Airline Operations Ground Staff Award.

Airline Operations-Ground Staff Award 2020 (MA000048) covers on-airport servicing of commercial passenger and freight aircraft, on-airport servicing of private business and instructional aircraft. Common roles include ramp, baggage and freight handling, aircraft loading and unloading, aircraft cleaning and catering preparation, check-in and ticketing. Public holidays carry two rates. Christmas Day and Good Friday are 250%, and every other public holiday is the 200% shown above, for day workers and shiftworkers alike (clauses 31.2(a) and 17.7(a)). Casuals get 275% on those two days and 225% on the rest, and the award prints both (Schedules B.6 to B.9). A day worker's ordinary hours are Monday to Friday between 7.00am and 6.00pm (clause 14.2), so the 150% Saturday and 200% Sunday are ordinary-hours rates only where weekend work has been agreed with the majority of employees or with you individually (clause 14.2(g) and (h)). Without that agreement a Saturday is overtime, at 150% for the first 2 hours then 200% (clause 24.1(a)). Sunday is 200% for a day worker either way, with a 4 hour minimum (clause 25). Shift loadings apply Monday to Friday: 115% for an early morning shift starting from 4.00am and before 7.00am, 115% afternoon, 122.5% night, 130% permanent night, and 150% for an afternoon or night shift that does not continue for at least 5 consecutive afternoons or nights (clauses 17.3 to 17.5). A shiftworker's weekend and public holiday rates replace the shift loading rather than adding to it (clause 17.7(b)). Casual penalties are additive and printed in full: 175% Saturday, 225% Sunday, 140% early morning or afternoon, 147.5% night, 155% permanent night and 175% for a shift that does not continue (Schedules B.6.1 and B.6.2). Casuals are paid for at least 4 hours each time (clause 11.2). Annual leave loading is not paid on termination (clause 26.5(b)). All four streams share these percentages, but the Schedule B dollar tables leave out all-purpose allowances, which matter most for licensed engineers (clause B.1.2). Aircraft Worker 1 at $978.10 is below the National Minimum Wage and must be reclassified to Aircraft Worker 2 within 3 months (clause A.3.1). Check-in, ticketing and load sheet staff of an airline operations employer are paid under this award's clerical stream, not the Clerks (Private Sector) Award, which lists this award among the industry awards it does not cover (Clerks clause 4.4(b)).

Full-time and part-time employees are paid 150% of the base hourly rate (1.50x) for working on Saturday. Casuals receive 175% (the FT rate plus the 25% casual loading). Not every Saturday hour is paid at that rate: Saturday overtime for a day worker without a weekend hours agreement, first 2 hours, 150% or 175% for a casual (clauses 14.2(g) and 24.1); Saturday overtime for a day worker without a weekend hours agreement, after 2 hours, 200% or 225% for a casual (clauses 14.2(g) and 24.1).

FT/PT employees are paid 200% of the base hourly rate (2.00x) for Sunday work. Casuals receive 225% (the FT rate plus the 25% casual loading).

FT/PT employees who work on a gazetted public holiday are paid 200% of the base hourly rate (2.00x). Casuals receive 225% (the FT rate plus the 25% casual loading). Employees who don't work the holiday receive their ordinary day's pay if it would otherwise have been a working day. Not every public holiday hour is paid at that rate: Christmas Day and Good Friday, 250% or 275% for a casual (clauses 31.2(a)(ii) and 17.7(a), Schedules B.6 to B.9).

Standard full-time employees get 4 weeks of paid annual leave per year under the NES. A 7 day shiftworker who is regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays in a business where shifts are continuously rostered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, gets a 5th week of annual leave (clause 26.4). Their excessive accrual threshold is 10 weeks rather than 8 (clause 26.7(a)). The 5-week entitlement comes from NES s.87(1)(b), which the Airline Operations Ground Staff Award classifies eligibility for. Calculate annual leave accrual →

Day workers get a flat 17.5%. Shift workers are paid the greater of what they would have earned, or the minimum plus 17.5%. The 17.5% is calculated on your ordinary hourly rate, which is the clause 18 minimum plus any all-purpose allowance (clause 2). In the maintenance and engineering stream the aircraft type rating endorsement, special appointment, licence, leading hand and tool allowances are all-purpose (clauses 20.6(a) and 20.8(a)), so a licensed engineer loads on more than the table rate. A shiftworker's roster comparison leaves out overtime and public holiday penalty payments (clause 26.5(a)(ii)). Leave loading calculator →

25% on top of the base hourly rate, paid in place of entitlements a casual does not get, such as paid annual leave and paid personal/carer's leave. Casual loading is added to the FT/PT rate for Saturday, Sunday, public holidays, afternoon or evening shifts, night shifts and permanent night shifts.

Yes. By agreement, not automatic. The employer and a majority of affected employees may agree to work up to an average of 40 ordinary hours a week with one regular rostered day off in each 4 week cycle, for day workers (clause 14.2(e)) and for shiftworkers (clause 14.3(e)). Time credited this way should not be taken as a day off on a public holiday (clause 31.5(b)). RDOs are paid days off, distinct from annual leave; they exist to balance ordinary hours over a fixed period. If you are paid out on termination, accrued RDO time is typically included.

Yes. Under this award, evening work shift finishing after 6.00pm and at or before midnight, Monday to Friday attracts 115% of the base hourly rate (1.15x); night-shift work attracts 122.5% of the base hourly rate (1.23x); permanent night shift attracts 130% of the base hourly rate (1.30x). For casuals, the 25% casual loading is added on top of these penalty rates.

The Fair Work Commission reviews award minimum rates each year in the Annual Wage Review. The rates on this page took effect from 1 July 2026. The official source is the FWO Pay Calculator, which always reflects the current rates. Open the FWO Pay Calculator →