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INCemetery Industry Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Cemetery Award actually pays — the right classification class, weekend and public holiday penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Cemetery Industry Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per class — the calculator uses the clause 14.1 rates, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, plus the $42.53/week all-purpose industry allowance that applies to every employee.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on ordinary hours; the loading is paid instead of leave and the other NES entitlements casuals don’t receive.
- This is a day-work-only award — there’s no dedicated shiftwork penalty clause, and no ordinary Saturday or Sunday penalty either. Weekend work is priced as overtime, not as a weekend loading on ordinary hours.
- Overtime runs 150% for the first 2 hours Monday to Saturday, then 200%; casual overtime adds the loading on top (175% / 225%) — unlike some awards, this one does not strip the casual loading from overtime.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including the industry allowance — but not to overtime.
- Exhumation and lift-and-deepen work carry their own graduated allowances by burial age and condition — check the table below before quoting a job that involves either.
Who the award covers
- Grave digging, backfilling and grave preparation
- Grounds and plant/equipment maintenance across cemetery grounds
- Cremation, crematorium operation and memorial/plaque work
- Funeral supervision, chapel preparation and traffic control on the day
- Senior specialist, supervisory and cemetery management roles
Employees already covered by another modern award for their actual duties, or excluded from award coverage by the Fair Work Act, sit outside this award — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Cemetery Award runs six classes covering everything from entry-level grounds work through to senior management, with grave digging, cremation, memorial work and funeral supervision each carving out their own sub-classes from Class 2 upward. Classify by the licence, supervision level and tasks actually performed — not the job title on the roster.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | $25.74 | $978.10 | General groundskeeper (<6 months) · Lawn mowing, weeding, fencing, general maintenance | Under 6 months’ service, working under routine supervision on general maintenance — mowing, raking, weeding, fencing, concreting, digging trenches with hand tools. |
| Class 2 | $27.08 | $1029.10 | Groundskeeper (6+ months) · Ride-on mower/tractor operator · Assistant gravedigger | Six months or more service, working from detailed instructions under general supervision — ride-on mowing, power tools, spraying, and (as Assistant Gravedigger) helping dig and prepare graves under supervision. |
| Class 3 | $27.97 | $1062.90 | Uncertificated gravedigger · Crematorium operator assistant · Memorial person · Funeral assistant | Works without direct supervision in one of four sub-classes: digging and dressing graves unsupervised, assisting the crematorium operator, preparing plaques and memorials, or assisting a funeral supervisor. |
| Class 4 | $29.45 | $1119.10 | Certificated gravedigger or gardener · Qualified tradesperson · Funeral supervisor | Holds a relevant trade certificate (certificated gravedigger, certificated gardener or equivalent), or supervises a funeral — authorising paperwork, controlling traffic, conveying remains. |
| Class 5 | $30.99 | $1177.60 | Senior specialist · Licensed supervisor | Senior specialist or supervisory role requiring a specific licence or qualification. Leading hand allowance is not payable from this level up. |
| Class 6 | $31.83 | $1209.50 | Cemetery manager · Senior specialist | The award’s top classification: senior management or a senior specialist role running the site. |
- Class 1 is a length-of-service and supervision test: under 6 months, working on general maintenance under routine supervision.
- From Class 2, the award splits into named sub-classes — Assistant Gravedigger, Uncertificated Gravedigger, Operator Assistant, Memorial Person, Funeral Assistant and Funeral Supervisor — so check the sub-class definitions, not just the class number.
- Class 4 is the trade-certificate floor: certificated gravediggers, certificated gardeners and other qualified tradespeople sit here, alongside the Funeral Supervisor sub-class.
- All Class 2 and above (other than the Class 2 Assistant Gravedigger sub-class) must hold the appropriate licence and an accredited short course certificate — confirm this before classifying anyone at Class 2 or higher.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Cemetery Industry 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 Cemetery Industry 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 Cemetery Industry Award requires:
The full rules live in clause 13 of the award.
Calculate a week under the Cemetery Industry 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, MA000070) — 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 class minimums are the adult rates from clause 14.1, current at 1 July 2026, plus the all-purpose industry allowance. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser before running payroll.
Is there a weekend penalty rate for ordinary hours?
No — this award covers day work only and has no ordinary-hours Saturday or Sunday penalty. Any Saturday or Sunday work is treated as overtime and paid at the overtime multipliers instead.
What’s the exhumation allowance for?
It compensates for the more demanding and confronting work of exhuming a grave, and it’s graduated by how long the burial has been in place and whether the remains were embalmed or sealed — from $99.60 to $199.20 per body. It sits on top of ordinary or penalty pay for the hours worked.
Do leading hands at every class get the leading hand allowance?
No — the allowance stops at Class 5. Class 5 and Class 6 employees are senior specialist or supervisory roles in their own right, and the award doesn’t stack a leading hand allowance on top of those classifications.
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.
