AU
USA
UK
ES
FR
BR
TH
INMedical Practitioners Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Medical Practitioners Award actually pays — the right classification and pay point, evening, night and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Medical Practitioners Award is applied
- Minimum salaries per classification and pay point come from clause 16.1, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 — the calculator uses the award’s own weekly and hourly conversions.
- Casuals get a 25% loading with a 2-hour minimum engagement, and the penalty percentages above already include it.
- Penalty windows differ by group: the evening/night/weekend rates shown follow the Career Medical Practitioner and Senior Doctor tables. Community Medical Practitioners have their own small shift loadings (102.5–105%), and Doctors in Training get 2.5% of the weekly rate per shift touching 9pm–6am. Saturday and Sunday share the same flat 150% (175% casual) for ordinary weekend work — confirmed against the FWO pay guide, which lists them as one combined rate — with a higher Sunday-specific rate reserved for staff formally rostered as shiftworkers.
- Overtime beyond 38 weekly hours pays 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% Monday to Saturday; Sunday overtime is 200% all day and public holidays 250% (casuals add 25 points to each).
- Senior Doctors — Specialist and above — are excluded from overtime altogether: they provide reasonable on-call and recall duties, compensated by an all-purpose availability allowance of 10% of annual salary.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
Who the award covers
- Employers of medical practitioners in hospitals, hospices and benevolent homes
- Day procedure centres
- Aboriginal health services and community health centres
- The Red Cross Blood Service and named state pathology and forensic institutes
- Doctors from intern through to Director of Medical Services
- Labour hire doctors placed into these settings
Nurses and midwives (Nurses Award), allied health and support staff (Health Professionals and Support Services Award) and dental practitioners sit under other awards — and doctors employed outside the settings listed in clause 4.2 (many private specialist rooms, for example) may not be award-covered at all. Check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Medical Practitioners Award classifies by career stage and appointment, not job ads: doctors in training (intern to senior registrar), career and community medical practitioners, then the senior doctor ranks from Specialist upward. Every group has its own minimum annual salary, and most step through pay points with experience.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intern | $33.62 | $1277.54 | First-year doctor (PGY1) | A medical practitioner in the first postgraduate year of clinical experience. Minimum annual salary $66,432. |
| Resident Medical Practitioner | $35.69 | $1356.33 | Resident · House officer (PGY2+) | Second or subsequent postgraduate year of clinical experience. Three pay points, stepping to $74,083 — this is pay point 1 ($70,529). |
| Registrar | $40.61 | $1543.23 | Specialty trainee · GP registrar | Admitted to an AMC-accredited vocational training program leading to a College fellowship — including general practice and rural and remote medicine. Four pay points from $80,248 to $90,018. |
| Senior Registrar | $53.07 | $2016.81 | Fellowship exams passed, awaiting fellowship | Has completed the examination requirements for a specialist College fellowship and is awaiting its granting. Two pay points, from $104,874. |
| Career Medical Practitioner | $53.62 | $2037.52 | Hospital career doctor (non-specialist) | At least 4 completed years of postgraduate clinical experience, appointed as such — not enrolled in specialist training. Four pay points from $105,951 to $116,188. |
| Senior Career Medical Practitioner | $60.65 | $2304.85 | Senior hospital career doctor | Not enrolled in a vocational training program, with 10 or more years of clinical experience (or enough to satisfy the employer). Four pay points from $119,852. |
| Community Medical Practitioner | $53.61 | $2037.15 | Doctor in a community health centre or general medical practice | At least 4 years of postgraduate experience, employed to practise in community health centres or general medical practice. Eight pay points from $105,932 to $131,623. |
| Specialist | $61.51 | $2337.21 | Fellowship-qualified specialist | Has completed a recognised specialist training program and been admitted as a fellow of the relevant College — or has sufficient experience in the specialty to satisfy the employer. Minimum annual salary $121,535. |
| Senior Specialist | $65.77 | $2499.10 | Senior specialist (higher qualification, 3+ years in specialty) | Holds a higher qualification appropriate to the specialty with at least 3 years of practical experience in it. Five pay points from $129,953 to $150,985 — pay point 1 sets the award’s standard rate. |
| Principal Specialist | $77.97 | $2962.73 | Principal specialist (8+ years after highest qualification) | A higher qualification plus at least 8 years of practical experience in the specialty after obtaining it. Minimum annual salary $154,062. |
- This is a salary-based award — clause 16.1 sets minimum annual salaries, and the weekly and hourly figures shown are the award’s own conversions (weekly = annual ÷ 52.18).
- The calculator shows the first pay point of each group. Progression is by annual movement for full-timers, or after 1,824 hours of similar experience for part-time and casual staff — longer-serving doctors sit above these figures.
- Two groups are trimmed to keep the list usable: Senior Principal Specialist ($159,515) and the Deputy Director/Director of Medical Services scales (up to $166,645) sit above Principal Specialist.
- Higher duties count quickly: act in a higher classification for more than 3 days and the higher minimum applies for all time worked at that level.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Medical Practitioners 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 Medical Practitioners 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 Medical Practitioners Award requires:
This award has only limited break rules (clauses 14–15) — most break arrangements rest on the NES and hospital policy. Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Medical Practitioners 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, MA000031) — 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?
They’re the first pay point of each classification group from clause 16.1, current at 1 July 2026. Doctors progress through pay points annually (or per 1,824 hours part-time/casual), so most experienced hires sit above these floors. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Why is this award in salaries rather than hourly rates?
The award sets a minimum annual salary for each pay point, then defines the weekly rate as annual ÷ 52.18 and the daily rate as annual ÷ 260. The hourly figures the calculator uses are the award’s own published conversions — handy for rostering, but the salary is the legal anchor.
Do the same penalties apply to every doctor?
No — this is the award’s biggest trap. Career and Senior Career Medical Practitioners get the evening and night percentages shown; Senior Doctors get an evening rate but no separate night rate; Community Medical Practitioners get much smaller shift loadings (102.5–105%); and Doctors in Training get a flat 2.5% of the weekly rate per late-night shift. Ordinary weekend work is the one constant across every group — a flat 150% (175% casual) for both Saturday and Sunday, confirmed against the FWO pay guide — with a higher Sunday rate reserved for staff formally rostered as shiftworkers.
Can I pay a Specialist overtime?
The award says you don’t: Senior Doctors — Specialist upward — are excluded from the overtime clause. Instead they provide reasonable on-call and recall duties and receive an all-purpose allowance of 10% of annual salary, which flows into leave and superannuation. Budget for the allowance, not for overtime lines.
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.
Get started
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.
