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INAirport Employees Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week at the airport actually pays — the right classification level, shift and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way MA000049 says.
How the Airport Employees Award is applied
- This is a salary-based award — clause 19.1 sets minimum annual rates, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The calculator uses the award’s own hourly equivalents (annual ÷ 52.1666 ÷ 38).
- Casuals get a 25% loading on ordinary hours with a 2-hour minimum engagement — but the loading is not payable on overtime (clause 11.2), so casual overtime pays the same 150%/200% as permanent staff.
- Shift penalties substitute rather than stack — a Saturday shiftworker gets 150%, not the night loading plus the Saturday rate.
- Overtime applies beyond 38 ordinary weekly hours (or outside the 6.30am–6.30pm weekday spread): 150% for the first 3 hours, then 200% — and all Sunday overtime is 200%.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
- The trap: anyone paid at or above the Administrative services officer Level 6 minimum ($88,127/year) loses the automatic right to overtime — it becomes employer discretion (clause 23.4).
Who the award covers
- Employers throughout Australia that operate airports — from regional aerodromes to majors
- Ground services officers — airfield maintenance, mowing, line marking, traffic and security patrols
- Technical services officers — electrical, mechanical and other trades maintaining airport facilities
- Administrative services officers — reception through to program managers
- Professional engineers employed by the airport operator
- On-hire staff and group training apprentices placed with airport operators
Airline staff are elsewhere: ground handlers and check-in under the Airline Operations—Ground Staff Award, cabin crew under the Aircraft Cabin Crew Award. Council-run aerodromes covered by a local government award are also out.
Which level is your team member?
The Airport Employees Award classifies by stream first: technical services (trades), administrative services, ground services and professional engineers each have their own ladder of annual salaries in clause 19.1. The ladder here is the ground services officers stream — the airfield operations and maintenance roles most airport operators hire. Match the person to the skill level description in Schedule A, not their job title.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | $26.45 | $1005.10 | Airport general hand · Grounds labourer | The entry level: general labouring, garbage collection, minor cleaning and traffic control under close guidance. A driver’s licence is required. |
| Level 2 | $26.95 | $1024.10 | Traffic management officer · Security surveillance · Line-marking painter | Proficient in Level 1–2 duties: airport traffic control and infringement notices, runway and taxiway marking, basic security surveillance and reporting, mowing airside and landside. |
| Level 3 | $27.54 | $1046.52 | Security patrol officer · Pavement maintenance worker | Adds asphalt pavement repair, equipment maintenance not needing trade qualifications, airside access control and building patrols, and tractor operation under safety supervision. |
| Level 4 | $28.33 | $1076.54 | Plant operator · Advanced security officer | Operates a wide range of plant without airside safety supervision, backs up security incidents (advanced training required), routine airport lighting lamp replacement, helps train newer staff. |
| Level 5 | $29.45 | $1119.10 | Leading hand · Heavy plant operator | Supervises and trains Levels 1–4, runs heavy plant (loader, grader, runway sweeper, dozer) and sewerage treatment plant, assists airport works programs. |
| Level 6 | $30.48 | $1158.24 | Works co-ordinator · Maintenance programmer | Reports and records, bird counts, oversees aircraft ground running, minor surveys, reads construction plans, develops the maintenance program on smaller airports, controls minor Method of Work Plans. |
| Level 7 | $31.43 | $1194.34 | Airport safety officer · Aerodrome reporting officer | The airside operations level: safety inspections, raising NOTAMs, runway visual range assessments, bird hazard action, marshalling aircraft, and co-ordinating airside safety in an emergency. |
| Level 8 | $32.04 | $1217.52 | Senior airport safety officer (by GM approval) | Restricted classification needing general manager approval: skills and responsibility significantly beyond Level 7 — typically working alone and liaising with clients for the employer. |
| Level 9 | $32.46 | $1233.48 | Ground services supervisor | Supervises and trains staff at Levels 1–8, holds responsibility for airside security and safety, and co-ordinates in an emergency. Appointment needs airport or general manager approval. |
| Level 10 | $32.87 | $1249.06 | Senior supervisor | Proficient in the lower-level duties with completed supervisory studies (or the equivalent skill level). |
| Level 11 | $33.49 | $1272.62 | Airport operations co-ordinator | The top of the stream: raises NOTAMs, supervises airside contractors, notifies serviceability changes, prepares budget input, rosters staff and investigates security breaches. |
- Levels build cumulatively — each level requires proficiency in all the duties below it, as specified by local agreement. Level 1 is genuinely entry (labouring, traffic control); the safety-critical airside work starts at Level 7.
- Level 8 is deliberately hard to reach: it needs the general manager’s specific approval and applies only where responsibility significantly exceeds Level 7 without justifying Level 9.
- The other streams price differently — technical services runs $28.33–$45.42/hour, administrative services $27.74–$47.92, professional engineers $36.52–$55.40. Misclassifying between streams is the common error: check Schedule A’s skill descriptions first.
- Juniors are a percentage of the adult rate (60% under 18 up to 91% at 20), and apprentices key off the Technical services officer Level 1 rate.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Airport Employees 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 Airport Employees 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 Airport Employees Award requires:
After overtime, staff should get at least 8 consecutive hours off (plus reasonable travel time) before the next day’s work. The full rules live in clauses 17–18 of the award.
Calculate a week under the Airport Employees 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, MA000049) — 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 levels shown are the adult ground services officer salaries from clause 19.1, current at 1 July 2026, converted to hourly using the award’s own formula (annual ÷ 52.1666 ÷ 38). Technical, administrative and engineering streams have their own tables, and juniors are a percentage. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Why is this calculator showing weekly pay for a salaried award?
The award publishes annual salaries, but ordinary hours are still 38 a week and the penalty and overtime clauses all work off the hourly equivalent — so a weekly view is how the costs actually land. Multiply by 52.1666 if you want the annual figure back.
Do casuals get their 25% loading on overtime?
No — this award is explicit that the casual loading applies to ordinary hours only (clause 11.2). A casual working overtime gets the same 150% and 200% as a permanent employee. On ordinary shift and weekend hours, though, the loading applies on top: Saturday 175%, Sunday 225%, public holiday 275%.
What’s the overtime exemption threshold?
Employees paid at or above the Administrative services officer Level 6 minimum — $88,127 a year — aren’t automatically entitled to overtime; it’s at the employer’s discretion (clause 23.4). If you employ senior salaried staff, don’t build automatic overtime into their contracts without checking this clause.
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.
