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INStorage and Wholesale Award Pay Calculator
Work out what a week under the Storage and Wholesale Award actually pays — the right grade, shift and weekend penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.
How the Storage and Wholesale Award is applied
- Minimum rates are set per classification — 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, the percentages below already include it, and every casual start carries a 4-hour minimum engagement.
- Sundays are the award’s big penalty: 200% for all time worked (225% casual) with a 4-hour minimum — Saturday ordinary time runs at 150% with a 3-hour minimum.
- Overtime applies outside the 7am–5.30pm weekday span or beyond 38 weekly hours: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% (casuals: 175% / 225%).
- A 10-hour break is required after overtime — resume sooner at the employer’s instruction and every hour is 200% (225% casual) until released.
- Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
Who the award covers
- Warehouses and distribution centres — receiving, handling and storing goods
- Cold stores — freezing and refrigerating produce and merchandise
- Bottling, packing, sorting and preparing goods for sale
- Loading, dispatch and delivery of produce, goods or merchandise
- Selling goods by wholesale
- Labour hire and group training staff placed into storage or wholesale businesses
Transport and distribution businesses sit under the Road Transport and Distribution Award, and selling to the public is the General Retail Industry Award’s territory — and if another award has storage or wholesale classifications that fit the work, it wins. Check before you classify.
Which level is your team member?
The Storage and Wholesale Award runs two mirrored streams — storeworker grades 1–4 for warehouse work and wholesale employee levels 1–4 for wholesale selling — and both pay exactly the same at every rung. Classification is about skills and responsibility: entry-level packing and picking at Grade 1, licences at Grade 2, supervision at Grade 3, and running the operation at Grade 4.
| Level | Per hour | Per week (38h) | Typical roles | The test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 — on commencement | $27.08 | $1029.10 | New storeworker · New wholesale employee | The point of entry: storing and packing goods, picking and retrieving, paperwork and basic terminal work under routine supervision. |
| Grade 1 — after 3 months | $27.41 | $1041.60 | Storeworker grade 1 · Wholesale employee level 1 | The same entry-level duties — the rate steps up automatically after 3 months’ service. |
| Grade 1 — after 12 months | $27.72 | $1053.50 | Storeworker grade 1 · Wholesale employee level 1 | The final Grade 1 step, reached automatically after 12 months’ service. |
| Grade 2 | $27.97 | $1062.80 | Licensed forklift operator · Ride-on equipment operator · Basic non-trades maintenance | Working from detailed procedures with limited supervision — typically licensed materials-handling equipment and higher-level terminal work. |
| Grade 3 | $28.77 | $1093.10 | Senior storeworker (supervises up to 10) · Team leader · Opening/closing keyholder · Cash security | Trusted with quality control, store layout, supervising up to 10 employees — or, on the wholesale side, keyholding and securing cash. |
| Grade 4 | $29.61 | $1125.30 | Warehouse supervisor (leading hand for 10+) · Section/department manager · Inventory controller · Buyer with discretion | Running a warehouse or a large section of one: coordinating other storeworkers, inventory control and reconciliation, liaising with suppliers and customers. The award’s “standard rate”. |
- Two streams, one rate ladder: a storeworker grade and its matching wholesale level pay identically — pick the stream that describes the work, then the rung that describes the responsibility.
- Grade 1 rises with service, not skill: the rate steps up automatically after 3 months and again after 12 months — a payroll date to diarise, not a promotion to decide.
- Licences move people up: licensed operation of forklifts and other materials-handling equipment is Grade 2 territory, not Grade 1.
- Supervision defines the top: supervising up to 10 employees sits at Grade 3; leading more than 10, or being responsible for a warehouse or large section, is Grade 4 — the award’s standard rate.
Allowances that can apply on top
Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Storage and Wholesale 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 Storage and Wholesale 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 Storage and Wholesale Award requires:
From the award’s breaks clause. Verify the current award text before relying on it.
Calculate a week under the Storage and Wholesale 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, MA000084) — 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 clause 15.1, current at 1 July 2026. Juniors are a percentage of the Grade 1 rate (40% under 16 up to 70% at 18; full rate at 19), and shiftworkers on agreed weekend shifts have substitution rules. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.
Storeworker or wholesale employee — does it matter?
Not for pay: the two streams carry identical rates at every level. It matters for the classification test — storeworker definitions are about warehouse skills, wholesale definitions about selling, keyholding and cash. Pick the stream that matches the actual work.
When does Grade 1 step up?
Automatically, on service: on commencement, after 3 months, and after 12 months. No new duties or sign-off required — if the anniversary passes and the rate doesn’t move, that’s an underpayment.
What about early-morning or shift starts?
Shiftworkers carry their own loadings: 112.5% for an early-morning shift commencing between 2am and 7am, 115% for an afternoon shift and 130% for a night shift (casuals add their 25% loading on top). Shift penalties substitute for weekend rates — they don’t stack.
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.
