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Fast Food Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week under the Fast Food Award actually pays — the right level, late-night and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.

How the Fast Food Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per classification level — the calculator uses the adult rates from Table 3 (clause 15.1), current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Casuals get a 25% loading on the ordinary rate, the penalty percentages below already include it, and every casual shift must run at least 3 consecutive hours.
Weeknights carry their own penalties — 110% between 10pm and midnight and 115% from midnight to 6am (135% / 140% casual) — the ones fast food operators most often miss.
Overtime applies beyond 38 ordinary weekly hours: Monday to Saturday it’s 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% (casuals: 175% / 225%) — note the 2-hour first tier.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
Sunday penalties depend on level: Level 1 gets 125% (150% casual) while Levels 2–3 get 150% (175% casual) — the calculator uses the higher figure, so adjust down for a Level 1 crew.

Who the award covers

Outlets taking orders for, preparing and selling food and drink primarily to be consumed away from the point of sale
Take-away food and beverage businesses — counter, drive-through and delivery
Food and beverage outlets in food courts, shopping centres and retail complexes
Crew, cooks, shift supervisors and store managers in those outlets
On-hire (labour hire) employees working in a fast food business
Group training trainees hosted by fast food employers

Coffee shops, cafés, bars and restaurants built around sit-down service sit under the Restaurant Award, pubs and hotels under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, and shops selling goods under the Retail Award — check before you classify.

Which level is your team member?

The Fast Food Award keeps classification simple: three levels, and the difference between them is responsibility, not menu. Most of the crew is Level 1; supervising or training people lifts someone to Level 2; being put in charge of the outlet makes them Level 3 — with two pay points depending on how many people they’re responsible for.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Level 1	$27.81	$1056.80	Crew member · Counter staff · Cook · Delivery driver	The entry level, and where most fast food teams sit: taking orders, preparing, cooking, selling, serving or delivering — plus incidental cleaning, within their skills and training.
Level 2	$29.45	$1119.10	Shift supervisor · Crew trainer · Trade-qualified staff	Major day-to-day responsibility for supervising Level 1 staff and/or training new employees — or a role that requires trade skills.
Level 3 (in charge, 0–1 person)	$29.91	$1136.40	Store manager · Outlet manager (small crew)	Appointed by the employer to be in charge of a shop, food outlet or delivery outlet, supervising no more than one other person.
Level 3 (in charge, 2+ people)	$30.27	$1150.40	Store manager · Shift manager (larger crew)	In charge of a shop, food outlet or delivery outlet and responsible for 2 or more people — the award’s top classification.

Level 1 is deliberately broad — order-taking, cooking, serving, delivery and incidental cleaning all live here, whatever the uniform says.
The move to Level 2 is about ongoing responsibility: someone who supervises Level 1 staff or trains new employees day to day, or who uses trade skills.
Level 3 is appointment, not evolution — the employer puts them in charge of the shop, outlet or delivery outlet. In charge of 0–1 person pays $29.91/hr; 2 or more pays $30.27/hr.
Adult rates start at 21 in this award, not 18 — juniors step up from 40% (under 16) to 90% (age 20) of the adult rate, so every birthday is a pay change.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Fast Food 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):

Meal allowance — overtime of more than an hour without 24 hours’ notice$17.33 per occasion

Cold work allowance — cold chamber or refrigerated storage$0.38/hour, rising to $0.97/hour total below 0°C

Broken Hill allowance — workplaces in the County of Yancowinna, NSW$47.90/week

Minimum engagement — casuals3 consecutive hours per shift

Junior rates — every birthday until 21 changes the rate40% (under 16) up to 90% (age 20) of the adult rate

Annual leave loadingThe greater of 17.5% or the weekend penalties the leave replaces

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 Fast Food 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 Fast Food Award requires:

Shift under 4 hoursNo break entitlement

Shift of 4 to under 5 hoursOne paid 10-minute rest break

Shift of 5 to under 9 hoursOne paid 10-minute rest break · one unpaid meal break of 30–60 minutes

Shift of 9 hours or moreEither two unpaid meal breaks plus one paid 10-minute rest break, or two paid rest breaks (one each half) plus one unpaid meal break

Rest breaks count as time worked; meal breaks don’t. The full rules live in clause 14 of the award.

Calculate a week under the Fast Food 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.

Classification levelEmployment typeState or territoryWeekday hours (6am–10pm)Weekday late hours (10pm–midnight)Ordinary hours between 10pm and midnight, Monday to FridayWeekday overnight hours (midnight–6am)Ordinary hours between midnight and 6am, Monday to FridaySaturday hoursSunday hoursLevel 1 employees are 125% (150% casual) — the calculator uses the Level 2–3 ratePublic holiday hours

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000003) — 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 rates from the award (Table 3), current at 1 July 2026. Junior rates run from 40% under 16 to 90% at age 20, with the full adult rate from 21. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

Does this award cover my café?

Only if the food is primarily taken away. Coffee shops, cafés and restaurants built around sit-down service inside the venue are under the Restaurant Award instead — but a food-court outlet is fast food, even in a shopping centre. It’s one of the most common misclassifications in the industry.

What Sunday rate do I pay?

It depends on the level. Level 1 crew get 125% (150% casual); Level 2 and 3 employees get 150% (175% casual). The calculator uses the Level 2–3 rate so it won’t understate — check your team’s levels before rostering a full Sunday.

Does super apply to penalty rates?

Yes — weeknight, 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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