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INHigher Education General Staff Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Higher Education General Staff Award actually pays — the right HEW level, Saturday and Sunday penalties, shift loadings, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Higher Education General Staff Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per HEW level and pay point — the calculator uses the 1 July 2026 rates from clause 17.1, one representative pay point per level.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on ordinary hours, but that loading is not paid on overtime — a casual's overtime rate matches the permanent rate exactly.
- Two staff streams exist: general HEW staff work a 38-hour week; PACCT (Professional, Administrative, Clerical, Computing and Technical) staff work a 36.75-hour week at a correspondingly higher hourly rate for the same annual salary — this calculator uses the general HEW hours and rates.
- Saturday work is paid at 150% (casual 175% — the 25% loading added on top) and Sunday at 200% (casual 225%).
- Overtime is 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after that on Monday to Saturday — but HEW 7–8 staff take it as time off, and HEW 9 and above have no overtime entitlement.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including weekend and shift penalties — but not to overtime.
Who the award covers
- General (non-academic) staff at universities in the higher education industry
- Cleaners, labourers and campus services staff (HEW 1)
- Administrative, clerical, computing and technical staff (HEW 2–7)
- Trades-qualified staff using their trade (HEW 3 and above)
- Senior managers and administrators (HEW 8–10)
- PACCT stream staff working a 36.75-hour week
Academic staff (teaching and research) are covered by the Higher Education Industry—Academic Staff—Award, not this one — check which stream a role sits in before classifying.
Which level is your team member?
The Higher Education General Staff Award has ten HEW (Higher Education Worker) levels, each with several internal pay points — 34 in total. Classify by the level of skill, supervision and judgment the role genuinely requires, using Schedule A's definitions, not by matching a job title to a level number.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEW 1 | $27.24 | $1035.12 | Cleaner · Labourer | Close supervision. Straightforward manual or routine tasks not requiring formal qualifications. |
| HEW 2 | $28.55 | $1084.90 | Administrative assistant · Security officer | Routine supervision. Straightforward tasks requiring limited experience or basic qualifications. |
| HEW 3 | $29.57 | $1123.66 | Trades certificate or Certificate III holder · Clerical/administrative/trade staff | The standard-rate reference level. Some complexity; general direction with experience; may be the first level requiring supervision of others. |
| HEW 4 | $32.22 | $1224.36 | Technical officer · Advanced tradesperson · Senior administrative staff | Diploma or Certificate IV level. May supervise others; applies skills to a varied range of tasks. |
| HEW 5 | $33.87 | $1287.06 | Graduate or professional (entry level) · Experienced technical officer | Applies theoretical knowledge in a straightforward way; responsibility for advice and determinations. |
| HEW 6 | $37.30 | $1417.40 | Line manager · Experienced technical specialist | General to broad direction; may have extensive supervisory responsibility. |
| HEW 7 | $40.11 | $1524.18 | Senior librarian · Technical manager · Senior administrator | Broad direction; may manage professional and administrative staff. Overtime is taken as time off, not paid in cash. |
| HEW 8 | $43.69 | $1660.22 | Manager (administrative, research or scientific) · Senior faculty administrator | Broad direction with a degree of autonomy; develops new ways of applying a specific body of knowledge. Overtime is taken as time off, not paid in cash. |
| HEW 9 | $49.24 | $1871.12 | Senior program, research or administrative manager | Considerable autonomy; conceptualises and reviews major policies at corporate level. No overtime entitlement at this level. |
| HEW 10 | $52.06 | $1978.28 | Senior manager with substantial, diverse management responsibility | Highest level of autonomy; substantial management responsibility for diverse activities. No overtime entitlement at this level. |
- HEW 1–2 cover routine, closely supervised work — cleaning, labouring, basic administrative and security tasks.
- HEW 3 is the standard-rate reference level and the first level where supervising others may be required — it typically needs a trade certificate or Certificate III.
- Within each HEW level there are multiple pay points (e.g. HEW 3.1 to 3.5); staff usually start at the first point and progress with experience and performance, not by re-classifying to a new level.
- HEW 7 and 8 take overtime as time off instead of cash, and HEW 9 and above have no overtime entitlement at all — check the level before assuming an overtime payment applies.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Higher Education General 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.
Break entitlements under the Higher Education General Staff 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 Higher Education General Staff Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause (clause 16). Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Higher Education General 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, MA000007) — 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 HEW rates shown are the adult minimums at one pay point per level, current at 1 July 2026. There are 34 pay points in total, and PACCT staff (36.75-hour week) are paid a different hourly rate for the same annual salary. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm the exact pay point and stream against the award or your payroll adviser.
What's the difference between HEW general staff and PACCT staff?
Both are general staff, but PACCT staff work a 36.75-hour week instead of 38 hours. Because the annual salary for each level is the same, PACCT staff have a higher hourly rate — and their first overtime tier is 3 hours instead of 2.
Does overtime get paid the same way at every level?
No. HEW 7 and 8 staff take overtime as time off instead of cash. HEW 9 and 10 staff have no overtime entitlement at all under the award. Only HEW 1–6 receive paid overtime at the 150%/200% rates.
Does super apply to Saturday and Sunday penalties?
Yes — Saturday, Sunday and shift-loading payments 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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