‹ Australian Award CalculatorsFREE CALCULATOR · MA000111

Fire Fighting Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week under the Fire Fighting Industry Award actually pays — the right classification level, weekend and public holiday penalties, overtime and super, calculated the way the award says.

How the Fire Fighting Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per classification — the calculator uses the private sector day-worker rates from clause 16, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
There is no casual loading in this award — it has no casual classification at all, only full-time and part-time engagement.
Saturday work is paid at 150%, Sunday at 200% and public holidays at 250% of the minimum hourly rate for private sector day workers — there’s no separate weekday-evening penalty.
Overtime is a flat 200% of the ordinary/minimum hourly rate for all overtime hours (250% on public holidays) — there’s no first-few-hours discount like many awards use.
A recall to duty after leaving the workplace is paid a minimum of 4 hours at the applicable overtime rate, even if the job takes less time.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including weekend and public-holiday penalties on ordinary hours — but not to overtime.

Who the award covers

Suppressing and extinguishing fires
Rescue services at emergency scenes (other than police, ambulance, SES or military)
Handling spillages of toxic or hazardous materials in emergency situations
Fire prevention and the sale, supply, installation, maintenance, repair or inspection of fire protection equipment
Both public sector and private sector fire fighting employers

Marine spill response, work on the employer’s own property or premises, and fixed or semi-fixed fire protection systems sit outside this award — check the coverage clause before you classify.

Which level is your team member?

The Fire Fighting Industry Award has one nine-level ladder, driven almost entirely by time served and completed training — not by duties on a position description. Progression runs from Recruit through to Senior Station Officer, with the Qualified Firefighter level (36 months plus the Certificate of Proficiency) as the award’s standard rate.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Recruit	$26.45	$1005.10	Probationary recruit	Undertaking the fire fighting recruit training course — not yet qualified.
Firefighter Level 1	$26.45	$1005.10	Firefighter (newly qualified)	Has successfully completed the recruit training course.
Firefighter Level 2	$26.81	$1018.70	Firefighter	Completed 12 months’ service and all Firefighter Level 1 training modules.
Firefighter Level 3	$27.24	$1035.10	Firefighter (senior)	Completed 24 months’ service and all Firefighter Level 2 training modules.
Qualified Firefighter	$29.45	$1119.10	Qualified Firefighter	Minimum 36 months’ service and holds the Certificate of Proficiency. The award’s standard rate.
Leading Firefighter	$33.70	$1280.50	Leading Firefighter	Minimum 48 months’ service and appointed by the employer to the role.
Station Officer	$36.53	$1388.10	Station Officer	Minimum 5 years’ service (at least 1 as a Qualified Firefighter) and appointed as Station Officer.
Senior Station Officer	$39.35	$1495.40	Senior Station Officer	Minimum 2 years as Station Officer, holds the Advanced Certificate, and appointed to the role.

Progression is service-based: 12 months moves Level 1 to Level 2, 24 months moves Level 2 to Level 3, 36 months plus the Certificate of Proficiency reaches Qualified Firefighter.
Leading Firefighter, Station Officer and Senior Station Officer all require the employer to actually appoint the employee to the role — service length alone isn’t enough at these levels.
This award has no casual classification. Employees are engaged full-time (typically the 10/14 shift roster) or part-time (minimum 3 hours per shift, by written agreement).
Public sector employees on the 10/14 roster are paid one all-in total weekly rate (minimum rate plus 30% shift loading plus an averaged 40-hour loading); private sector pays a plain minimum rate plus separate penalties — check which structure applies before comparing pay slips.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Fire Fighting 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):

First aid allowance — appointed first aid officer with a current certificate$21.82/week

Heavy rescue appliance duty allowance — when detailed for heavy rescue duty$26.86/week

Special administrative duties allowance — rostered on admin duties while maintaining operational competencies$81.69/week

Meal allowance — qualifying overtime or travel occasion$20.75 per occasion

Motor vehicle allowance — own car used for work$1.01/km

Motorcycle allowance — own motorcycle used for work$0.34/km

Qualification allowance — IFE Graduate Certificate or Certificate of Fire Technology$19.02–$34.69/week depending on qualifications held

Recall to dutyMinimum 4 hours’ pay at the overtime rate

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 Fire Fighting 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 Fire Fighting Award requires:

Meal break — public sector and private-sector shiftworkersPaid, one hour per shift, within 5 hours of starting duty

Meal break — private-sector day workersUnpaid, at least 30 minutes, taken between noon and 2pm

Tea breaks — private-sector day workersPaid, 10 minutes each morning and afternoon

Continuous fire duty of 3+ hoursPaid, 30-minute crib break

Overtime rest periodPaid, 20 minutes after each 4 hours of overtime where work continues — plus 15 paid minutes to shower and change where duty requires it

The full rules live in clauses 13 and 14 of the award.

Calculate a week under the Fire Fighting 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 (Mon–Fri)Shiftwork hours (private sector)A 30% shift loading applies to private-sector shiftworkers — confirmed against the FWO pay guide. Public-sector rates already build the shift and average-40-hours loadings into the published weekly rate.Saturday hoursSunday hoursPublic holiday hours

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000111) — 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 private sector day-worker rates from the award (clause 16), current at 1 July 2026. Public sector employees are usually paid a different all-in weekly rate that already includes a 30% shift loading — treat this result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

Why is there no casual loading option?

This award simply doesn’t have a casual classification — firefighters are engaged full-time or part-time only. That’s a deliberate award design, not an oversight in the calculator.

What’s the difference between the public and private sector rate structures?

Public sector employees on the 10/14 roster get one combined weekly rate — minimum pay plus a 30% shift loading plus an averaged 40-hour loading, covering their rostered overtime and annual leave. Private sector employees are paid a plain minimum rate plus separate penalty rates for weekends and public holidays, which is the structure this calculator models.

Does super apply to weekend penalty rates?

Yes — Saturday, Sunday and public holiday penalties on ordinary hours are ordinary-time earnings, so the 12% super guarantee applies. 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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