‹ Australian Award CalculatorsFREE CALCULATOR · MA000121

State Government Agencies Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week under the State Government Agencies Award actually pays — the right stream and grade, shift and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.

How the State Government Agencies Award is applied

Minimum rates are set per grade from the Administrative Officer table (clause 15.1), current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Casuals get a 25% loading, minimum engagement 3 consecutive hours, and the shift/weekend percentages below already include it.
Shiftwork penalties are distinctive here: 115% for a rotating afternoon or night shift, 130% for a non-rotating night shift — on top of the standard Saturday (150%), Sunday (200%) and public holiday (250%) rates.
Overtime is calculated Monday–Saturday: 150% for the first 3 hours, then 200% (casuals: 175% / 225%); Sunday overtime runs straight at 200%.
Employees above AO Grade 6C have no overtime entitlement at all, and where overtime does apply the hourly rate used is capped at the AO Grade 4C rate — never the employee’s actual (higher) rate.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including shift and weekend penalties — but not to overtime.

Who the award covers

State public sector incorporated bodies — set up for a public purpose by or under a State law, by a State Governor or by a State Minister
Bodies corporate in which a State holds an equal or controlling interest
Administrative, clerical and office-based roles across those agencies
Technical officers — laboratory, field and para-professional technical work
Professional officers — IT, legal and engineering/science roles
General and field work employees performing manual or outdoor duties

Government departments and administrative offices themselves are not covered — only incorporated State bodies. Aged care, ambulance, children’s services, education, health professionals, nurses, SCHADS and water industry employers have their own awards, along with employees on an enterprise instrument.

Which level is your team member?

The Administrative Stream runs from AO Grade 1 to AO Grade 8, and the position statements in Schedule A grade by the degree of direction, judgment and impact a role carries — not by job title. Most agency office roles sit at AO2–AO4; the grades above are genuine management or specialist positions.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
AO Grade 1	$26.52	$1007.90	Trainee administrative officer · Records/mail clerk · Reception	Works under routine direction on basic clerical tasks — filing, data entry, mail, straightforward customer contact — solved by following documented procedures.
AO Grade 2	$29.45	$1119.16	Administrative officer · Junior supervisor	General direction with scope for initiative; the award’s standard rate and the first grade that may carry a supervisory element.
AO Grade 3	$32.38	$1230.62	Senior administrative officer · Correspondence and briefing support	General direction, broad knowledge of the agency’s functions, and problems solved with some interpretation of guidelines rather than a simple lookup.
AO Grade 4	$35.13	$1334.99	Program officer · Team leader (equipment/tasks focus)	The first grade where a tertiary qualification may be desirable; decisions have limited but real operational impact.
AO Grade 5	$37.72	$1433.27	Specialist officer · Coordinator of subordinate staff	Works to established priorities and corporate goals, may draft complex correspondence, and can take independent action such as developing local procedures.
AO Grade 6	$40.42	$1535.78	Manager of a discrete organisational element · Subject-matter specialist	Manages a program or activity, or supervises part of a larger office, largely under limited direction. Grades above AO6C carry no overtime entitlement.
AO Grade 7	$43.88	$1667.43	Program manager · Senior policy adviser	Works under limited direction, manages an organisational element or provides senior professional advice with major day-to-day operational impact.
AO Grade 8	$48.62	$1847.54	Section/branch head · Senior policy or corporate lead	Controls an organisational element under the broad direction of a senior executive, with decisions that can have significant agency-wide effect.

AO1 is deliberately narrow: routine clerical work under close direction, solved by following documented procedures.
AO2 is the award’s standard rate and the first grade that may include supervisory duties — the usual landing spot for a confirmed administrative hire.
The jump to AO4 is about independent judgment and, often, a relevant tertiary qualification becoming desirable rather than essential.
Overtime cuts out above AO Grade 6C, and even where it applies below that point the payable overtime hourly rate is capped at the AO Grade 4C rate — a detail payroll systems often miss.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The State Government Agencies 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 — nominated first aid officer with a current qualification$823.38/annum

Equipment allowance — required to supply own instruments, tools, stationery or furnitureReimbursed at cost

Overtime meal allowance — qualifying overtime with a meal break$23.60 per occasion

Motor vehicle allowance — own car used by agreement for work duties$1.01/km

Higher duties allowance — acting in a higher-graded positionDifference up to the higher grade’s rate, pro-rated by proportion of duties

Annual leave loading17.5% of the ordinary rate, capped at the AO Grade 7B rate as at 1 January in the year leave is taken

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 State Government Agencies 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 State Government Agencies Award requires:

Meal breakA meal period of at least 20 minutes, taken no more than 5 hours after starting work.

Second meal breakIf work runs 2 hours or more past the normal finishing time: a second break of at least 20 minutes.

From the award’s breaks clause (clause 14). Employers can stagger break times to meet operational needs — verify the current award text before relying on it.

Calculate a week under the State Government Agencies 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 ordinary hoursRotating afternoon/night shiftAfternoon shift finishing after 6:30pm at or before midnight, or a rotating night shift, on the shiftworker rosterNon-rotating night shiftA night shift that does not rotate with other shiftsSaturday hoursSaturday work for day workers is paid at overtime rates — 150% for the first 3 hours, then 200% (see the overtime tiers). The casual loading is not paid on these hours (guide-confirmed).Sunday hoursA flat 200% for all Sunday hours — the casual loading is not added on top (guide-confirmed: casual Sunday equals the permanent column).Public holiday hoursOrdinary public-holiday hours for day workers price at 150% (175% casual) in the FWO pay guide — lower than most awards. Shiftworkers, and overtime worked on a public holiday, are 250% instead.

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000121) — 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 Administrative Officer stream adult rates (clause 15.1), current at 1 July 2026. The award also has separate Technical, Professional and General/Field Work streams with their own rate tables — use those if that’s the work being performed. Treat this as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

Why does this award only cover some state agencies?

It covers incorporated bodies established for a public purpose by or under State law — not government departments themselves, which sit under separate State public sector arrangements. If in doubt, check how the employer entity is legally constituted before classifying.

Does overtime apply at every grade?

No — employees paid above AO Grade 6C have no overtime entitlement under this award, and for everyone else the overtime hourly rate is capped at the AO Grade 4C rate regardless of the employee’s actual salary.

What’s the difference between the two night shift rates?

A rotating afternoon or night shift — one that rotates with other shift types on the roster — pays 115%. A non-rotating (permanent) night shift pays the higher 130%, recognising the more disruptive fixed pattern.

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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