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INSeagoing Industry Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Seagoing Industry Award actually pays — the right rank and vessel category, the aggregate annual salary converted to weekly and hourly, and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Seagoing Industry Award is applied
- Minimum pay is an aggregate annual salary per rank and vessel category (clause 14.1), current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 — the calculator converts it to weekly (÷ 52) and hourly (÷ 52 ÷ 38) as planning figures only.
- There is no casual classification under this award — only full-time and relief employment (clause 11). Relief employees receive equivalent pro-rata pay and conditions; the calculator’s "casual" column is the site’s standard +25% convention shown only as a rough guide, not an award-derived rate.
- Ordinary hours are 8 hours a day, every day of the week, averaged over a roster cycle of up to 52 weeks (clause 12.2-12.3) — not a Monday-to-Friday 38-hour week. A rostered Saturday, Sunday or public holiday worked at sea is an ordinary working day, already priced into the aggregate salary.
- The aggregate annual salary bakes in an "aggregate overtime component" deemed to cover all overtime for the cycle — there is no separate overtime multiplier to add on top, which is why the calculator prices extra hours at ordinary rates rather than time-and-a-half.
- The trap employers miss most: this is a genuinely aggregate wage arrangement covering a full swing-roster cycle (weeks on, weeks off), not a clean weekly wage — treating the calculator’s per-week figure as the whole story understates what a real roster costs, and understates what relief or short-engagement crew are separately owed. For roster-specific pay, work from the vessel’s actual roster cycle and the full award text, not this simplified week.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings — for a salaried seafarer that’s the aggregate annual salary itself, since the award treats it as covering ordinary time and rostered overtime together; confirm the split with your payroll adviser if the salary is later found to include a genuine overtime component.
Who the award covers
- Cargo vessel crew — dry cargo, tanker and gas carrier ranks
- Passenger vessel crew operating on voyages that proceed to sea
- Research vessel crew proceeding to sea outside bays, harbours or rivers
- Deck officers and ratings — Master through Integrated rating
- Engine room officers and ratings — Chief engineer through Third engineer
- Catering crew — Chief cook, Second cook, stewards and catering attendants
Vessels on a temporary coastal trading licence sit under this award’s own Schedule A instead. Coal Export Terminals, Dredging Industry and Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas each have their own award, and any crew already covered by an enterprise award or agreement fall outside this one — check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Seagoing Industry Award doesn’t use a level ladder — crew are classified by named rank (Master, Chief engineer, mates, ratings and so on), then by the vessel’s tonnage category and manning level. The calculator shows the dry cargo vessel (up to 19,000 tonnes) column at "AOV" manning — the broadest reference stream for smaller operators.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated rating | $43.57 | $1655.48 | Integrated rating · Assistant steward · Catering attendant | The award’s standard rate: a multi-skilled deck/engine rating, or an assistant steward/catering attendant, on a D.C. Cat 1 vessel (AOV manning). Aggregate annual salary $86,085. |
| Second cook | $43.71 | $1660.83 | Second cook | The catering rank below Chief cook — day-to-day food preparation and galley duties. Aggregate annual salary $86,363. |
| Chief integrated rating | $47.84 | $1817.81 | Chief integrated rating · Chief cook · Chief steward | The senior rating in charge of the deck/engine rating team, or the senior catering rank (Chief cook/Chief steward). Aggregate annual salary $94,526. |
| Third mate / Third engineer | $50.58 | $1922.08 | Third mate · Third engineer · Electrician | The most junior watchkeeping deck or engine officer, or a qualified electrician (trade-certified, without an ETO ticket). Aggregate annual salary $99,948. |
| Second mate / Second engineer | $52.78 | $2005.54 | Second mate · Second engineer · Electro-technical officer | A watchkeeping deck or engine officer one rank above Third, or the certificated electro-technical officer. Aggregate annual salary $104,288. |
| First mate / First engineer | $57.05 | $2167.96 | First mate · First engineer | The second-in-command on deck or in the engine room — relieves the Master or Chief engineer and runs their own watch. Aggregate annual salary $112,734. |
| Chief engineer | $65.84 | $2501.88 | Chief engineer | Head of the engine department — responsible for the vessel’s machinery and the engineering team. Aggregate annual salary $130,098. |
| Master | $66.94 | $2543.69 | Master | Person in command of the vessel — the seafarer with overall responsibility for the ship, crew and cargo. Aggregate annual salary $132,272. |
- Rank sets the rate directly — there’s no separate skills test to apply. Match the seafarer’s actual role (Master, mate, engineer, rating, catering) to the clause 14.1 row.
- "AOV" means all other vessels; "18" means a vessel manned at 18 crew or below, which pays a higher rate for the same rank. Confirm the vessel’s manning level before quoting a salary.
- Bigger vessels pay more for the same rank: dry cargo Cat 2 (19,000–39,000 tonnes) and Cat 3 (over 39,000 tonnes) sit above the Cat 1 figures shown here, and tankers, passenger vessels, research vessels and gas carriers each carry their own, generally higher, tables — check the full award before quoting a rate outside dry cargo Cat 1.
- Deck, engine and catering trios are already merged into single award rows (e.g. Integrated rating/Assistant steward/Catering attendant) — that’s the award’s own structure, not a simplification.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Seagoing Industry 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 Seagoing Industry 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 Seagoing Industry Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause (clause 13). Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Seagoing Industry 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, MA000122) — first full pay period on or after that date.
This week’s numbers
Nothing is stored or sent — the maths runs on this page.
Why does this calculator show hourly and weekly rates for a salary-based award?
MA000122 sets an aggregate annual salary per rank and vessel category, not an hourly or weekly rate — so the calculator divides by 52 for a weekly figure and by 38 again for an hourly one. Treat both as planning conversions; the actual legal minimum is the aggregate annual salary itself.
Are seagoing crew casual employees?
No — this award recognises only full-time and relief employment (clause 11); there is no casual classification. Relief employees are paid pro-rata equivalent pay and conditions. The calculator’s casual column is shown only as the site’s standard rough guide, not a rate the award actually prescribes for this workforce.
Does a rostered Saturday or Sunday attract a penalty rate?
No. Ordinary hours under this award are 8 hours a day, every day of the week, averaged over a roster cycle of up to 52 weeks — a weekend worked as part of the rostered cycle is an ordinary working day, already priced into the aggregate annual salary. There is no separate weekend or public-holiday premium layered on top.
My crew work a swing roster (weeks on, weeks off) — does this calculator model that?
Only approximately. The aggregate annual salary is designed to cover a full roster cycle, including overtime, weekends and public holidays worked at sea — this calculator simplifies that into an hourly/weekly planning figure, which is most useful for shore-based work, relief engagements or short hires. For roster-specific pay, work from the vessel’s actual swing cycle and the full award text or your enterprise agreement, not this simplified week.
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.
