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Hospitality Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week under the Hospitality Award actually pays — the right classification level, evening and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, all in one place.

How the Hospitality Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per classification level — the calculator uses the adult rates from Table 3, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Casuals get a 25% loading on the ordinary rate, and the weekend/public-holiday percentages below already include it.
Evening work (7pm–midnight) adds $2.95/hr and overnight work (midnight–7am) adds $4.42/hr — flat dollar additions, not percentages.
Overtime kicks in beyond 38 ordinary weekly hours: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200%. Unusually, casuals get the same overtime rates — the 25% loading isn’t paid on overtime under this award.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
Split shifts, meal allowances, tool money for cooks and a 17.5% annual leave loading sit on top — small amounts that add up and are easy to miss.

Who the award covers

Hotels, motels, resorts and caravan parks
Bars, taverns and wine saloons
Caterers and function/convention facilities
Casinos and nightclubs
Restaurants connected with an accommodation venue
Labour hire staff placed into any of the above

Stand-alone restaurants and cafes (Restaurant Award), fast food outlets (Fast Food Award), registered clubs (Registered Clubs Award) and in-flight catering have their own awards — check before you classify.

Which level is your team member?

The Hospitality Award classifies people by the work they’re trained and trusted to do — not their job title. Find the stream that matches the role (kitchen, food & beverage, front office, guest services, stores, security or maintenance), then match the duties to a grade. The grade maps to one of the wage levels below.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Introductory	$25.74	$978.10	New entrant to the industry (first 3 months, up to 6 by agreement)	Hasn’t yet shown Level 1 competency — moves to Level 1 automatically after up to 3 months.
Level 1	$26.44	$1004.90	Food & beverage attendant gr 1 · Kitchen attendant gr 1 · Guest service gr 1	Basic tasks under direction: clearing tables, kitchen cleaning, laundry/linen duties, general assistance.
Level 2	$27.08	$1029.10	F&B attendant gr 2 · Cook gr 1 · Front office gr 1 · Storeperson gr 1 · Door person gr 1	Serving customers: mixing and dispensing drinks, waiting tables, taking reservations, cooking breakfasts and snacks, basic clerical work.
Level 3	$27.97	$1062.90	F&B attendant gr 3 · Cook gr 2 · Fork-lift driver · Handyperson · Front office gr 2	Trained and trusted with more: full bar/cellar control, mixing sophisticated drinks, supervising juniors, general cooking duties.
Level 4 (trade)	$29.45	$1119.10	Cook gr 3 (commi chef) · F&B gr 4 · Front office gr 3 · Guest service gr 4	Trade-qualified (completed apprenticeship or trade test) — or holds a relevant Certificate III and uses those skills. This is the award’s “standard rate”.
Level 5	$31.30	$1189.40	Cook gr 4 (demi chef) · F&B supervisor · Front office supervisor · Clerical supervisor	Supervisory training plus responsibility for supervising, training and coordinating a team or stock control.
Level 6	$32.13	$1221.10	Cook gr 5 (chef de partie)	Chef de partie or equivalent: specialised cooking duties plus supervision, training, ordering and stock control.

New starters can sit at Introductory level for up to 3 months (6 by mutual agreement) while they train — then they move to Level 1 automatically.
Trade qualifications matter: a cook who has completed an apprenticeship or trade test is at least Level 4 (Cook grade 3). Anyone with a relevant Certificate III who uses those skills must also be paid at Level 4 or above.
Supervision lifts the level: supervising or training staff of a lower grade is what typically moves someone from grade 2 to grade 3, and a supervisory course underpins Level 5 roles.
Casino gaming roles have their own rate table (slightly different rates per level) — check Table 4 of the award if you run gaming.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Hospitality 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 — the designated first aid officer (current qualification)$13.43/week full-time · $2.69/day part-time or casual (capped at $13.43/week)

Meal allowance — overtime of 2+ hours without a day’s notice$17.42 per occasion

Split shift allowance$3.69/day (2–3 hour break) · $5.60/day (over 3 hours)

Tool and equipment allowance — cooks and apprentice cooks$2.03/day, up to $9.94/week

Laundry allowance — motel employees$2.46 per uniform, up to $7.65/week

Fork-lift driver allowance (all-purpose — folds into the ordinary rate)$0.44/hour

Overnight stay allowance$67.15 per stay, plus 150% for work over an hour during the stay

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 Hospitality 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 Hospitality Award requires:

Shift over 5 and up to 6 hoursAn elective unpaid meal break of up to 30 minutes — the employee has to request it in writing.

Shift over 6 and up to 8 hoursAn unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes, taken after the first 2 hours and within the first 6 hours of work.

Shift over 8 and up to 10 hoursThe unpaid meal break plus one paid 20-minute rest break (which can be split into two 10-minute breaks).

Shift over 10 hoursThe unpaid meal break plus two paid 20-minute rest breaks.

Missed meal breakIf no meal break is allowed on a shift over 6 hours: an extra 50% of the ordinary hourly rate from the 6-hour mark until the break is taken or the shift ends.

From the award’s breaks clause (clause 16). A further paid 20-minute break applies after 5 continuous hours past a meal break, or after 2 hours of overtime. Verify the current award text before relying on it.

Calculate a week under the Hospitality 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 (7am–7pm)Weekday evening hours (7pm–midnight)Evening work adds $2.95 per hour on top of the ordinary rateWeekday night hours (midnight–7am)Night work adds $4.42 per hour (or part of an hour) on top of the ordinary rateSaturday hoursSunday hoursPublic holiday hoursMinimum 4 hours’ pay (permanent) or 2 hours (casual) on a public holiday

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000009) — 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. Your obligation is the first full pay period on or after that date — and junior, apprentice and casino rates differ. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

How do I know if someone is Level 2 or Level 3?

Look at trust and training, not the title. A bar attendant who mixes and serves drinks is grade 2; give them full control of the cellar, sophisticated cocktail work or juniors to supervise and they’re grade 3. The classification guide above lists the tests in plain English.

Why does the calculator separate evening hours?

Because the Hospitality Award pays a flat $2.95/hr extra between 7pm and midnight (and $4.42/hr after midnight) rather than a percentage. Generic calculators miss it; over a year of evening trade it’s real money.

Does super apply to penalty rates?

Yes — weekend and evening penalties 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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