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INDry Cleaning and Laundry Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Award actually pays — the right classification level, Saturday and Sunday penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per classification level — the calculator uses the adult dry cleaning stream rates from clause 18.1, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on the minimum hourly rate for all hours worked, and the percentages below already include it.
- Saturday splits at midday: ordinary hours pay 125% before noon and 150% after (casuals 150% / 175%) — one shift can straddle both rates.
- Overtime applies outside or beyond ordinary hours: 150% for the first 3 hours, then 200% (casuals with loading: 175% / 225%), and each day’s overtime stands alone.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
- Minimum engagements are the quiet trap: casuals must be paid at least 3 hours for each start, and anyone working a public holiday must be paid at least 4 hours.
Who the award covers
- Dry cleaning establishments — cleaning, dyeing, repairing and invisible mending of garments
- Auxiliary receiving depots attached to dry cleaners
- Laundries and laundrettes — washing, sorting and packing of laundry
- Repair of laundry items and preparation of garments for rental
- Combined dry cleaning/laundry businesses and operations incidental to either
- Labour hire staff placed into dry cleaning or laundry businesses
The award lists its own neighbours: employers covered by the Cleaning Services, Clerks, General Retail, Health Professionals and Support Services, Hospitality or Local Government awards are excluded — a hotel’s in-house laundry, for instance, sits under the Hospitality Award. Check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Dry Cleaning and Laundry Award runs two classification ladders — Schedule A for dry cleaning (five levels, shown here) and Schedule B for laundry (four levels). Classify by the skill level required to carry out the principal functions of the job, and put it in writing: the award requires you to advise every employee of their classification and any change to it.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 (introductory) | $25.74 | $978.10 | New entrant to the industry (first 6 months) | A new entrant undergoing training: routine, basic duties with minimal judgment under direct supervision — for no more than 6 months before moving to Level 2. |
| Level 2 | $26.44 | $1004.90 | Wet cleaner · Steam air finisher · Examiner, assembler or sorter of garments | Working as a wet cleaner, steam air finisher, or examiner, assembler or sorter of garments — or any employee with at least 6 months’ industry experience not classified higher. |
| Level 3 | $26.49 | $1006.80 | Dry cleaning machine operator · Presser · Repairer · Receiver/dispatcher in charge of a depot | Runs the machines or the depot: operating a dry cleaning machine, pressing (including spotter presser and hand ironing), garment repairs (other than tailoring), or in charge of a depot with responsibility for records and cash. |
| Level 4 | $27.97 | $1062.90 | Tailor or tailoress · Invisible mender | The skilled needle trades: employed as a tailor or tailoress, or as an invisible mender. |
| Level 5 | $29.45 | $1119.10 | Tradesperson dry cleaner · Sole-charge operator | A tradesperson dry cleaner — or anyone solely accountable for a self-contained dry cleaning establishment end to end: receiving, cleaning, spotting, pressing, packaging, dispatch, cash and records. |
- This calculator models the dry cleaning stream (Schedule A). Laundry businesses classify under Schedule B instead — four levels from $25.77 to $28.43 an hour at 1 July 2026.
- Level 1 is strictly a training level: a new entrant stays there for no more than 6 months before moving to Level 2.
- Machines and money mark Level 3: operating the dry cleaning machine, pressing, garment repairs, or running a receiving depot with responsibility for records and cash.
- One person running the whole shop — receiving, cleaning, spotting, pressing, dispatch, cash and records — must be paid at Level 5, whether or not they hold a trade qualification.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Dry Cleaning and Laundry 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 Dry Cleaning and Laundry 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 Dry Cleaning and Laundry Award requires:
The full rules live in clause 17 of the award.
Calculate a week under the Dry Cleaning and Laundry 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, MA000096) — 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?
They’re the adult dry cleaning stream rates from the award (clause 18.1), current at 1 July 2026. The laundry stream (Schedule B) has its own four-level scale, and shiftworkers in laundries have extra rostering rules. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
My employee runs the shop on their own — what level?
Level 5. Anyone solely accountable for all aspects of a self-contained dry cleaning establishment — receiving, cleaning, spotting, pressing, dispatch, handling money and keeping records — is classified at the top level, trade-qualified or not.
How does the Saturday penalty work?
It splits at midday: ordinary hours before noon pay 125% (150% casual), hours after noon pay 150% (175% casual). A 9am–3pm Saturday shift is paid at two different rates — the calculator’s two Saturday rows handle exactly that.
Does super apply to penalty rates?
Yes — Saturday, Sunday and shift 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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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.
