Horticulture Award.
Horticulture Award 2020. Verified penalty rates, shift loadings, leave loading and RDO arrangements, with a live calculator under the NES.
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| Component | Formula | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Accrual rate (FULL-TIME) | 4 wks × 38h ÷ 52 | 2.923 hrs/wk |
| Hours accrued | 2.923 × 52 wks | 152.42 hrs |
| Hourly base rate | - | $35.00 |
| Base leave value | 152.42 × $35.00 | $5,334.62 |
| 17.5% leave loading | base × 0.175 | + $933.56 |
| Total payout | - | $6,268.17 |
Disclaimer: This tool does not constitute legal or financial advice. Results may be inaccurate due to changes in legislation or your circumstances. This tool does not constitute legal or financial advice. We do not recommend taking actions based solely on these results. The calculator makes assumptions and results may be inaccurate due to changes in legislation, modern awards, or your personal circumstances. You use this information at your own risk. We can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. For official guidance, visit Fair Work Ombudsman (fairwork.gov.au). Fair Work Ombudsman.
Horticulture Award pay rates and penalties.
Dollar rates effective from 1 July 2026 after the 4.75% Annual Wage Review increase. Penalty rates verified against the MA000028 award text.
Penalty rates by shift type
What each hour is worth as a percentage of the base rate, for permanent and casual employees.
Hourly rate by classification level
5 levels, measured from $0 so the gaps between them are true to scale.
Grey bars fall below the adult national minimum wage. Junior and apprentice classifications are lawfully paid a set percentage of the adult rate under this award.
- L1Level 1 (entry, first 3 months of industry experience)
- L2Level 2 (after 3 months, irrigation, spraying, machine set-up; standard rate)
- L3Level 3
- L4Level 4
- L5Level 5
National Minimum Wage, 4-year trend
Lifted each year by the Annual Wage Review. Up 23.7% since FY2023. Percentages are the movement in the NMW itself, which exceeded the award increase in the years the Commission realigned it to the C13 rate.
Where these numbers come from
- Dollar rates
- FWO Pay Guides and FWC Annual Wage Review [2026] FWCFB 3500, effective 1 July 2026.
- Penalty rates and allowances
- MA000028 on awards.fairwork.gov.au, the official award text.
- Your own figures
- Check your classification in the FWO Pay Calculator.
Penalty rates in full
Every loading in the award, side by side for full-time, part-time and casual employees.
| Hours worked | Full-time / part-time | Casual (incl. loading) |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours | 100% | 125% |
| Saturday | 100% | 125% |
| Sunday | 100% | 125% |
| Public holiday | 200% | 225% |
| Evening, shift finishing after 6.00pm and at or before midnight | 115% | 140% |
| Night shift | 115% | 140% |
This award has no weekend penalty on ordinary hours. The 100% above is not a missing figure: ordinary hours under this award do not attract a Saturday or Sunday loading, so weekend work is either paid at the ordinary rate or falls into overtime. Check the overtime clause rather than the penalty table for what a weekend shift is worth.
All values are percentages of the base hourly rate. Casual rates shown are inclusive of the 25% casual loading on top of the FT/PT rate. For your own dollar amounts, use the FWO Pay Calculator.
These are the percentages. To turn them into dollars for a specific roster, the penalty rates calculator prices Saturday, Sunday, public holiday and shift hours against this award’s own classification rates.
Pay rates by classification
Weekly rates are for 38 ordinary hours. Casual hourly includes the 25% loading.
| Level | Classification | Weekly rate | Hourly rate | Casual hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Level 1 (entry, first 3 months of industry experience) | $978.10 | $25.74 | $32.18 |
| L2 | Level 2 (after 3 months, irrigation, spraying, machine set-up; standard rate) | $1,004.90 | $26.44 | $33.05 |
| L3 | Level 3 | $1,020.10 | $26.84 | $33.55 |
| L4 | Level 4 | $1,056.90 | $27.81 | $34.76 |
| L5 | Level 5 | $1,119.10 | $29.45 | $36.81 |
Rates effective from 1 July 2026 after the 4.75% Annual Wage Review increase. Weekly rates are for 38 ordinary hours. Casual rates include the 25% loading on top of the hourly rate. Source: FWO Pay Guides.
Allowances
Paid on top of the base rate. Amounts effective from 1 July 2026.
| Allowance | Amount | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leading hand allowance | $30.41 - $63.46 | per week | Clause 18.2(b). $30.41 for 2 to 6 employees, $35.43 for 7 to 10, $50.50 for 11 to 20, $63.46 for more than 20. Paid for all purposes, so it lifts the base for penalties, overtime and annual leave. |
| Wet work allowance | $2.64 | per hour | Clause 18.2(c)(i), where adequate protective clothing is not supplied. Charged per hour in this award, unlike the Wine Award which charges per day. Paid for all purposes. |
| First aid allowance | $13.48 | per week | Clause 18.2(d). Paid for all purposes. |
| Meal allowance | $16.69 | per meal | Clause 18.3(c)(i), for more than 2 hours of overtime after the ordinary finishing time without notice the previous day. This is the only expense-related allowance in the award: Schedule C.2 has one row. There is no vehicle or per-kilometre allowance in MA000028. |
| Travelling and accommodation | Time counted as time worked, plus demonstrable accommodation cost | as incurred | Clause 18.3(a). A reimbursement, not a fixed figure. Accommodation is reimbursed where the employee must spend the night away from home and suitable accommodation is not provided free. |
| Tools and equipment | Cost of supply | as incurred | Clause 18.3(b). Reimbursement where the employer requires the employee to supply their own tools and does not pay for them. |
The numbers that drive this award.
Set by Horticulture Award 2020 (MA000028) and the NES.
Award-specific provisions.
Where this award goes beyond, or sits at, the NES floor.
Standard NES floor of 4 weeks per year of full-time service. Pro-rata for part-time.
Day workers get a flat 17.5% on the minimum hourly rate. Shift workers get the same flat 17.5%. The 17.5% is calculated on the wages you would have received for the ordinary hours you would have worked, not the section 90(1) base rate. Clause 22.4 substitutes whole-of-pay for the NES base, so shift loadings, all-purpose allowances and over-award payments all sit inside the figure the 17.5% is applied to. Run the numbers in the annual leave loading calculator.
No formal RDO accrual cycle in this award. Time off in lieu of overtime (TOIL) may still be available.
Calculate your leave under this award
The Horticulture Award sets your pay rates, but your paid leave runs on the National Employment Standards. Work out 4 weeks of holidays with the annual leave calculator, and your 10 days of paid sick and carer's leave with the personal leave calculator. To confirm which award applies to you and how it lifts entitlements above the NES floor, read our guide to modern awards.
Who this award covers.
The Horticulture Award (MA000028) is the common name for the Horticulture Award 2020. Industries, work types and exclusions are taken from the Fair Work Ombudsman summary.
Industries
Work types
Notes & exclusions. The 17.5% here is not calculated the way it is in most awards. Clause 22.4 replaces the section 90(1) base rate with the wages you would have received for the ordinary hours you would have worked, and clause 22.6 then pays 17.5% of that. So a shiftworker on 115%, a leading hand on an all-purpose allowance and anyone on an over-award rate all load on the higher figure, and a calculator that applies 17.5% to the bare minimum underpays them. Saturday and Sunday show as 100% because the award has no weekend penalty clause at all: Saturday can be ordinary time at the plain rate by agreement with the majority of employees (clause 13.1(a)(i)), and Sunday can never be ordinary time for a permanent, so Sunday work is overtime at 200%, or 150% for up to 5 hours inside the first 8 weekly overtime hours during harvest (clause 21.3(d)). Casuals working ordinary hours between 8.31pm and 4.59am get a 15% night loading on top of the 25% casual loading, so 140% (clause 13.2(d)), and that rate is missing from the FWC's own summary table. Level 1 is a below-NMW entry rate you progress out of after no more than 3 months' industry experience.
Roles paid under this award.
Each classification has its own pay grade. Use the FWO Pay Calculator for current dollar rates.
- 01Level 1
- 02Level 2
- 03Level 3
- 04Level 4
- 05Level 5
Horticulture Award questions, answered.
Penalty rates, leave entitlements and award-specific provisions under MA000028. Verified against the modern award text.
Who does the Horticulture Award cover?
Are there Saturday penalty rates under the Horticulture Award?
Are there Sunday penalty rates under the Horticulture Award?
What is the public holiday rate under the Horticulture Award?
How many weeks of annual leave do I get under the Horticulture Award?
How is annual leave loading calculated under the Horticulture Award?
What is the casual loading under the Horticulture Award?
Does the Horticulture Award include rostered days off (RDOs)?
Does the Horticulture Award have evening or night-shift loadings?
Where do I find current pay rates by classification under the Horticulture Award?
Verified against the modern award text.
Penalty rates, shift loadings and continuous-shift eligibility on this page were verified against Horticulture Award 2020 (MA000028) on the Fair Work Commission's awards.fairwork.gov.au.
For up-to-date pay rates by classification, refer to the FWO Pay Calculator. Modern awards are reviewed and varied periodically by the Fair Work Commission; check the source for the latest text.