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INAcademic Staff Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Academic Staff Award actually pays — the right academic level and salary step, casual task rates, clinical loadings and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Academic Staff Award is applied
- Minimum pay is set as an annual salary per level and step — the calculator uses the clause 16.1 salaries, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, converted the way the award does: weekly = annual × 6 ÷ 313, hourly = weekly ÷ 38.
- This is a salary-based award with no penalty table: academic work is self-directed, so evenings, weekends and public holidays are all costed at the ordinary rate. Public holiday entitlements come from the NES.
- There’s no overtime table either — hours beyond 38 a week don’t attract a multiplier, because the salary is expected to cover the role.
- Casual academics are paid by task, not by the hour: $173.99 per basic lecture, $135.76 per tutorial, $45.22 per hour of standard marking. Those rates already include the 25% casual loading — don’t add it again.
- Clinical loadings for medically or dentally qualified academics ($15,178–$30,287 a year) are superannuable and keep flowing during annual, study and long service leave — treat them as part of the package, not an extra.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings — for a salaried academic that’s effectively the whole salary, clinical loadings included.
Who the award covers
- Universities and other higher education institutions delivering accredited degrees and research programs
- Academic teaching staff — associate lecturers through to professors
- Research-only academics — research associates, fellows and professorial fellows
- Combined teaching-and-research roles at every level
- Casual academics engaged for lecturing, tutoring and marking
General and professional university staff sit under the Higher Education General Staff Award (MA000007), and non-university providers — RTOs, colleges and English language schools — belong to the Post-Secondary Education Award (MA000075). Check the employer first, then the role.
Which level is your team member?
The Academic Staff Award classifies academics into five levels — A to E — each with annual salary steps inside it. Schedule A (the Minimum Standards for Academic Levels) defines every level by the duties, autonomy and academic standing required. Classify against those descriptors, not the title on the letterhead: the same rates apply to teaching, research-only and combined roles.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level A — step 1 | $34.80 | $1322.50 | Associate lecturer · Research associate · Entry-level academic | The entry step: teaches or researches with support and guidance from more senior academics — normally 4 years of tertiary study or equivalent. |
| Level A — step 6 | $41.08 | $1561.00 | Associate lecturer with a doctorate · Subject coordinator | The award’s floor for a Level A academic who holds a relevant doctorate or carries full subject-coordination duties — they can’t be paid below this step. |
| Level A — step 8 | $43.35 | $1647.10 | Experienced associate lecturer · Senior research associate | The top of Level A, reached by annual increments for satisfactory performance within the level. |
| Level B — step 1 | $45.09 | $1713.40 | Lecturer · Research fellow | Independent teaching and research in the discipline — may co-ordinate or lead the activities of other staff, and teach from undergraduate to postgraduate level. |
| Level B — step 6 | $51.63 | $1962.00 | Experienced lecturer · Senior research fellow (entry) | The top of Level B: a sustained, independent contribution to teaching and scholarship. |
| Level C — step 1 | $52.94 | $2011.60 | Senior lecturer · Senior research fellow | A significant national contribution to the discipline, with real leadership in research, scholarship or program co-ordination. |
| Level C — step 6 | $59.48 | $2260.10 | Experienced senior lecturer | The top of Level C — sustained program leadership and standing in the discipline. |
| Level D — step 1 | $61.66 | $2343.00 | Associate professor · Reader · Principal research fellow | An outstanding contribution to research, teaching and governance, with national and international recognition. |
| Level D — step 4 | $66.89 | $2541.80 | Senior associate professor | The top of Level D — leadership in academic governance and institutional strategy. |
| Level E | $76.48 | $2906.30 | Professor | The single top level: eminent authority in the discipline with international distinction — typically a professorial chair. Employers may pay merit differentials above this. |
- The full award has 25 salary steps (8 in Level A, 6 each in B and C, 4 in D, one Level E). The calculator shows the entry and top step of each level plus the Level A doctorate floor — movement between steps is an annual increment for satisfactory performance.
- A Level A academic who holds a relevant doctorate, or who carries full subject-coordination duties, can’t be paid below step 6 of Level A ($81,432 a year).
- Research-only positions use the same levels and rates — Schedule A simply swaps in research-focused descriptors (research associate at A, research fellow at B, and so on).
- Moving between levels is a promotion decision made against the Schedule A descriptors — it never happens automatically, however long someone has been at the top step.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Academic Staff 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.
Calculate a week under the Academic Staff 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, MA000006) — 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 award sets annual salaries (clause 16.1), current at 1 July 2026 — the weekly and hourly figures here are derived exactly the way the award’s own footnote says (annual × 6 ÷ 313, then ÷ 38). Enterprise agreements at most universities pay above these minimums, so treat the result as the award floor and confirm against your agreement or payroll adviser.
Why are there no penalty rates?
Academic staff organise their own working time, so the award has no evening, weekend or public-holiday multiplier table and no overtime clause — unusual among modern awards. The general staff at the same institution do have penalties and overtime, under the Higher Education General Staff Award (MA000007).
How are casual academics paid?
By task, not by the hour: a basic lecture pays $173.99 (covering an hour of delivery plus two hours of associated work), a tutorial $135.76, standard marking $45.22 an hour. Every task rate already includes the 25% casual loading — adding it on top is a common double-payment mistake.
Does super apply to the whole salary?
Yes — with no overtime under this award, effectively everything is ordinary-time earnings, so the 12% super guarantee applies across the salary. Clinical loadings are explicitly superannuable too, and keep being paid during annual, study and long service leave.
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.
