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Black Coal Mining Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week under the Black Coal Mining Award actually pays — the right classification, shift and weekend penalties, and 12% super, calculated the way the award says.

How the Black Coal Mining Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per classification within Schedule A or B — the calculator uses the adult rates current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Casual loading is 25%, but it only ever applies to Schedule B staff roles — there is no casual rate for Schedule A mine floor employees under this award.
Shift type drives the penalty, not just time of day: day shift is the base rate, afternoon/rotating night shift adds 15%, and permanent night shift adds 25% — three different Monday–Friday rates, not one.
Overtime is calculated on a 35-hour week, not 38 — the first 3 hours beyond that are 150%, then 200%, with Sunday and public holiday overtime both at flat rates.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including shift and weekend penalties — but not to overtime.
Annual leave loading here is 20% of the ordinary rate or rostered earnings for the period, whichever is greater — not the more common 17.5% used in most other awards.

Who the award covers

Extraction and mining of black coal, underground or on the surface, on a coal mining lease
Processing at a coal handling or processing plant on or adjacent to a coal mining lease
Transport of black coal on a coal mining lease
Other work on a coal mining lease directly connected with extraction, mining and processing
Employees of mines rescue services

Brown coal mining tied to a power station, head-office and corporate administration staff, coal export terminal operations, on-site construction work, catering and domestic services, and haulage of coal off the lease sit under other awards or agreements — check before you classify.

Which level is your team member?

The Black Coal Mining Award splits its workforce into two schedules: Schedule A covers Production and Engineering employees — the mine floor — through five competency levels from Induction to Specialised. Schedule B covers Staff Employees — surveyors, clerks, engineers and mines rescue staff — across thirteen groups (A to M). Classify by which schedule the role sits in first, then by the employer’s assessment of competency within it.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Induction Level 1	$31.15	$1090.10	New starter (non-trade) · undertaking site induction	Entry level for a non-trade employee undertaking statutory and minesite induction — stays here until the employer signs off induction as complete.
Induction Level 2 / Training	$31.75	$1111.10	Trade-certificated new starter · Mineworker – Training	Induction level for a certificated tradesperson completing site induction; once through induction, the employee trains under direct supervision as a Mineworker – Training until assessed as competent.
Mineworker	$33.94	$1187.80	General mineworker, competent across a variety of tasks	Assessed by the employer as competent to perform the required tasks in a variety of operating circumstances under limited supervision.
Mineworker – Advanced	$35.57	$1245.10	Senior mineworker · may supervise others	Assessed as competent to perform the required tasks in all relevant operating circumstances at a level above a Mineworker — may supervise other employees.
Mineworker – Specialised	$39.23	$1373.10	Specialised production role · may supervise others	Assessed as competent to perform specialised functions beyond Mineworker – Advanced, exercising independent discretion within bounds the employer sets.
Staff Group A	$33.39	$1168.60	Tracer · Clerk · Laboratory Assistant · Stores Clerk (no prior industry experience)	Entry point for Schedule B staff roles — no prior coal mining industry experience required.
Staff Group D	$35.76	$1251.60	Surveyor · Draftsperson · Shotfirer	Trade or professional qualification applied in a technical staff role.
Staff Group G	$38.77	$1357.10	Chemist · Safety Officer · Personnel Officer · Purchasing Officer	Professional or specialist staff role carrying responsibility for a functional area.
Staff Group J	$40.38	$1413.30	Engineer · Geologist · Metallurgist · Assistant Undermanager	Degree-qualified engineering or scientific role, or a senior operational role such as Assistant Undermanager.
Staff Group M	$43.97	$1539.00	Engineer or Undermanager in charge · Mines Rescue Superintendent	The most senior staff classification — an engineer or undermanager with overall charge, or a Mines Rescue Superintendent.

Schedule A has no junior levels below Induction — every production and engineering employee starts there and is assessed up as competency is confirmed, not on a fixed timetable.
Casual employment is only available to Schedule B Staff Employees (clause 8.1(c)). Production and engineering employees on the mine floor cannot be engaged as casuals under this award at all.
The ordinary week is 35 hours, not the 38 used in most other awards — this changes the hourly-from-weekly conversion and where overtime starts.
Six- and seven-day roster employees sit on a different overtime table (215%/225% for afternoon/night shifts) to non-roster employees — the calculator models the more common non-roster table; check your roster type against Schedule C before relying on the result.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Black Coal Mining 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):

First Aid Officer allowance — appointed first aid officer$8.44/day or shift

First Aid Attendant allowance — appointed first aid attendant$5.00/day or shift

Meal allowance — Schedule B staff, per qualifying meal$20.58/meal

Clothing and safety boots — annual reimbursement1 pair safety boots + 2 sets industrial outer clothing per year

Transport allowance — shift or overtime work where normal transport is unavailable1 hour at ordinary rate, or transport provided

Annual leave loading20% of ordinary rate, or rostered earnings for the period — whichever is greater

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 Black Coal Mining 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 Black Coal Mining Award requires:

Meal break — each 5 hours worked during rostered hoursPaid, 30 minutes, no deduction from pay

Working past 5 hours by agreement without a breakOvertime rates from the 5-hour mark until a break is taken

Non-rostered overtime beyond 1.5 hours after shiftPaid 30-minute meal break before starting, plus a further paid 30 minutes after each 4 hours of overtime

Rare among awards: the standard meal break here is paid. The full rules live in clause 16 of the award.

Calculate a week under the Black Coal Mining 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 35 hours is priced as overtime; super is applied to ordinary-time earnings only.

Classification levelEmployment typeState or territoryWeekday day shiftWeekday afternoon or rotating night shiftAfternoon shift or rotating night shift, Monday–Friday (clause 23.1) — casual figure is the day rate plus the award’s 25% casual loading applied on topWeekday permanent night shiftPermanent night shift, Monday–Friday (clause 23.1)Saturday hoursDay/day-shift Saturday work: 150% for the first 4 hours, then 200% — modelled here at the after-4-hours rate as the representative Saturday figureSunday hoursPublic holiday hoursShown the way the FWO’s own pay guide prices it: 200% for the hours worked PLUS the classification rate for the day the employee would ordinarily have been paid anyway (clause 29.4) — 300% all-in, 375% for staff casuals. An earlier version of this file showed only the 200% worked-hours component.

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000001) — 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 rates from Schedule A and Schedule B, current at 1 July 2026. Six- and seven-day roster employees, graduate engineers and Mines Rescue staff under Schedule I sit on separate tables. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

Can I put a production employee on casual?

No — casual employment under this award is only available to Schedule B Staff Employees. Anyone on the mine floor under Schedule A must be employed full-time or part-time.

Why does the calculator use 35 hours a week?

The Black Coal Mining Award sets ordinary hours at 35 a week, not the 38 used in most other awards. That changes both the hourly-rate conversion and when overtime starts.

Does super apply to shift penalties?

Yes — afternoon, night, weekend and public-holiday penalties on ordinary hours are ordinary-time earnings, so the 12% super guarantee applies. True overtime is excluded. The calculator applies exactly that split.

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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