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INCabin Crew Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week of flying actually pays — the right cabin crew classification, casual loading, the award’s annual-hours overtime and super, calculated the way MA000047 says.
How the Cabin Crew Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per classification — the calculator uses the adult rates from clause 14.2, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on the minimum hourly rate, with a 4-hour minimum payment per engagement.
- There are no evening or weekend penalties — ordinary hours include weekends and public holidays by design, and the rates and 42-day annual leave entitlement compensate for that.
- Real overtime is annual, not weekly: 200% of the minimum hourly rate applies past 1872 hours in a year or past the roster-cycle maximum. The calculator approximates this on a 38-hour week — treat weekly overtime results as a planning ceiling.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings — but not to overtime.
- The trap: annual leave is 42 calendar days inclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays — don’t add public holidays on top, and don’t forget the 17.5% leave loading.
Who the award covers
- Cabin crew members on domestic flying — mainline Australian routes
- Cabin crew on regional flying operations
- Cabin crew on international flying
- Cabin crew supervisors and cabin crew managers
- Labour hire staff placed into cabin crew roles
Pilots sit under the Air Pilots Award, ramp, check-in and engineering staff under the Airline Operations—Ground Staff Award, and airport operator employees under the Airport Employees Award — this award is cabin crew only.
Which level is your team member?
The Cabin Crew Award keeps classification simple: three levels, set by responsibility and aircraft type rather than years of service. What changes more is the flying type — domestic, regional and international crew share the same rate table but follow different schedules for rosters, allowances and duty limits.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabin crew member | $28.88 | $1097.40 | Flight attendant · Cabin crew member (domestic, regional or international) | Responsible for the comfort and safety of passengers in their carriage by aircraft, to the standards and regulations the employer sets. The award’s “standard rate”. |
| Cabin crew supervisor | $33.69 | $1280.40 | Cabin supervisor · Senior cabin crew (narrow-bodied aircraft) | A cabin crew member performing supervisory duties on narrow-bodied aircraft with 4 or more crew. |
| Cabin crew manager | $39.36 | $1495.50 | Cabin manager · Customer service manager (wide-bodied aircraft) | Supervises the crew and manages all cabin activities on wide-bodied aircraft — in-flight product and entertainment, customer and crew safety, emergency procedures, plus arrival and departure duties. |
- Every crew member starts (and most stay) at Cabin crew member — the base level covers the full passenger comfort and safety role, whatever the route.
- Supervisor is aircraft-specific: supervisory duties on a narrow-bodied aircraft with 4 or more crew. A senior crew member on a 3-crew aircraft stays at the base level.
- Manager means the wide-bodied cabin: full responsibility for the crew, the in-flight product, safety oversight and emergency procedures.
- Domestic, regional and international flying pay the same minimums — but each has its own schedule (A, B or C) for rosters, overtime triggers and allowances. Classify the flying type before the person.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Cabin Crew Award adds allowances for particular duties and situations — being the designated first aid officer, working overtime without notice, using your own car. They’re small lines individually, but they’re legal entitlements and they add up. The common ones (1 July 2026 amounts):
The calculator below doesn’t include allowances — add the ones that apply to your team on top of the result. The full list lives in the award’s allowances clause.
Break entitlements under the Cabin Crew Award
Breaks are part of the award too — and missed or worked-through breaks usually carry a penalty rate, so they belong in the roster, not just the tea room. Here’s what the Cabin Crew Award requires:
From the award’s definitions and duty-time schedules (Schedules A–C set the detailed break rules by flying type). Verify the schedule for your operation before rostering.
Calculate a week under the Cabin Crew Award
Enter the week as it’s actually rostered. Weekend, evening and public-holiday hours are paid at the award’s penalty rates; anything beyond 38 hours is priced as overtime; super is applied to ordinary-time earnings only.
Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000047) — first full pay period on or after that date.
This week’s numbers
Nothing is stored or sent — the maths runs on this page.
Are these the exact legal rates?
The three classification minimums are the adult rates from clause 14.2, current at 1 July 2026. The bigger caveat is structure: this award runs on annual flying hours and roster cycles rather than a standard week, so treat the weekly result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Why is there no weekend or public holiday penalty?
Because the award builds it in. Ordinary hours expressly include weekends and public holidays, and clause 25.1 confirms the minimum wage and the 42-day annual leave entitlement already compensate for every NES public holiday. A Sunday flight and a Tuesday flight pay the same.
How does overtime actually work for cabin crew?
Not weekly. Overtime is 200% of the minimum hourly rate and triggers when someone exceeds 1872 flying/duty hours in a year, or exceeds their roster-cycle maximum (for example 144 duty hours in a 28-day roster). The calculator’s 38-hour weekly threshold is an approximation for planning a typical week.
Does super apply to the flying allowance and casual loading?
The 12% super guarantee applies to ordinary-time earnings, which includes the casual loading on ordinary hours. Overtime past the annual or roster-cycle trigger is excluded. Expense-style allowances (layovers, meals, uniforms) generally sit outside ordinary-time earnings — check with your adviser for your mix.
This is a general calculator, not legal advice. It applies the award’s published adult minimums to the hours you enter — it can’t see your enterprise agreement, allowances or individual arrangements, and junior, apprentice and shiftwork rates differ. Always confirm pay against the award, your agreement or your adviser. If you believe something here is materially wrong or out of date, please contact us — we’ll review it promptly.
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Tommy applies the right award rates to every shift as you roster — penalties, loading and super included. Start with your email and your numbers come along.
