There are 70+ classifications across those schedules.
- Pay is expressed through base hourly rates, aggregate annual salaries (a minimum salary plus a rolled-up overtime component), and a leave-accrual multiplier of about 1.153 rather than separately-calculated NES leave.
- Distinct allowances apply for offshore conditions (hard-lying, living away, communication, and special efforts when a vessel is wrecked or stranded).
The rates in this guide are examples from the FY2026/27 pay guide (effective the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026). Always confirm the exact figure for a specific vessel schedule and classification in the official Fair Work pay guide.
Who the award covers (and who it doesn't)
The award covers employers and maritime employees on vessels operating in, or connected to, the offshore oil and gas industry — supply, support, standby, seismic, drilling and floating-production operations.
It does not cover:
- Clerical and administrative employees
- Work covered by other maritime awards, including the Seagoing Industry Award, Marine Towage Award, Dredging Industry Award, Port Authorities Award, and Ports, Harbours and Enclosed Water Vessels Award
- Coal export terminals, manufacturing and stevedoring
Because coverage turns on the vessel and the work, confirm which maritime award applies before setting pay — use Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) or our guide on how to find which award applies.
The eight vessel schedules
The award organises pay by vessel type. A worker’s rate depends on which schedule their vessel falls under, so identifying the schedule is the first step.
| Vessel schedule | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Facilities | Floating production and permanently-moored facilities |
| Support vessels – Division 1 | Support vessels 64 metres or less |
| Support vessels – Division 2 | Support vessels more than 64 metres |
| Supply vessels | Platform supply and anchor-handling supply vessels |
| Stand-by / utility vessels | Stand-by, safety and utility vessels |
| Seismic survey vessels | Seismic survey operations |
| Self-propelled & thruster-assisted drilling vessels | Drill ships and semi-submersible drilling rigs |
| Non-propelled MODUs under tow / NW shelf | Mobile offshore drilling units under tow and north-west shelf coastal vessels |
Key classifications & example rates
Below are example FY2026/27 minimum hourly rates for the Facilities schedule, to show the shape of the classifications. Rates differ for every vessel schedule — a Master on a supply vessel, for example, is paid at a different rate. Always check the exact figure for your vessel and role in the pay guide.
| Classification (Facilities schedule) | Hourly rate (FY2026/27) |
|---|---|
| Chief engineer | $53.29 |
| Master / facility master | $50.82 |
| First engineer | $45.91 |
| Second engineer / electrical engineer | $44.09 |
| Chief integrated rating / chief cook / chief caterer | $41.37 |
| Integrated rating / caterer | $39.31 |
Rates vary by vessel schedule
For comparison, a Master is about $45.43/hr on a Support Division 1 vessel, $48.31/hr on Support Division 2, and $42.56/hr on a supply vessel, while an integrated rating is around $31.48/hr on supply and standby vessels. Use the pay guide for the full set.
Aggregate salaries & the 1.153 leave multiplier
Two features make this award different from most:
- Aggregate annual salaries. Many roles are paid an aggregate annual salary — a minimum salary plus a rolled-up overtime component — rather than base pay with overtime applied shift-by-shift. The overtime is effectively baked in, so you don’t calculate weekend/overtime penalties the way you would under, say, the Mining Award.
- The 1.153 leave multiplier. Instead of accruing NES leave separately, the award uses a multiplier of about 1.153 days of paid leave for each day of duty, reflecting the compressed swing-based nature of offshore work.
Because of this, don’t try to reverse-engineer an hourly cost from the annual figure, or apply ordinary penalty rules on top. Model pay from the pay guide’s schedule for the specific vessel and classification, or use Fair Work’s PACT.
Offshore allowances
The award includes allowances specific to offshore work. Current FY2026/27 examples:
| Allowance | Amount (FY2026/27) |
|---|---|
| Accommodation – living ashore (own accommodation) | $194.35 per day |
| Hard-lying – 2-berth cabin (not floating production) | $57.15 per day |
| Hard-lying – 4-berth cabin (not floating production) | $91.51 per day |
| Living away from home (approved) | $175.90–$248.04 per week |
| Rest and recreation day – no meals provided | $185.42 per day |
| Special efforts – vessel wrecked or stranded | $32.07 per hour |
| Communication – floating production facilities | $5.45 per fortnight |
Amounts change annually — always confirm current allowances in the Fair Work pay guide.
Staying compliant
A practical approach for offshore maritime payroll:
- Confirm coverage and the vessel schedule first — MA000086 vs the Seagoing, Towage, Dredging or Ports awards, and which of the eight schedules the vessel falls under.
- Classify every employee by role within that schedule (master, mate, engineer, integrated rating, catering).
- Use the pay guide’s aggregate figures rather than applying ordinary hourly penalties on top.
- Configure the offshore allowances that apply to your operation.
- Keep clear records of swings, rest days and leave accrual (the 1.153 multiplier).
Award-aware rostering software with time and attendance helps you capture swings and hours accurately and feed them to payroll, even where the underlying pay model is an aggregate salary. For complex classifications, seek specialist advice.
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See rostering softwareFinal takeaways
The Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award is complex, but the essentials are:
- Vessel schedule first, then classification — the rate depends on both.
- Pay is often an aggregate annual salary with overtime rolled in, plus the ~1.153 leave multiplier — don’t apply ordinary penalties on top.
- Offshore allowances (hard-lying, living away, communication and more) apply on top.
- Always use the official pay guide and PACT for exact figures.
For official guidance, see the Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award [MA000086] on Fair Work, the Fair Work pay guide and PACT.
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Related award rate guides
Explore other Australian Modern Award pay rate guides
Rostering for offshore and shift-based operations
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Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award FAQ
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The Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Award 2020 (MA000086) is the modern award that sets minimum pay and conditions for maritime employees — masters, mates, engineers, integrated ratings and catering crew — working on vessels connected to Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry. It spans eight vessel schedules and 70+ classifications. It excludes clerical/administrative staff and work covered by other maritime awards such as the Seagoing Industry Award.
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Pay depends on the vessel schedule first, then the classification. The award uses base hourly rates as well as aggregate annual salaries (a minimum salary plus a rolled-up overtime component), and a leave-accrual multiplier of about 1.153 days per day of duty instead of separately-calculated NES leave. Because of this, use the official pay guide and PACT rather than applying ordinary penalty rules.
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There are eight: Facilities; Support vessels Division 1 (≤64m); Support vessels Division 2 (>64m); Supply vessels; Stand-by / utility vessels; Seismic survey vessels; self-propelled and thruster-assisted drilling vessels; and non-propelled MODUs under tow / north-west shelf coastal vessels. A worker’s rate depends on which schedule their vessel falls under.