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INElectrical Power Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Electrical Power Industry Award actually pays — the right pay level, shift and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Electrical Power Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per pay level, shared across streams — the calculator uses the adult Pay Level 1–9 rates current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Casuals get a 25% loading, and the shift, weekend and public holiday percentages above already include it.
- Shift loadings are the distinctive feature here: afternoon shift pays 116%, rotating night shift 122.5%, and permanent night shift (nights only, no rotation) 130% — a meaningfully different rate depending on the roster pattern, not just the time of day.
- Overtime applies beyond 38 ordinary weekly hours: 150% for the first 2 hours Monday to Saturday, then 200% (continuous shiftworkers go straight to 200%); Sunday and public holiday overtime match the penalty rate.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including shift and weekend penalties — but not to overtime.
- The trap: overtime and weekend recalls carry minimum engagement periods (3 hours standard, 2 hours for an emergency call-out) — a 45-minute call-out still has to be paid as if it ran the full minimum.
Who the award covers
- Generation, transmission, distribution and retail supply of electrical power
- Mining, processing and treatment of brown coal for electricity generation
- Retail supply of gas and other utility services by an electrical-power-industry employer
- Technical, administrative, professional/managerial and operations staff across the industry
- Labour hire staff placed into electrical power industry businesses
Electrical contractors sit under the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award, on-site construction workers under the Building and Construction General On-site Award, and mobile crane operators under the Mobile Crane Hiring Award — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Electrical Power Industry Award sorts people into four streams — Technical, Administrative, Professional/Managerial/Specialist and Operations — but pays everyone off one shared ladder of 11 pay levels. Two employees on different streams at the same pay level earn exactly the same rate. The table here covers Pay Levels 1–9, the range that covers the great majority of electrical power industry hires.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay Level 1 — Technical | $26.59 | $997.20 | Plant Operator (basic) · Power Worker (trades assistant, storeperson, labourer) | Undertaking structured training toward Power Worker duties, completed within 3 months of appointment — routine manual duties under direct supervision. |
| Pay Level 1 — Administrative | $26.80 | $1004.90 | Meter Reader · Office Assistant/Receptionist | Basic administrative or support work to specifications and guidelines, under direct supervision. |
| Pay Level 2 | $28.22 | $1058.30 | Skilled Power Worker · Mobile Plant Operator · Administrative Officer · Customer Service Officer | Continuing structured training for a broader range of duties, working under general supervision individually or in a team. |
| Pay Level 3 | $29.86 | $1119.90 | Tradesperson (incl. Lines/Cable Person) · Advanced Plant Operator · Administrative Officer (records/payroll) · Dredge Driver | Certificate III qualified (or equivalent), performing a broader range of duties including basic design work under general supervision. The award’s "standard rate". |
| Pay Level 4 | $32.69 | $1225.90 | Special class tradesperson · Designer · Engineering Officer · Purchasing/HR/Payroll Officer | Additional post-trade or technical qualifications, performing a broader range of duties under general supervision. |
| Pay Level 5 | $35.58 | $1334.10 | Advanced Class Tradesperson · Senior Technical/Administrative Officer · Professional (initial-level) · Ancillary Plant/System Control Room Operator | Works under technical guidance and limited supervision, exercising more discretion; entry point for professional-stream employees. |
| Pay Level 6 | $38.45 | $1442.00 | Work Group Supervisor · Senior Administrative Officer/Team Leader · System Control Room Operator (complex systems) | Provides technical or administrative guidance and supervision for individuals or a team, with post-trade, technical or degree qualifications. |
| Pay Level 7 | $41.33 | $1549.80 | Senior Engineering Officer · Principal Technical Officer · Experienced professional/specialist · Power Station Plant Operator | Greater expertise or specialisation, providing expert technical guidance; experienced professionals planning work with only limited supervision. |
| Pay Level 8 | $44.21 | $1657.80 | Senior professional/managerial specialist · Mine Shift Manager · Power Station Plant Controller | Takes initiative and makes independent decisions within broad objectives; directly responsible for control and operation of major plant or systems. |
| Pay Level 9 | $47.09 | $1765.90 | Senior specialist across Technical, Operations or Professional/Managerial streams | A single common pay level across streams for senior specialists — no separate grade names below Pay Level 10. |
- Streams describe the type of work; pay levels set the money. A Technical Grade 3 tradesperson and an Administrative Grade 3 officer are both Pay Level 3 and both earn $1,119.90 a week.
- The Operations stream starts at Pay Level 2 (there’s no Operations Grade 1) — control-room, generation and mine-operations roles sit here from Pay Level 2 up.
- Pay Level 3 is the award’s "standard rate" — used as the reference point for apprentice percentages and several allowance calculations.
- The ladder continues above this table to Pay Level 11 ($52.79/hour) for the most senior professional, managerial and specialist roles — genuinely rare hires for most employers using this award.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Electrical Power 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 Electrical Power 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 Electrical Power Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clauses. Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Electrical Power 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, MA000088) — 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 pay level minimums are the adult rates current at 1 July 2026, shared across the Technical, Administrative, Professional/Managerial/Specialist and Operations streams. Apprentice and junior rates are a percentage of the standard rate (Pay Level 3) — see clause 15 and Table A/B if you’re calculating those. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
What’s the difference between afternoon shift and night shift penalties?
It’s about when the shift finishes, not when it starts. Afternoon shift (116%) finishes after 6pm and at or before midnight; night shift (122.5%) finishes after midnight and at or before 8am — and if an employee only ever works nights (no rotation), the permanent night shift rate of 130% applies instead.
Do casuals lose the 25% loading on overtime?
Yes — the casual loading is paid on ordinary hours only. Overtime rates in this award are the flat percentages (150%/200%/250%) with no casual loading added on top, unlike the ordinary-hours penalties which are casual-inclusive.
Does super apply to shift and weekend penalties?
Yes — afternoon, night, Saturday, Sunday 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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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.
