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INMarket Research Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Market and Social Research Award actually pays — the right classification, out-of-hours loadings, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Market Research Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per classification — the calculator uses the adult hourly rates from clause 14.1, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Casuals get a 25% loading on the ordinary hourly rate for every ordinary hour worked, paid instead of leave and notice entitlements.
- Out-of-hours work isn’t a percentage penalty here — it’s a flat loading on top of the hourly rate: $7.41/hour for Saturday or weeknight work outside the 8am–8pm spread, $14.82/hour for Sunday or public holidays. Clause 19.1 limits this to full-time and part-time employees — casuals aren’t entitled to it under this award.
- Overtime is all time beyond rostered ordinary hours, paid at a flat 125% of the minimum hourly rate — and casual loading is switched off for those hours, so casual overtime uses the base rate, not the loaded one.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including the out-of-hours loadings — but not to overtime.
- Watch the total-wage and commission-payment options in clause 14.4–14.5: an employer can pay a flat annualised wage (at least minimum-plus-25%) or a commission instead of itemised penalties, but only where it’s agreed in advance and the employee isn’t worse off.
Who the award covers
- Market and social research — qualitative and quantitative, public and private
- Interviewers working by telephone, face-to-face or door-to-door
- Editors, coders and keyboard operators processing fieldwork results
- Field supervisors, field managers and research officers/managers directing projects
- Labour hire (on-hire) staff placed into market research work
Employers covered by the Higher Education Industry—Academic Staff—Award 2020 sit outside this award, as do employees covered by an enterprise award, enterprise instrument, or a State reference public sector award — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Market and Social Research Award runs a single ladder from trainee through to research manager — set by Schedule A and clause 14.1. Classify by the skill level actually required to do the job, not the job title on file, and remember two rate rows share pay: Field supervisor and Research assistant are paid the same, and so are Field manager and Research officer.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market research trainee | $26.59 | $1010.30 | New interviewer, editor, coder or keyboard operator in their first 6 work sessions | Allocated to less complex tasks and usually needs extensive assistance and supervision. Trainee rate applies only until the employee earns $6463 or completes 300 hours (whichever is greater) — then they move to the full rate for the role. |
| Support employee (first year) | $28.82 | $1095.30 | Market research support work, including group recruitment, in the first year | Principally engaged on support activities rather than interviewing, editing or coding. Moves to the ongoing support rate after completing the trainee requirements. |
| Support employee (thereafter) | $29.64 | $1126.30 | Ongoing market research support work, including group recruitment | Same support work as above, paid the ongoing rate once the first year / trainee requirements are behind them. |
| Market research interviewer | $29.64 | $1126.30 | Telephone or face-to-face interviewer · fieldwork documentation | Interviews respondents by telephone or face-to-face, prepares and submits fieldwork paperwork, attends briefings and de-briefings. This is the award’s standard rate. |
| Executive & door-to-door interviewer | $29.93 | $1137.30 | Executive/professional face-to-face interviewer · door-to-door interviewer | An interviewer either targeting executive/professional respondents on their area of expertise, or calling on interviewees at their own premises (not central locations like shopping centres). |
| Editor / Coder / Keyboard operator | $30.15 | $1145.70 | Fieldwork checking · coding · data entry | Checks interviews and questionnaires for consistency and accuracy, classifies results for keyboard entry, and enters/manipulates data for the client report. |
| Team leader | $31.56 | $1199.30 | Field team lead · interviewer with supervisory duties | Interviews as well as guiding, assisting and training a small team (interviewers, editors, coders or keyboard operators) — responsible for no more than 8 employees. |
| Field supervisor / Research assistant | $33.90 | $1288.20 | Field supervisor · telephone room lead · research assistant | Coordinates and supervises the fieldwork of team leaders and interviewers on a project, or assists a research officer. Anyone in charge of a telephone room must be classified at least this level. |
| Field manager / Research officer | $37.03 | $1407.00 | Field manager · research officer | Schedules fieldwork and coordinates supervisors/interviewers across the business, or writes questionnaires, briefs teams, moderates groups and reports to clients. |
| Research manager | $48.74 | $1852.00 | Research manager | Initiates, plans and directs projects, with responsibility for generating business and/or managing the organisation — the award’s top classification. |
- Trainee is capped, not permanent: once someone has earned $6463 or worked 300 hours (whichever comes first) in the previous 3 years with an employer, they move to the full rate for their role and can’t be re-engaged below it unless they’ve left the industry for 3 years.
- Interviewer is the award’s standard rate and the benchmark for the "standard rate" defined term used elsewhere in the award — most fieldwork staff sit here or one step either side.
- Team leader caps out at 8 people — beyond that, or when coordinating supervisors and interviewers across a whole project, the role is a Field supervisor.
- Anyone put in charge of a telephone room must be classified at Field supervisor or above, regardless of what else is on the position description.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Market Research 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 Market Research 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, MA000030) — 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 clause 14.1 of the award, current at 1 July 2026. Junior and supported-wage rates are separate schedules. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Why is the weekend loading a dollar amount instead of a percentage?
That’s how this award writes it. Clause 19.1 sets Saturday and weeknight-outside-hours work at the ordinary rate plus $7.41/hour, and Sunday or public holiday work at the ordinary rate plus $14.82/hour — flat additions, not multipliers. The clause is explicitly limited to full-time and part-time employees, and Schedule B’s casual rate table has no equivalent line, so casuals aren’t entitled to this addition under the award.
Does casual loading apply to overtime?
No. Clause 11.2(c) and 18.1(c) both switch the 25% casual loading off for overtime hours — a casual working beyond their rostered ordinary hours is paid 125% of the base classification rate, not 125% of the loaded rate.
Does super apply to the out-of-hours loadings?
Yes — the $7.41 and $14.82 additions are paid for ordinary hours worked out of hours, so they count as ordinary-time earnings and attract the 12% super guarantee. 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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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.
