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INProfessional Diving (Recreational) Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Diving (Recreational) Award actually pays — dive master or instructor, overtime past 2 hours a day, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Professional Diving (Recreational) Award is applied
- Minimum pay is an annual salary per classification (clause 15.1), current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 — the award itself publishes the weekly (÷52.1429) and hourly figures, so no derivation is needed here.
- Casual rates are published directly in the award (Schedule A.3) rather than a flat 25%-on-ordinary sum: $34.40/hr for a dive master, $36.55/hr for an instructor, Monday to Sunday.
- There’s no evening, Saturday, Sunday or public-holiday penalty in this award — ordinary hours are paid at the one rate every day of the week, which is the distinctive trap for anyone assuming retail- or hospitality-style weekend loadings apply.
- Overtime is measured per day, not per week: any time worked beyond 2 hours in excess of the rostered day attracts 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after, both days included — Saturday and Sunday work past ordinary hours is overtime, not a weekend rate.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings — for a salaried dive master or instructor that’s the full salary — but not to overtime.
- Minimum engagement payments catch employers out on short trips: a casual doing dive-shop or classroom work must be paid at least 2 hours, and field work at least 4 hours, even if the actual job is shorter.
Who the award covers
- Employers providing underwater services for recreational diving and related shipboard services
- Dive masters — ISO 24801-3/24802 qualified dive leaders and assistant instructors
- Dive instructors — trained to train other divers to ISO 24801/24802 standards
- Dive charter and liveaboard operations, including day-trip and multi-day boat work
- Staff who also cover deckhand, cook, skipper, shop or client-facing duties on a dive vessel or shop
The Professional Diving Industry (Industrial) Award covers commercial/offshore diving — hyperbaric welders, diving supervisors and industrial divers servicing industry. That’s a separate, higher-paid award, not this one.
Which level is your team member?
This award has just two classifications — dive master and dive instructor — so classifying is mostly about qualification, not a level ladder. Dive master is the standard rate; dive instructor applies once someone is trained to train other divers, not just lead dives.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dive Master | $27.52 | $1045.80 | Dive master — dive leader, assistant instructor, deckhand/shop duties | Trained to ISO 24801-3 (Dive Leader) or ISO 24802-1 (Assistant Instructor) or ISO 24802-2 (Instructor) standard, in keeping with ISO 24803 service requirements. This is the award’s standard rate. May also be rostered as a deckhand, cook or skipper, in the dive shop, or interviewing prospective clients. |
| Dive Instructor | $29.24 | $1111.10 | Dive instructor — trains other divers | Trained to train other divers to ISO 24801-3, 24802-1 and 24802-2 standards, in keeping with ISO 24803. Working time includes instruction plus up to 30 minutes each of pre-dive and post-dive briefing. |
- Dive master is deliberately broad: the award expects the same person to also work as a deckhand, cook or skipper, in the dive shop, or interviewing prospective clients (clause 12.1) — none of that pushes someone to instructor rate on its own.
- Dive instructor requires the training-of-trainers qualification (ISO 24802-1 and 24802-2), not just the dive-leader ticket that qualifies a dive master.
- An instructor’s working time counts pre- and post-dive briefings too — up to 30 minutes each — which is easy to leave off a timesheet.
- Minimum payments differ by engagement type and trip length (clause 15.2) — a casual on a day trip under 6 hours is paid actual hours, but a casual doing dive-shop or classroom work has its own 2-hour minimum, and field work its own 4-hour minimum.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Professional Diving (Recreational) 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 Professional Diving (Recreational) 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 Professional Diving (Recreational) Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause (clause 14). Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Professional Diving (Recreational) 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, MA000109) — 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 dive master and instructor minimums are the annual salary, weekly and hourly figures published directly in clause 15.1, current at 1 July 2026 (PR799389, PR799544). Casual rates come straight from Schedule A.3. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Does this award have weekend penalty rates?
No — ordinary hours are paid at the same rate every day, Monday to Sunday, and public holidays are treated as ordinary days too. The only thing that lifts the rate is overtime — more than 2 hours beyond the rostered day, on any day.
What’s the minimum I owe for a short casual booking?
It depends what the casual is doing: dive-shop or classroom work has a 2-hour minimum, field work (diving) has a 4-hour minimum, and a day trip under 6 hours is paid actual hours — but a day trip over 6 hours is paid a minimum of 6 hours regardless of when it finishes.
Does super apply to the salary or just base pay?
For a salaried dive master or instructor, the 12% super guarantee applies to the ordinary-time salary in full — there are no penalty rates to separate out, since this award doesn’t have them. Overtime payments remain excluded.
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.
