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Racing Ground Maintenance Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week maintaining a racing venue actually pays — the right classification level, event-day penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.

How the Racing Ground Maintenance Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per classification level — the calculator uses the adult rates from clause 15.1, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Casuals get a 25% loading, and the event-day and morning percentages below already include it.
Saturday and Sunday penalty rates are conditional, not automatic: they apply only when the employer conducts an event open to the public that day (clauses 20.3–20.4) — a quiet Saturday with no meeting is paid at the ordinary rate, and any work outside ordinary hours on such a day is overtime instead.
Overtime applies to all time outside the ordinary hours of work (up to 38/week, 6.30am–6.30pm, max 10 hours/day): 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% (casuals: 175% / 225%); Sunday overtime is a flat 200% (225% casual).
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
The trap employers miss: the 115% evening penalty and the event-day Saturday/Sunday penalties only bite when there’s an actual public meeting on — check the racing calendar before assuming a weekend shift is a penalty shift.

Who the award covers

Ground and track maintenance staff at thoroughbred, harness, trotting and greyhound racing venues
Gardening, turf, lawn and ornamental grounds work at racing venues
Track crossing attendants and early-morning trackwork gate staff
Trackwork and pool supervisors, and management-level ground staff
On-hire staff and group-training apprentices placed into racing venue maintenance

Racing clubs and events staff running the raceday itself (bookmaking, catering, gate, stewarding) sit under the Racing Clubs Events Award — this award is for the people who build and keep the track and grounds, not run the meeting.

Which level is your team member?

This award has one ladder running from Introductory level to Management Employee Level 2 — and it climbs on two things: qualifications and responsibility. Most ground crews sit at Levels 1–2; Tradesperson is the award’s standard rate and needs a real trade ticket; the two management levels are for people who genuinely plan and supervise, not just do the work.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Introductory level	$25.74	$978.10	New starter, still training	Anyone new to the industry who hasn’t yet demonstrated Level 1 competency — up to 3 months training, extendable by agreement to 6 months before they must progress to Level 1.
Maintenance & Horticultural Employee Level 1	$26.44	$1004.90	Gardener · Groundsperson · Track crossing attendant	Works under direct supervision: planting, mowing, watering, raking, clearing gutters and drains, routine turf maintenance, or minding a track crossing.
Maintenance & Horticultural Employee Level 2	$28.42	$1080.00	Turf machinery operator · Spray operator	Same duties as Level 1 plus operating and maintaining turf machinery and applying fertilisers, fungicides or pesticides — all under general (not direct) supervision.
Tradesperson	$29.45	$1119.10	Qualified turf technician · Mechanic · Carpenter/painter/welder on-site	Holds a trade or equivalent qualification and uses it: adjusting turf machinery, preparing surfaces for play, vehicle/engine maintenance, or carpentry/painting/welding repairs. The award’s standard rate.
Trackwork & Pool Supervisor	$31.77	$1207.10	Track supervisor · Training-hours gatekeeper	Reports to the Track Manager or Club Manager; supervises use of the training facilities, checks who’s entitled to be on track, and inspects tracks before training begins.
Management Employee Level 1	$34.08	$1295.00	Course superintendent · Turf maintenance planner	Reports to the Committee of Management or a Level 2 manager; plans and supervises turf maintenance, irrigation and chemical programs across the venue.
Management Employee Level 2	$37.61	$1429.30	Head of grounds · Facility manager	Reports directly to the Committee of Management; owns major turf projects, the annual work program, all outdoor staff and all outdoor WHS.

Introductory level is a training gate, not a permanent home — up to 3 months (6 by agreement), then the employee must progress to Level 1 once they’ve demonstrated the competencies.
Levels 1 and 2 do near-identical hands-on work; the difference is supervision (direct vs general) and whether the person operates turf machinery or applies chemicals.
Tradesperson is an anchor point in the award — the “standard rate” — and requires a completed trade or equivalent qualification actually being used, not just general handiness.
Trackwork and Pool Supervisor and the two Management levels are reporting-line roles: check who the person reports to and how many of the listed supervisory duties they perform (the award asks for 3 or more).

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Racing Ground Maintenance 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):

First aid allowance — appointed, qualified first aid officer$22.38/week

Leading hand allowance — in charge of 1–2 / 3–6 / more than 6 employees$22.38 · $44.76 · $55.96 per week

Tractor plant allowance — employee in charge of tractor plant$33.57/week

Tool allowance — tradesperson (other than carpenter) / carpenter (all-purpose)$15.83/week · $30.88/week

Meal allowance — unscheduled overtime, or after 8 hours on a Saturday/Sunday/public holiday$15.22

Protective clothing/equipment — required special clothing not supplied by the employerReimbursed at cost

Annual leave loading17.5% of the ordinary hourly 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 Racing Ground Maintenance 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 Racing Ground Maintenance Award requires:

Meal breakAn unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes, taken no later than 5 hours after starting work.

Working through a meal breakPaid at 150% of the ordinary hourly rate until a meal break of at least 30 minutes is taken.

Tea breaksPaid 10-minute breaks morning and afternoon, counted as time worked.

Early startersA track crossing attendant starting before 6.30am gets a paid 30-minute breakfast break.

Overtime breaksA paid 20-minute break before overtime longer than 1.5 hours, and after each 4 hours of overtime if work continues.

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

Calculate a week under the Racing Ground Maintenance 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 territoryWeekday hoursTrack crossing — before 6.30amTrack crossing attendants only, for time worked before 6.30am (clause 20.1)Evening (6pm–11pm) — greyhound/harness meetingApplies only when the employer conducts a greyhound or harness racing meeting between 6pm and 11pm (clause 20.2)Saturday — event open to the publicOnly when the employer conducts an event open to the public that day (clause 20.3) — otherwise Saturday work outside ordinary hours is overtimeSunday — event open to the publicOnly when the employer conducts an event open to the public that day (clause 20.4) — otherwise Sunday work outside ordinary hours is overtimePublic holiday hours

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000014) — 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 the award (clause 15.1), current at 1 July 2026. Junior rates (under 19) are 75% of the Level 1 rate, and apprentice rates follow a separate percentage table. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

Do I owe weekend penalty rates every Saturday and Sunday?

No — only when your business is conducting an event open to the public that day. A maintenance-only weekend with no meeting is paid at ordinary rates (or overtime, if it’s outside the rostered ordinary hours). Check the fixture list before you run payroll.

What’s the difference between Level 1 and Level 2?

Supervision and skill, not job title. Level 1 works under direct supervision on gardening, cleaning and routine turf care. Level 2 does the same kind of work but under general supervision only, and adds operating turf machinery and applying fertilisers or chemicals.

Does super apply to the event-day penalties?

Yes — the morning, evening and event-day Saturday/Sunday penalties are all paid on ordinary hours, so the 12% super guarantee applies. 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.