AU
USA
UK
ES
FR
BR
TH
INPost-Secondary Education Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Post-Secondary Education Award actually pays — the right general staff level, Saturday, Sunday and shift penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Post-Secondary Education Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per General Staff level — the calculator uses the 1 July 2026 rates from clause 16.1(d), one representative pay point per level.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on ordinary hours; the minimum casual engagement is 3 hours for general staff (2 hours for teaching staff).
- Ordinary hours run Monday–Friday 7am–7pm and Saturday 7am–12:30pm — Saturday work inside that spread is a 125% penalty, but hours outside the spread (including any other Saturday work) are overtime, not this bucket.
- Sunday and public holiday work carry a 4-hour minimum payment at 200% and 250% respectively — a short Sunday call-in still costs a minimum 4 hours.
- Where more than one penalty rate could apply to the same hours, the award pays only the highest single rate — penalties don't stack.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including weekend and shift penalties — but not to overtime.
Who the award covers
- VET providers delivering AQF qualifications
- ELICOS, TESOL and English-language colleges
- Community and adult education providers
- Foundation studies and bridging-course providers
- General (non-teaching) staff at post-secondary institutions — administrative, clerical, technical
- Student unions at post-secondary institutions
Secondary schools, universities covered by the Higher Education Industry—Academic Staff or General Staff Awards, and labour market assistance program providers sit outside this award — check coverage before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
This award covers three streams — Academic Teachers, Teachers and Tutor/Instructors, and General Staff — each with its own classification schedule. This calculator uses the General Staff stream (Schedule C), which anchors the award's own "standard rate" definition. Classify by the seven dimensions in Schedule C — training, supervision, task complexity, organisational knowledge, judgment, and typical activities — not by job title alone.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Staff Level 1 | $26.97 | $1024.70 | Labourer · Security officer · Administrative assistant · Trainee | Close or routine supervision. Straightforward administrative or manual duties with clearly established procedures. |
| General Staff Level 2 | $29.47 | $1119.90 | Technical assistant · Administrative assistant | Routine supervision moving to general direction with experience. Applies a body of knowledge equivalent to a trade certificate or Certificate III. |
| General Staff Level 3 | $31.11 | $1182.10 | Technical officer or technician · Senior administrative staff | General direction; may supervise or co-ordinate others. Diploma-level knowledge or equivalent experience. |
| General Staff Level 4 | $33.55 | $1275.00 | Graduate or professional (entry level) · Experienced technical officer | General direction; may supervise staff. Degree-level knowledge applied in a straightforward way, or extensive technical experience. |
| General Staff Level 5 | $37.24 | $1415.10 | Line manager · Experienced technical specialist | Broad direction; may have extensive supervisory and line-management responsibility. Degree-level knowledge with subsequent relevant experience. |
| General Staff Level 6 | $39.98 | $1519.30 | Senior librarian · Technical manager · Senior administrator | Broad direction; may manage other staff including professionals. Independently relates policy to work assignments. |
| General Staff Level 7 | $43.32 | $1646.00 | Manager (administrative, professional or scientific) | Broad direction with a degree of autonomy; develops new ways of applying a specific body of knowledge. |
| General Staff Level 8 | $48.77 | $1853.40 | Manager with responsibility for a major functional area | Broad direction with considerable autonomy; conceptualises and reviews major policies at corporate level. |
| General Staff Level 9 | $51.57 | $1959.70 | Senior program or administrative manager | Broad direction with a high degree of autonomy; substantial management responsibility for diverse activities. |
- Level 1 covers close-supervision manual and administrative work — labourers, security officers, administrative assistants and trainees.
- Level 2 is the first level built around a trade certificate or Certificate III, and typically the first level where duties involve real diagnostic or assessment skill.
- Levels 5 and above are management and senior-specialist levels, with progressively broader direction and organisational autonomy — Level 9 tops out the general staff ladder.
- Where a level has more than one pay point, staff move up a point after each 12-month period following a performance review, not by reclassifying to a different level.
- The award also covers Academic Teachers (Schedule A) and Teachers/Tutor-Instructors (Schedule B) with their own pay scales — use this calculator for general (non-teaching) staff only.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Post-Secondary Education 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 Post-Secondary Education 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 Post-Secondary Education Award requires:
On Saturday overtime of 4 or more hours, a paid 10-minute rest break also applies. The full rules live in the award’s breaks clause.
Calculate a week under the Post-Secondary Education 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, MA000075) — 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 General Staff rates shown are the adult minimums at one pay point per level, current at 1 July 2026. Teaching staff (Academic Teachers and Teachers/Tutor-Instructors) are paid on separate schedules with their own rates and work-counting rules. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm the exact pay point and stream against the award or your payroll adviser.
Does this calculator cover teaching staff?
No — it models the General Staff stream only. Academic Teachers are paid per activity (lectures, tutorials, marking) with rules like "3 hours of work per hour of lecture delivery", and Teachers/Tutor-Instructors are paid on annual salary scales with their own casual daily and hourly rates. Those streams need separate handling.
What counts as Saturday penalty pay versus overtime?
Saturday hours within the ordinary spread (7am–12:30pm) are paid at 125%. Any Saturday work outside that spread — or beyond a person's rostered ordinary hours — is overtime instead, generally at a higher rate with a 3-hour minimum for a Monday–Friday worker called in.
Does super apply to Sunday and public holiday penalties?
Yes — Saturday, Sunday, public holiday and shift-loading payments 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.
Get started
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.
