Plumbing Award pay guide 2026/2027

Casual rates for ordinary weekday hours (all-purpose, including industry/special-fixed and — for tradespersons — trade and registration allowances), generated from the current Fair Work pay guide:

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

• The Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 [MA000036] covers plumbing, gasfitting, drainage and fire-sprinkler work, from worker level 1 through tradesperson and advanced tradesperson classifications.
• 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 all-purpose adult pay:
  • Worker level 1(a): full-time/part-time $27.97/hr, casual $34.96/hr.
  • Tradesperson level 1 (plumber): full-time/part-time $31.63/hr, casual $39.54/hr.
• Ordinary hours are Mon–Fri; Saturday is overtime (1.5× then 2×), Sunday 2×, public holidays 2.5×.
• Apprentice and shiftwork rates apply separately.
• Get classification, allowances, employment type and shift type right for every employee.

The Plumbing Award — full name the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 [MA000036] — is the modern award that sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for its industry. It covers plumbing and mechanical services contracting — plumbers, gasfitters, drainers, roof plumbers and HVAC mechanical services workers. Like the electrical award, several of its allowances are all-purpose, meaning they form part of the rate used to calculate overtime and penalties.

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 Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award covers employers and employees in plumbing, gasfitting, drainage, roofing (stormwater) and fire-sprinkler contracting. Employees range from worker level 1 (new entrants and workers) through tradesperson, special-class and advanced tradesperson classifications.

Important — who’s covered by other awards: electrical contracting → Electrical Award; general manufacturing → Manufacturing Award. Confirm coverage with Fair Work’s PACT tool before applying rates.

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

All-purpose ordinary weekday rates from worker level 1 to advanced tradesperson:

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

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

Worker level 1(a) – new entrant — $27.97/hour full-time/part-time (casual $34.96/hour, $1062.71/week full-time). Entry-level plumbing/mechanical services worker.

Worker level 1(d) — $29.26/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.58/hour, $1112.01/week full-time). Worker after fulfilling requirements.

Tradesperson level 1 — $31.63/hour full-time/part-time (casual $39.54/hour, $1201.78/week full-time). Qualified/registered plumber (the trade rate).

Tradesperson level 2 — $32.55/hour full-time/part-time (casual $40.69/hour, $1236.98/week full-time). Tradesperson with additional qualifications.

Tradesperson – special class level 1 — $33.48/hour full-time/part-time (casual $41.85/hour, $1272.08/week full-time). Special-class plumber/gasfitter.

Tradesperson – special class level 2 — $34.31/hour full-time/part-time (casual $42.89/hour, $1303.78/week full-time). Senior special-class tradesperson.

Advanced tradesperson level 1 — $35.24/hour full-time/part-time (casual $44.05/hour, $1338.98/week full-time). Advanced plumbing & mechanical services.

Advanced tradesperson level 2 — $35.94/hour full-time/part-time (casual $44.93/hour, $1365.78/week full-time). Senior advanced tradesperson.

Classification follows skills, qualifications and registration:

• Worker level 1(a)–(d) covers new entrants and workers progressing through their first year.
• Tradesperson level 1 is the qualified/registered plumber trade rate; special-class and advanced tradespersons reflect higher skills and registrations.
• Tradespersons receive the plumbing trade and registration allowances, already built into the all-purpose rate.
• Apprentices are paid stage/year-based rates.

Write each employee’s classification, registration 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 registered or qualified plumber sits at tradesperson level 1 — $31.63/hr (casual $39.54/hr). This is the trade rate the rest of the structure is benchmarked against.

A new entrant sits at worker level 1(a) — $27.97/hr, moving to level 1(d) — $29.26/hr on fulfilling the award’s requirements.

A special-class plumber or gasfitter sits at $33.48–$34.31/hr, and an advanced tradesperson in plumbing and mechanical services at $35.24–$35.94/hr (casual up to $44.93/hr).

Plumbers’ ordinary hours are Monday–Friday; weekend work is paid at overtime rates (on the all-purpose rate):

• Saturday (overtime): time-and-a-half (150%) for the first 2 hours, then double time (200%).
• Sunday: double time (200%).
• Public holiday: 250%.
• Shiftwork loadings apply for afternoon and night shifts (separate from the calculator above).
• Living-away, travel and fares allowances apply for distant work.

The calculator above covers ordinary hours, Saturday (first 2 hours overtime), Sunday and public-holiday rates. For shiftwork, later overtime hours and travel, 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 on the all-purpose rate instead of paid leave, with a minimum engagement per shift.
• Casual overtime, Sunday and public-holiday rates are higher than the permanent rates because the 25% loading is added to the penalty (for example, casual Saturday’s first 2 overtime hours are 175% of the base rate).

The Plumbing Award has several all-purpose allowances built into the rates above:

• Industry & special-fixed allowance – included in all rates.
• Plumbing trade & registration allowance – included in tradesperson rates.

Other allowances apply separately, including first aid (about $4.03/day), leading hand (from about $1.56/hr for 2–5 employees), computing quantities (about $6.71/day) and travel/fares/living-away allowances. 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 (plumbing/gasfitting/fire sprinklers; not electrical or manufacturing).
• Download the latest pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Classify each employee by level, registration and apprentice stage.
• Set all-purpose rates (industry/trade/registration allowances) and apply overtime, Sunday, public-holiday and shift rates.
• Use award-interpreting software so overtime and allowances are calculated automatically, and keep records for 7 years.

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

This award carries 5 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.

All-purpose allowances form part of the ordinary rate, so overtime and penalties must be calculated on the rate including them. Calculating penalties on the base rate alone understates every overtime hour.

• Worker level 1 → tradesperson → advanced tradesperson, with tradesperson level 1 the plumber trade rate.
• Rates are all-purpose — they bundle industry/special-fixed (and trade/registration for tradespersons) allowances.
• Ordinary hours are Mon–Fri; Saturday is overtime, Sunday 2×, public holidays 2.5×.
• Apprentice and shiftwork rates are separate.
• Update every July and keep good records.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.