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INCoal Export Terminals Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Coal Export Terminals Award actually pays — the right classification, shift and weekend penalties, casual loading and 12% super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Coal Export Terminals Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per level within Operations and Services or Maintenance Trades — the calculator uses the adult rates current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, all set on the award’s 35-hour week.
- Casual loading is 25%, all-purpose, and already reflected in the casual rate used throughout the calculator.
- Afternoon and night shift both sit at the same 115% penalty under this award — there’s no extra loading for night shift over afternoon shift, which trips up employers used to other awards.
- Saturday has an unusual 4-hour threshold: the first 4 hours are 150%, everything after is 200% — and weekend/public-holiday rates replace shift loadings rather than stacking on top of them.
- Overtime runs on the 35-hour week: 150% for the first 3 hours Monday to Saturday, then 200%, with Sunday and public holiday overtime both at flat rates (200% and 250%). Continuous shiftworkers get 200% for all overtime, 250% on a public holiday.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including shift and weekend penalties — but not to overtime.
Who the award covers
- Employers operating coal export terminals — receiving, stockpiling and loading coal for export
- Ship loading, reclaiming and stacking machine operation
- Coal handling, tipping, crushing, blending, sampling and conveyor operations
- Maintenance trades staff working on coal export terminal plant and equipment
- Full-time, part-time and casual terminal employees
Terminals that also handle other cargo or broader port activities beyond a minor or incidental level sit under the Port Authorities Award 2020 instead — check which award actually applies before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Coal Export Terminals Award runs two classification streams: Operations and Services (four levels, Entry to Advanced) and Maintenance Trades (four levels, Entry to Dual Trade). Both streams share the same competency-based structure — classify by which stream the role sits in, then by the employer’s assessment of the employee’s competency within it.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations — Entry Level | $28.99 | $1014.60 | New starter completing terminal induction | Undertaking standard induction — terminal and plant safety, first aid, site movement, documentation and quality procedures — under direct supervision. |
| Operations — Basic | $30.46 | $1066.10 | Plant and equipment operator · light vehicle/mobile plant driver | Completed induction and assessed competent to carry out basic, semi-skilled work across a range of plant and equipment, including receiving, tipping, stacking, crushing, blending and loading coal. |
| Operations — Competent | $31.97 | $1119.10 | Ship loader, reclaimer or stacking machine operator | The standard rate. Applies skills in complex but routine situations, plans tasks and takes responsibility for others’ work — may operate ship loading, reclaiming and stacking machines. |
| Operations — Advanced | $35.04 | $1226.30 | Control room operator · senior terminal operator | Meets Competent-level requirements and performs non-routine tasks requiring in-depth or broad skill integration — may include control room operations and supervising lower-level staff. |
| Maintenance Trades — Entry Level | $30.46 | $1066.10 | New-starter tradesperson completing induction | Same induction requirement as Operations Entry Level, applied to a trade-qualified new starter. |
| Maintenance Trades — Competent | $31.97 | $1119.10 | Trade-qualified fitter, electrician or equivalent | Trade-qualified and designated a Maintenance Trades employee by the employer, performing all trade tasks on terminal plant as directed. |
| Maintenance Trades — Advanced | $35.04 | $1226.30 | Senior tradesperson | Meets Maintenance Trades Competent requirements and performs advanced trade tasks applied to trade-qualified staff. |
| Maintenance Trades — Dual Trade | $38.12 | $1334.20 | Dual-trade tradesperson | Holds a dual trade qualification or equivalent, with high-precision skills in more than one trade area, qualified on complex mechanical, hydraulic or electrical machinery. |
- Operations and Services Competent is the award’s standard rate and reference point — most experienced terminal operators, including ship loader and stacking machine operators, sit here.
- Maintenance Trades employees must be trade-qualified and formally designated as such by the employer — a tradesperson doing terminal work isn’t automatically classified there without that designation.
- 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.
- Progression above Competent in either stream requires formal employer appointment — it isn’t automatic on tenure or informal skill growth.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Coal Export Terminals 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 Coal Export Terminals 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 Coal Export Terminals Award requires:
Supervisors schedule breaks around operations, but no one can go more than 5 hours between breaks. The full rules live in the award’s breaks clause.
Calculate a week under the Coal Export Terminals 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.
Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000045) — 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 Operations and Services / Maintenance Trades rates, current at 1 July 2026 on the award’s 35-hour week. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Why does the calculator use 35 hours a week?
The Coal Export Terminals 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.
Is night shift paid more than afternoon shift here?
No — this award pays afternoon shift and night shift at the same 115%, with only permanent night shift stepping up to 125%. Most other awards separate afternoon and night shift into different rates, so don’t assume this one matches.
Does super apply to shift and weekend 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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