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Gardening and Landscaping Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week under the Gardening and Landscaping Award actually pays — the right classification level, overtime and casual loading, and super, calculated the way the award says.

How the Gardening and Landscaping Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per classification level — the calculator uses the adult rates from clause 15, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Casuals get a 25% loading, and Sunday work has no separate penalty rate — it’s paid entirely as overtime (150%/200%, casuals 175%/225%).
Saturday only has ordinary hours until noon; afternoon Saturday work is also overtime, not a penalty rate.
Water restrictions let ordinary hours shift outside the normal spread — those hours are paid at a flat 150% (175% casual), a genuine quirk of this outdoor, irrigation-dependent industry.
Public holiday work pays 250% (275% casual) for all hours that day, including any overtime — with a minimum 4-hour payment.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.

Who the award covers

Design, preparation and installation of landscape features, lawns and gardens in parks and public areas
Garden and grounds maintenance and horticultural establishment work
Private residential garden construction and upkeep
Landscape and environmental rehabilitation and restoration
Sports field turf preparation, maintenance and renovation

Aged care facility grounds staff, amusement park groundskeepers, construction-site landscaping, cemetery grounds, school general staff, health facility grounds, local government crews, racing industry grounds and licensed club grounds staff each sit under their own award — check before you classify.

Which level is your team member?

The Gardening and Landscaping Award runs a single six-level ladder — Introductory through Level 5 — built around a horticulture course, a trade qualification, and years of experience rather than job title.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Introductory	$25.74	$978.10	New entrant to the industry	No prior gardening or landscaping experience.
Level 1	$26.44	$1004.90	General gardening and labouring duties	Basic gardening and labouring tasks under direction.
Level 2	$27.08	$1029.10	Gardener with some experience	Works with less direct supervision on general gardening tasks.
Level 3	$28.28	$1074.70	Gardener, completed horticulture course	Has completed a recognised horticulture course.
Level 4	$29.45	$1119.10	Trade-qualified landscaper (Certificate III, 3+ years’ experience)	Trade-qualified or Certificate III holder with 3 or more years’ relevant experience.
Level 5	$30.38	$1154.30	Senior landscaper (Certificate IV/Diploma or trade certificate + experience)	Post-trade Certificate IV or Diploma, or a trade certificate with substantial further experience.

Level 3 is the first level that requires a completed horticulture course — below that, classification is about general gardening duties under supervision.
Level 4 needs a trade qualification or Certificate III plus 3 or more years of relevant experience.
Level 5 is for post-trade Certificate IV, Diploma holders, or trade-certified staff with substantial further experience.
Higher-duties pay applies for the whole day if higher-classified work runs more than 3 hours; under 3 hours, only the actual time worked is paid at the higher rate.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Gardening and Landscaping 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):

Leading hand allowance — in charge of 1 or more employees (all-purpose)$22.38–$78.34/week depending on team size

Tool allowance — tradespersons (all-purpose)$15.83/week

First aid allowance — the appointed first aid officer$22.38/week

Vehicles and plant allowance — licensed truck, tractor or plant operator$6.71/day

Vehicle allowance — own vehicle, directed use$1.00/km

Meal allowance — qualifying overtime$19.61 per occasion

Annual leave loading17.5% on paid annual leave

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 Gardening and Landscaping 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 Gardening and Landscaping Award requires:

Meal breakAn unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes, no later than 5 hours after starting work.

Working through a meal breakPaid at 150% of the ordinary hourly rate until a meal break of the usual length is taken.

Rest breakA paid 10-minute rest break each morning (or at an appropriate time when water restrictions apply).

Overtime breaksA paid 20-minute break before overtime starts, and after each 4 hours of overtime if work continues.

From the award’s breaks clause (clause 14). Verify the current award text before relying on it.

Calculate a week under the Gardening and Landscaping 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–6pm) / Saturday (6am–noon)Hours outside the spread (water restrictions)The award’s mechanism for irrigation-dependent work outside the normal spread — a flat 150% (175% casual), any time except Saturday afternoon or Sunday.Public holiday hoursMinimum 4 hours’ pay, including any overtime hours worked that day.

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000101) — 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 clause 15, current at 1 July 2026. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

Why is there no Sunday penalty rate?

This award simply doesn’t provide ordinary hours on Sunday — any Sunday work is captured under the overtime clause instead, at 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after (casuals 175%/225%).

What are “water restrictions” hours?

A distinctive clause for irrigation-dependent gardening work: when water restrictions apply, ordinary hours can be shifted outside the normal 6am–6pm weekday / 6am–noon Saturday spread, paid at a flat 150% (175% casual) rather than the normal rate.

Does super apply to penalty rates?

Yes — the water-restrictions penalty and public-holiday rates on ordinary hours are ordinary-time earnings, so the 12% super guarantee applies. True overtime is excluded.

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.