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Marine Tourism Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week on the water actually pays — the right crew classification, Sunday overtime, casual loading and super under the Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award, calculated the way the award says.

How the Marine Tourism Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per classification — the calculator uses the adult non-overnight rates from clause 15.2, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Casuals get a 25% loading; minimum engagement is 2 hours (maximum 12 hours a shift, and casuals can’t exceed 38 hours in a week).
Ordinary hours run Monday to Saturday between 6am and 2am, 2–12 hours a day, averaging 38 a week over up to 12 months — Sunday isn’t a penalty window, it’s overtime.
Overtime — beyond 12 hours a day, outside the span, or over the 38-hour average — pays 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% (casuals 187.5% then 250%, loading built in). All work on a rostered rest day is overtime with a 4-hour minimum.
Public holidays: Christmas Day is 300% with a 4-hour minimum; other public holidays are either ordinary time plus an extra day of annual leave, or 200%. Overnight charter daily rates already include this compensation — no double-dipping.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings but not overtime — and mind the 10-hour break between rostered duties: resume earlier on the employer’s direction and every hour is 200% until released.

Who the award covers

Day charter and overnight charter vessel operators throughout Australia
Tourist, sightseeing, sailing and cruise vessels
Vessels used for entertainment, functions, restaurant or food and beverage service
Water-oriented tourism, leisure and recreational activities
Deckhands, divemasters, coxswains, MED engineers and masters
On-hire crew placed into the marine tourism and charter vessel industry

Ferries on regular scheduled passenger or commuter runs are expressly excluded, and tug and barge work sits under the Marine Towage Award. Shore-based marina, office and booking staff usually belong to other awards — check the coverage clause before you classify.

Which level is your team member?

The Marine Tourism Award classifies crew by role and qualification, not by a numbered ladder alone — and it runs two rate streams. Overnight charter employees are paid daily rates that already bundle weekend and public-holiday compensation; non-overnight employees are paid weekly or hourly. The calculator models the non-overnight stream; classify by the certificate the vessel requires the person to hold.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Crew Level 1	$25.74	$978.10	New deckhand — first 3 months (probation)	The entry classification for the first 3 months: passenger service and hospitality, preparing the vessel for departure, sail handling, meals, stores and general crew duties under direction. No qualification required.
Crew Level 2	$27.91	$1060.40	Deckhand · Crew member past probation	Automatic after the first 3 months: the same crew duties as Level 1, performed beyond the probationary period.
Coxswain	$30.36	$1153.70	Coxswain — certificated vessel operator	Navigates a vessel of coxswain class, responsible for its safe operation, supervising crew and entertaining passengers, plus routine maintenance.
Engineer MED III	$30.49	$1158.70	Marine engine driver — MED III certificate	Engineers a vessel requiring a MED III certificate: proficient operation of plant and equipment, plus routine and preventative maintenance.
Master V	$30.49	$1158.70	Master — Class V vessel	Navigates a Class V vessel, responsible for safe operation, crew supervision and passengers, plus routine maintenance.
Engineer MED II	$31.05	$1179.90	Marine engine driver — MED II certificate	Engineers a vessel requiring a MED II certificate — a step up in plant size and responsibility from MED III.
Master IV	$31.05	$1179.90	Master — Class IV vessel	Navigates a Class IV vessel — larger than Class V — with the same safety, supervision and maintenance responsibilities.
Engineer MED I	$34.14	$1297.20	Marine engine driver — MED I certificate	The top engineering classification: engineers a vessel requiring a MED I certificate.

Crew Level 1 is simply the first 3 months (probation) — after that, Crew Level 2 applies automatically. Don’t leave anyone on Level 1 past 3 months.
Qualifications drive the rest of the ladder: a Coxswain certificate, MED III/II/I engineering certificates and Master Class V/IV tickets each map straight to a classification.
Overnight charter work uses daily rates instead — Crew Level 1 $207.29 up to Master IV $353.22 a day — scaled by charter length (half-day 50%, a day 100%, up to 450% for 4 days/4 nights). Crew Level 3 and Divemaster/Dive Instructor ($229.34/day) exist only in that stream.
Junior crew rates run from 50% at 16 to 100% at 20 — but anyone under 20 holding a Master’s Certificate and doing a master’s job gets the full adult master rate.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Marine Tourism 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):

MED certificate allowance — required to hold a MED certificate (unless employed as the MED)$38.99/day MED II · $19.50/day MED III

Outer reef work allowance — masters, where the itinerary requires it$19.50/day

Meal allowance — overtime beyond 1.5 hours where no meal is provided$16.64 per meal (and every 4 hours after)

Uniform allowance — required to wear a uniform the employer doesn’t provide$12.70/week

Meals, bed and weekly linen on overnight chartersProvided at the employer’s expense

Compensation for personal effects — lost or damaged by fire, shipwreck, collision and similarUp to $1,545

Annual leave loading17.5% on the ordinary-time rate

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 Marine Tourism 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 Marine Tourism Award requires:

Meal breaksUnpaid meal breaks of at least 30 minutes each during the working day.

Rest breaksA paid 10-minute rest break in the morning and another in the afternoon, at mutually agreed times.

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

Calculate a week under the Marine Tourism 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 territoryOrdinary hours (Monday–Saturday, 6am–2am)Ordinary hours run Monday to Saturday within a 6am–2am span — Saturday is an ordinary day at the base rate under this award.Sunday hours (paid as overtime)Sunday sits outside the award’s ordinary span, so it’s overtime: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% (casuals 187.5%, then 250%, loading included).Public holiday hoursChristmas Day is different: 300% with a 4-hour minimum. Other public holidays can instead be paid at ordinary time plus an extra day of annual leave.

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000093) — first full pay period on or after that date.

This week’s numbers

Nothing is stored or sent — the maths runs on this page.

Overnight or non-overnight — which stream applies?

It depends on the charter, not the employee. Overnight charter work is paid by daily rates ($207.29–$353.22 depending on classification) scaled by charter length — and those rates already include weekend and public-holiday compensation. Day trips and shore-based rosters use the weekly/hourly rates this calculator models. Many crews switch between the two.

Do I owe Sunday penalties?

Not as a penalty — as overtime. Ordinary hours can only be rostered Monday to Saturday (6am–2am), so any Sunday work for a non-overnight employee is overtime: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200%. A different 6-day period can be agreed with 14 days’ written notice, which moves where the overtime day falls.

What do public holidays cost?

Christmas Day is the big one: 300% of the minimum hourly rate with a 4-hour minimum. Every other public holiday gives you a choice — pay ordinary time and add a day to the employee’s annual leave, or pay 200%. Overnight charter employees get neither, because their daily rates were set to include it.

Does super apply to the Sunday and holiday rates?

Public-holiday penalties on ordinary hours are ordinary-time earnings, so the 12% super guarantee applies. Sunday work under this award is technically overtime, which sits outside the super guarantee — the calculator takes the conservative path and includes super on Sunday hours within the 38-hour week, excluding only the hours beyond 38. Check the exact treatment with your payroll adviser.

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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