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INNursery Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Nursery Award actually pays — the right grade, weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Nursery Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per grade — the calculator uses the adult rates from clause 15.1(a), current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Grade 2 is the award’s “standard rate” anchor.
- Casuals get a 25% loading, the weekend percentages in the calculator already include it, and every casual engagement carries a 3-hour minimum payment.
- Ordinary hours run 6am–6pm on any 5 out of 7 days — so a Sunday can be an ordinary day, at 200% (225% casual). One weekday a week may run to 9pm with no penalty; anything else outside the span is overtime.
- Overtime applies beyond 38 weekly hours or outside the span: 150% for the first 3 hours, then 200% (casuals: 175% / 225%), Monday to Saturday. Sunday overtime is a flat 200% (225% casual).
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
- The trap: the first aid allowance is all-purpose — it must be folded into the hourly rate before penalties and overtime are calculated, not added on afterwards.
Who the award covers
- Plant nurseries — propagating, planting, growing, cultivating, maintaining and treating plant material
- Flower, turf and tree farms and similar enterprises
- Selling and distributing plant material and associated nursery products
- Producing and modifying growing media, and preparing land for nursery work
- Processing, grading, packing and storing plant material as part of a nursery
- Labour hire staff placed into nursery businesses
Garden sections inside general retail stores follow the Retail Award, fruit and vegetable growing the Horticulture Award, and forest tree planting the Silviculture Award — the wine and sugar industries are excluded too. Check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Nursery Award has one classification ladder with seven grades — and each grade is explicitly cumulative: the employee can do everything the grade below does, plus a more extensive range of skills at a higher level. Most nursery teams sit at Grades 1B–3; Grades 4–6 are gated behind an Accredited Trade Certificate.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1A | $25.74 | $978.10 | New starter (first 3 months) | No previous industry experience or formal qualifications: routine, repetitive and manual nursery duties under supervision — for no longer than 3 months, then Grade 1B. |
| Grade 1B | $26.44 | $1004.90 | Nursery hand · Potting and propagation assistant · Order picker/packer | Three months’ industry experience: potting, transplanting, tubing, watering, weeding, grafting and budding, picking, grading and packing — within established routines, under direct supervision. |
| Grade 2 | $26.59 | $1010.30 | Experienced nursery hand · Irrigation equipment operator · Tractor (with implements) driver | A wider skill set at a higher level: plant maintenance, disease and pest control, fertigation, phones and basic data entry — may be in charge of one assistant. The award’s “standard rate”. |
| Grade 3 | $27.81 | $1056.80 | Forklift operator · Regular driver · Customer service and sales | Higher again: customer service and direct enquiries, invoicing, order acceptance, receiving money, forklift work and regular driving. |
| Grade 4 | $29.45 | $1119.10 | Certified tradesperson · Team hand with up to 3 staff | Holds and uses an Accredited Trade Certificate: independent cultural decisions (plant nutrition, merchandising), payroll and invoicing — minimal supervision, may be responsible for up to 3 employees. |
| Grade 5 | $32.54 | $1236.50 | Section or unit supervisor · Production coordinator · Landscape consultant/designer | Trade-certified and running a section or unit: production programs, fertiliser and pest control programs, irrigation design, stock ordering, targets and rosters — reporting to senior management. |
| Grade 6 | $35.43 | $1346.40 | Nursery manager · Head grower · Propagator · Production planner | The top grade: controls propagating environments and schedules, analyses data, sets KPIs, produces monthly and annual reports. |
- Grade 1A has a clock on it: it only holds for the first 3 months in the industry, then the employee must move to Grade 1B — leaving a fourth-month starter on 1A is the award’s easiest underpayment.
- The 1B-to-2 step is about depth, not new duties: both might pot and water all day, but Grade 2 runs irrigation equipment, handles pest and disease control, drives tractors with implements — and can be in charge of one assistant.
- Money and machines mark Grade 3: invoicing, taking payments, customer service, forklifts and regular driving.
- The trade certificate is the gate to Grades 4–6 — without an Accredited Trade Certificate (or equivalent), classification stops at Grade 3 no matter how senior the title sounds.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Nursery 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 Nursery 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 Nursery Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause. Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Nursery 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, MA000033) — 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 grade minimums are the adult rates from clause 15.1(a), current at 1 July 2026 — the award publishes both the weekly and hourly figures directly. Juniors (under 21) are a percentage of these. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
What’s the difference between Grade 1A and 1B?
Three months. Grade 1A is strictly an induction grade — no experience, routine work under supervision, for no longer than 3 months. After that the same person on the same duties must be paid Grade 1B. Set a reminder; it’s the award’s most common miss.
Is Sunday work penalty or overtime?
It can be either. Ordinary hours may be rostered on any 5 out of 7 days, so a rostered Sunday inside 38 hours is a penalty-rated ordinary day at 200% (225% casual). A Sunday beyond the roster or the 38 hours is overtime — also 200% (225%), so the cost is the same, but the super treatment isn’t: penalties on ordinary hours attract super, overtime doesn’t.
When must someone be Grade 4?
When they hold an Accredited Trade Certificate (or equivalent) and the job requires them to use it — independent decisions on plant nutrition and merchandising, responsibility for up to 3 staff. Without the certificate, Grade 3 is the ceiling; with it and a section to run, Grades 5 and 6 come into view.
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.
