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INLive Performance Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Live Performance Award actually pays — the right production and support staff level, overtime and midnight-to-dawn loadings, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Live Performance Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per classification level — the calculator uses the Production and Support Staff hourly rates, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on top of the base rate for ordinary hours; it isn’t paid on overtime.
- Ordinary hours can be rostered anywhere from 7am to midnight, seven days a week — there’s no evening or Saturday penalty the way retail or hospitality awards have one. The real traps are the midnight–7am loading and Sunday, both paid at 200%/225% for any time worked, not just the hours over 38.
- Overtime is daily, not just weekly: anything outside the rostered daily hours attracts 150% for the first 2 hours then 200% (casuals: 175%/225%), and work on a rostered day off starts at 150% for the first 4 hours.
- A 10-hour break is required between shifts — called back sooner and every hour until the break is taken is paid at 200% (225% casual).
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including the midnight and Sunday loadings — but not to true overtime.
Who the award covers
- Producing, staging, lighting, audio/visual and presenting live performances — theatre, opera, dance, variety, comedy, concerts
- Front-of-house, box office and venue operation staff at performance venues
- Set and prop manufacture, and administration/programming for live performance producers
- Food and drink service and ticket selling connected with a live performance event
- On-hire labour suppliers placed into the live performance industry, and trainees under group training arrangements
Cinemas and broadcasting have their own award, as do amusement/recreation venues without live performance and hospitality venues that don’t present live shows — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
For Production and Support Staff, classification runs on a skills-and-supervision ladder set out in Schedule A: how much direction the person needs, how complex the instructions they work from are, and whether they’re trade- or sub-trade qualified. Performers, Company Dancers and Musicians sit in entirely separate streams paid by engagement rather than a simple hourly ladder — if that’s who you’re engaging, use this calculator for a rough weekly benchmark only and check the award’s performer/musician clauses directly.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | $25.74 | $978.10 | Trainee (induction) · entry-level crew and support staff | A trainee undertaking 6 weeks’ induction training (228 hours for casuals) — cannot be engaged at this level for more than 3 months. |
| Level 2 | $27.55 | $1046.90 | Usher/theatre attendant · ticket seller · stage door attendant · car park attendant · basic crowd control | Has completed Level 1 induction or has equivalent experience; works under routine supervision on a limited range of tasks. |
| Level 3 | $28.89 | $1098.00 | Certificated rigger · stage crew with sub-trade skills · inventory/store controller | Applies trade-level knowledge and skills, may hold a sub-trade certificate; solves straightforward problems from readily available information. |
| Level 4 | $29.45 | $1119.10 | Senior production/support staff · the award’s “standard rate” level | The reference level for the award’s standard rate — experienced staff working with limited supervision across a full range of production/support tasks. |
| Level 5 | $30.37 | $1154.20 | Lead hand · senior technician | A step up from Level 4: greater autonomy and a broader technical or supervisory range. |
| Level 6 | $31.30 | $1189.40 | Supervisor of a small crew or department | Supervises other production/support staff within a defined area of the production. |
| Level 8 | $33.31 | $1265.70 | Production and Support Staff Level 7 (equivalent to Company Dancer Level 2) | Senior specialist or supervisory production/support role — the highest level with a published hourly rate in this stream. |
| Level 10 | $34.46 | $1309.40 | Production and Support Staff Level 8 (equivalent to Company Dancer Level 3) | The top Production and Support Staff classification — senior technical management below head-of-department roles paid by other streams. |
- Level 1 is capped at 3 months by design — it’s induction training, not a permanent entry rung. Someone doing the job past that point has moved to Level 2 or above.
- The jump from Level 2 to Level 3 is a real skills threshold: certificated rigging, licensed equipment operation, or sub-trade qualifications used on the job.
- This award has 15 overall pay levels in total — the calculator lists the Production and Support Staff rungs (the levels with a published hourly rate); Company Dancer, Performer and Musician levels 7, 9, 11–15 are salary/weekly-only and aren’t included here.
- Higher duties apply for more than 4 hours in a day: the whole day is paid at the higher rate, not just the higher-duties hours (clause 11.3 equivalent for this award).
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Live Performance 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 Live Performance 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 Live Performance Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause for production and support staff (clause 62). Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Live Performance 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, MA000081) — 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 Production and Support Staff adult rates from the award (clause 11.1), current at 1 July 2026. Performers, Company Dancers and Musicians are paid under separate weekly/engagement rates that don’t convert cleanly to an hourly calculator — treat this as a planning number and check the award or a payroll adviser for those streams.
Why is there no Saturday penalty?
Because this award treats 7am to midnight, seven days a week, as ordinary hours for Production and Support Staff — there’s no separate evening or Saturday loading the way retail or hospitality has one. The real cost driver is working outside that span (midnight–7am) or on a Sunday, both of which jump straight to 200%/225%.
What happens if a show runs past midnight?
Any time actually worked between midnight and 7am is paid at 200% of the minimum hourly rate (225% for casuals) — this applies to the hours themselves, not as an overtime add-on, unless the employee is a cleaner rostered overnight by agreement, who instead gets a flat 20% loading.
Does super apply to the midnight and Sunday loadings?
Yes — they’re paid for ordinary hours actually worked, so they’re ordinary-time earnings and the 12% super guarantee applies. True overtime (hours beyond the rostered daily hours, or on a rostered day off) is excluded from super. 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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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.
