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INAlpine Resorts Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week at the snow actually pays — the right classification level, casual loading, overtime and public-holiday rates under the Alpine Resorts Award, calculated the way the award says.
How the Alpine Resorts Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per classification level — the calculator uses the adult hourly rates from clause 18, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The award publishes hourly rates only; weekly figures are hourly × 38.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on ordinary hours — and seasonal employees (engaged for the season, full-time or part-time) are paid the same classification rates.
- There are no evening or weekend penalties: ordinary hours can fall on any 5 days of the week, up to 10 hours a day, averaged over a 4-week cycle. Weekend work at the base rate is the deal that makes resort rosters work.
- Overtime applies beyond the 38-hour average or 10 hours a day, any day of the week: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% — and for casuals those percentages already include the loading, so nothing stacks on top.
- Public holidays are paid at 250% (casuals included). Snowsports Instructors are the exception — the award gives them neither overtime nor the public-holiday penalty.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including the public-holiday penalty — but not to overtime. And a full-timer called in on a rostered day off in an emergency gets 150% plus a substitute day off.
Who the award covers
- Alpine resorts throughout Australia — any resort operating an alpine lift
- Lift operations, ski patrol, trail crews, snowmaking and plant operators
- Snowsports schools — instructors and race/specialist coaches
- Resort hospitality — bars, restaurants, kitchens and housekeeping
- Guest services — ticketing, hire, retail, reservations and childcare
- On-hire labour placed into alpine resort operations
Only work at, or in direct connection with, operating the resort. A stand-alone restaurant, hotel or shop in an alpine village usually sits under the Hospitality, Restaurant or Retail awards instead — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Alpine Resorts Award runs two ladders side by side: Resort Workers (Training plus Levels 1–7 — everything from car parking to plant operators and chefs) and Snowsports Instructors (Categories E to A, keyed to APSI qualifications). Classify by the skill and responsibility the role requires, using the definitions in Schedule A — most seasonal resort teams sit at Levels 1–3.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training | $25.74 | $978.12 | New starters in induction, orientation or pre-competency training | The starting rate while staff are trained for their substantive role — capped at 7 weeks, and not available for trainee plant operators. |
| Resort Worker Level 1 | $26.44 | $1004.72 | Car parking · Lift attendant · Kitchenhand · Food service assistant · Housekeeping assistant | No previous experience needed: labouring tasks and assistant roles under supervision, with some on-the-job training. |
| Resort Worker Level 2 | $27.08 | $1029.04 | Ticket/pass sales · Hire and retail sales · Bar and food service · Housekeeping · Receptionist · Unqualified cook | Some relevant experience or qualifications, detailed on-the-job training, still working under supervision. Most guest-facing roles live here — it’s also the award’s standard rate. |
| Resort Worker Level 3 | $27.99 | $1063.62 | Lift operator · Assistant ski patrol · Trail crew · Trades assistant · Supervising food/bar staff | Significant previous experience or employer-specific specialist training — including responsibility for safe lift operation or supervising lower-grade staff. |
| Resort Worker Level 4 | $29.43 | $1118.34 | Qualified chef · Guest services supervisor · Cashroom/treasury · Qualified fitness instructor | Specialist skills built on experience and qualifications, or providing direction to lower-level staff. A chef who has completed an apprenticeship sits here. |
| Resort Worker Level 5 | $30.39 | $1154.82 | Lift operations supervisor · Treasury/cashroom staff | Appropriately trained and employed to supervise and/or train employees of a lower grade. |
| Resort Worker Level 6 | $31.29 | $1189.02 | Plant/groomer operator · Qualified ski patroller · Trade-qualified staff · Childcare (Cert III/IV) · Hospitality supervisor | The qualification line: a recognised qualification in the field, deemed competent — plant operators, trades, qualified patrollers and hospitality supervisors. |
| Resort Worker Level 7 | $32.14 | $1221.32 | Chef in sole charge of a kitchen · Plant operations supervisor · Childcare supervisor (Diploma) | The top level: supervising other plant operators, running childcare with a Diploma, or a qualified chef solely responsible for a kitchen — ordering, stock control and staff. |
- The calculator models the Resort Worker stream. Snowsports Instructors have their own five categories, from Category E at $26.89/hour (no experience or a low-level qualification) to Category A at $40.28/hour (APSI Level 4 plus 10 full-time seasons).
- The Training rate is strictly temporary — 7 weeks maximum, then the employee must move to their substantive Resort Worker level.
- Level 6 is the qualification line: plant and groomer operators, trade-qualified staff, qualified ski patrollers and Cert III/IV childcare workers all start there, not at the general levels below.
- Junior rates apply under this award: 70% under 18, 80% at 18, full rate from 19 — but juniors serving liquor must be paid the adult rate.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Alpine Resorts 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 Alpine Resorts 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 Alpine Resorts Award requires:
The full rules live in clause 17 of the award.
Calculate a week under the Alpine Resorts 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, MA000092) — 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 classification minimums are the adult hourly rates from clause 18, current at 1 July 2026. Juniors are 70–80% of these until 19, apprentices have their own scale, and the weekly figures shown are simply hourly × 38 — the award itself publishes hourly rates only. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Do I owe weekend penalties?
No — this award has none. Ordinary hours can be rostered on any 5 days of the week, Saturday and Sunday included, at the base rate. The guard-rails are elsewhere: 10 hours a day maximum, a 38-hour weekly average, overtime at 150%/200% beyond that, and 250% on public holidays.
How does casual overtime work?
Unusually. The overtime rates — 150% for the first 2 hours, 200% after — already include the 25% casual loading, so a casual and a permanent earn the same overtime percentages. The loading only lifts ordinary hours.
How do I classify a snowsports instructor?
By APSI qualification and experience, not duties: Category E ($26.89/hr) for unqualified starters through to Category A ($40.28/hr) for APSI Level 4 with 10 full-time seasons. International equivalents count via Schedule B. Remember instructors get no overtime and no public-holiday penalty under this award.
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.
