AU
USA
UK
ES
FR
BR
TH
INRoad Transport Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Road Transport Award actually pays — the right grade for the vehicle, weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Road Transport Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per grade — the calculator uses the adult rates from clause 17.1, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Casuals get a 25% loading, and the weekend and public-holiday percentages below already include it.
- Weekend work carries real penalties on ordinary hours: 150% on Saturday and 200% on Sunday (casuals 175% / 225%), each with a minimum of 4 hours’ pay.
- Overtime is anything outside ordinary hours: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% — and each day’s overtime stands alone, so a long Tuesday can’t be averaged away by a short Thursday. Casual overtime is a genuine quirk: it doesn’t get the full 25% casual loading, only a 10-percentage-point addition (160% / 210%), confirmed against the FWO’s official pay guide.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
- Public holidays pay 250% all-in (300% on Good Friday and Christmas Day) — and early-morning starts between midnight and 6am for newspaper, meat, poultry or produce runs add 30% per hour to the ordinary rate.
Who the award covers
- Road transport of goods and livestock — couriers, carriers and general freight
- Receiving, handling and storing goods in a distribution facility
- Cartage of petrol and petroleum products, crude oil, bulk milk and dairy
- Cartage of quarried materials and road relocation of new or used vehicles
- Mobile food vending and wholesale meat transport
- Labour hire staff placed into road transport and distribution businesses
Long-distance interstate operations have their own award, stand-alone warehouses and wholesalers sit under the Storage Services and Wholesale Award, and transport within mining operations falls under the Mining Industry Award — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Road Transport Award grades people by what they drive, not what their contract calls them. Transport Worker Grades 1–10 (Schedule B) step up with the size and type of vehicle, plant or crane — from a yardperson at Grade 1 to a 70-tonne-plus platform trailer at Grade 10. Warehouse staff inside a transport business classify separately as distribution facility employees, whose four levels map into the same rate ladder.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | $26.87 | $1021.00 | Greaser and cleaner · Yardperson · Vehicle washer/detailer · Driver’s assistant · Courier (foot or bicycle) | The general hand: assisting drivers, washing and detailing vehicles, yard work and loading (other than freight forwarding). |
| Grade 2 | $27.51 | $1045.50 | Loader (freight forwarder) · Tow motor driver · Driver of a rigid vehicle up to 4.5t GVM (including motorcycle) | Driving the small stuff: rigid vehicles (or motorcycles) up to 4.5 tonnes GVM, or loading for a freight forwarder. |
| Grade 3 | $27.83 | $1057.60 | Forklift driver (up to 5t) · Driver of a 2-axle rigid 4.5–13.9t GVM · Distribution facility employee level 1 | The everyday delivery grade: two-axle rigid trucks between 4.5 and 13.9 tonnes GVM, forklifts up to 5 tonnes — or entry-level warehouse work in a distribution facility. |
| Grade 4 | $28.32 | $1076.20 | Driver of a 3-axle rigid over 13.9t GVM · Forklift 5–10t · Weighbridge attendant · Crane chaser/dogger · Distribution facility employee level 2 | Bigger rigids (3 axles over 13.9 tonnes), mid-size forklifts, straddle trucks — or a level 2 distribution-facility employee. |
| Grade 5 | $28.67 | $1089.60 | Forklift 10–34t · Rigid with 4+ axles over 13.9t GVM · Articulated vehicle (3 axles) up to 22.4t GCM | Heavy rigids with 4 or more axles, smaller articulated combinations (3 axles, up to 22.4 tonnes GCM) and forklifts to 34 tonnes. |
| Grade 6 | $29.00 | $1102.00 | Rigid-and-heavy-trailer combination 22.4–53.4t GCM · Articulated (more than 3 axles) over 22.4t · Mobile crane up to 25t · Transport rigger | Semi-trailer territory: articulated vehicles over 22.4 tonnes GCM, truck-and-dog combinations to 53.4 tonnes, low loaders to 43 tonnes. |
| Grade 7 | $29.42 | $1118.00 | B-double driver (up to 53.4t GCM) · Low loader over 43t GCM · Distribution facility employee level 3 | Double articulated vehicles including B-doubles up to 53.4 tonnes GCM, heavy low loaders — or a level 3 distribution-facility employee. |
| Grade 8 | $30.28 | $1150.50 | B-double/road combination over 53.4t GCM · Mobile crane 25–50t · Multi-axle platform trailer up to 70t | The heavy end: combinations exceeding 53.4 tonnes GCM and platform trailing equipment carrying up to 70 tonnes. |
| Grade 9 | $30.78 | $1169.70 | Mobile crane over 50t · Gantry crane · Road train combinations over 94t GCM · Distribution facility employee level 4 | Road trains over 94 tonnes GCM, the biggest cranes — or the most senior distribution-facility level. |
| Grade 10 | $31.55 | $1198.80 | Driver of multi-axle platform trailing equipment over 70t capacity | The top grade: multi-axle platform trailers with a carrying capacity over 70 tonnes (extra weekly allowances apply over 100 tonnes). |
- The vehicle sets the grade: classify by the largest vehicle, plant or crane the person is required to drive in the job — a delivery driver in a 3-tonne van is Grade 2; give them a 12-tonne rigid and they become Grade 3.
- Two families share one ladder: distribution facility employees levels 1–4 (warehouse skills, Schedule A) sit at the same rates as Grades 3, 4, 7 and 9 — this calculator shows the ten transport-worker grades, and the mapping covers the warehouse side.
- Oil distribution workers are different: same weekly rates, but higher hourly rates on a 35-hour week (clause 17.2). This calculator uses the standard 38-hour rates.
- Special vehicle allowances are all-purpose: low loaders over 43 tonnes and platform trailers over 100 tonnes carry weekly additions that fold into the rate before penalties and overtime are calculated.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Road Transport 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 Road Transport 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 Road Transport Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause (clause 16). Heavy-vehicle fatigue laws may impose stricter rest rules — follow whichever is tighter.
Calculate a week under the Road Transport 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, MA000038) — 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 17.1, current at 1 July 2026. Junior drivers are a percentage of these, and oil distribution workers have their own hourly table on a 35-hour week. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Which grade is my driver?
Whatever they’re required to drive decides it. A courier van under 4.5 tonnes is Grade 2, a two-axle rigid to 13.9 tonnes is Grade 3, a semi over 22.4 tonnes GCM is Grade 6, a B-double is Grade 7 (over 53.4 tonnes, Grade 8). If someone drives more than one vehicle, classify to the largest.
What counts as overtime?
Anything outside ordinary hours — beyond 8 hours a day, outside the 5.30am–6.30pm spread, or over an average of 38 a week. It pays 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200%. Each day stands alone: overtime is worked out day by day, not netted off across the week.
Does super apply to penalty rates?
Yes — Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday penalties on ordinary hours are ordinary-time earnings, 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.
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.
