Rates current as at 11 October 2026. Rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Source: Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) Clerks Award pay guide (published 24 June 2026) and the award as consolidated to 1 July 2026. The next scheduled change is the 2027 Annual Wage Review, which generally applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2027.
From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, Clerks Award minimum rates rose by 4.75% under the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review 2026 decision. Full-time and part-time rates now run from $26.97 to $33.99 an hour across Levels 1 to 5 ($1,024.70 to $1,291.80 a week). If you employ receptionists, admin staff, accounts clerks or office managers, this award often sets their minimum pay. It is also often applied at the wrong level.
Who this applies to: private sector employees who are wholly or principally doing clerical and administrative work, where the employer is not covered by an industry award that contains clerical classifications. Who it doesn't: admin staff of employers covered by such an industry award (for example retail, hospitality, legal, banking or health), and roles that are not mainly clerical.
The Clerks – Private Sector Award 2020 (MA000002) is a modern award. It sets minimum pay and conditions for private sector employees who are wholly or principally engaged in clerical work: reception, data entry, filing, invoicing, accounts processing, payroll support and office coordination.
It is an occupational award, not an industry award. If your business is covered by an industry award that contains clerical classifications, that award usually covers your admin staff instead (cl 4.3–4.4). The Clerks Award is not a default for anyone who sits at a desk.
Adult minimum rates. Weekly rates are for a 38-hour full-time week. Casual rates include the 25% casual loading. Previous rates are the 2025-26 minimums.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman Pay Guide MA000002, published 24 June 2026, operative from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026; Clerks Award cl 16 Table 3 and Schedule B.3.1. Previous rates are from copies of the FWO July 2025 pay guide.
Annual equivalents (weekly × 52) run from $53,284.40 (Level 1, Year 1) to $67,173.60 (Level 5). For context, Level 1, Year 1 moved from $25.74 to $26.97 an hour, and Level 3 from $29.70 to $31.11. Check both against your payroll settings. Our employee cost calculator shows what each level costs once super and leave are added.
Suggested citation: Scale Suite, Clerks Award Pay Rates 2026-27 reference, October 2026, https://www.scalesuite.com.au/resources/clerks-award-reference-2026-27
Depending on duties, autonomy and responsibilities, the award commonly covers receptionists, administration assistants, data entry staff, accounts clerks, accounts payable and receivable officers, payroll support roles, personal assistants and office coordinators.
Rule: the award does not cover employers covered by a modern award containing clerical classifications (cl 4.3(a)). Clause 4.4 names industry awards including the Aged Care, Banking Finance and Insurance, Contract Call Centres, Fitness Industry, General Retail, Health Professionals and Support Services, Hospitality, Legal Services and Restaurant Industry awards, among others.
Example: a receptionist at a law firm is likely under the Legal Services Award, and a front desk administrator at a hotel is likely under the Hospitality Award. A receptionist at a marketing agency or software company, where no industry award covers clerical roles, is more likely to be under the Clerks Award.
Coverage also stops where the role stops being mainly clerical. A finance manager who sets budgets and reports to the board may be award-free or covered differently, depending on duties and pay. Test the actual work, not the job title. The FWO Clerks Award summary has the full exclusion list.
Levels are set by the skill and responsibility the work requires (Schedule A), not by title.
Rule on year steps: Levels 1 and 2 have year steps. In counting years, any service in the classification level counts, including clerical experience with a previous employer (cl 16.2). An employer can ask for reasonable evidence of that service (cl 16.3).
Employer action: if a role has drifted upward (the receptionist who now runs supplier payments, for example), review the classification. See our guide to award classification errors.
For employees other than shiftworkers, ordinary hours can be worked between 7.00am and 7.00pm Monday to Friday and 7.00am and 12.30pm Saturday (cl 13.3). A full-time employee works 38 ordinary hours a week, which can be averaged over a roster cycle.
Sunday is outside the standard spread of ordinary hours. Sunday ordinary hours only arise where the employer directs ordinary hours under cl 13.5 (working alongside employees on another award). Otherwise Sunday work is overtime, at 200% (casual 225%). Sunday and public holiday work attracts a minimum of 4 hours' pay. Casuals must be paid at least 3 hours for each engagement.
Overtime applies to hours worked at the employer's direction beyond ordinary weekly hours, beyond 10 ordinary hours in a day, or outside the spread of ordinary hours. Rates are calculated daily.
Saturday work by an employee who has already worked 38 hours or more Monday to Friday attracts a minimum of 3 hours at overtime rates. Sunday overtime attracts at least 4 hours' pay.
Source: Clerks Award cl 21.4 and cl 24; FWO Pay Guide MA000002, published 24 June 2026.
Assumption: a full-time Level 3 employee on the $31.11 minimum works 3 hours of overtime on a Tuesday.
Assumption: a Level 1, Year 1 casual works a 4-hour shift within Saturday ordinary hours.
Rule: full-time and part-time employees get 4 weeks' annual leave a year under the NES. For day workers, the Clerks Award loading is the greater of 17.5% of the minimum hourly rate or the weekend penalty rates the employee would have received (cl 32.3). It is calculated on the award minimum rate, not over-award amounts. See what leave loading is in Australia.
Rule: the super guarantee rate has been 12% since 1 July 2025. From 1 July 2026, Payday Super applies: super guarantee is calculated on qualifying earnings, and contributions must be received by the employee's fund within 7 business days after payday (longer in some cases, such as for new employees). See the ATO's Payday Super deadlines and our guide, Payday Super is now live.
Assumption: full-time Level 3 on the award minimum, day worker, no overtime, 17.5% loading applies.
Hypothetical: an employee doing Level 3 work is paid at Level 2, Year 1.
Across several staff, this could create a five-figure remediation cost before penalties and interest. If you find an error, follow the underpayment remediation process.
Rule (cl 18): an employer may pay a full-time employee an annualised wage instead of specified award provisions, including minimum rates, allowances, overtime, penalties and annual leave loading. The employer must:
Hypothetical: a Level 5 office manager on a $75,000 salary works 9 hours a day, Monday to Friday, for 48 weeks. Assume 7.6 rostered ordinary hours a day, so 1.4 hours a day is overtime in the first-2-hours band. How overtime falls across the week can change the result.
See annualised salary reconciliation.
Many payroll systems need manual review or configuration changes to move employees between year steps. A Year 1 rate paid to a Level 1, Year 3 employee is short $81.50 a week.
Paying a hotel or retail administrator under the Clerks Award when an industry award applies can mean the wrong penalty rates, allowances and hours rules.
The increase applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July. At Level 3, each week paid at the 2025-26 rate leaves $53.60 owing per full-time employee.
Since 1 January 2025, intentionally underpaying wages can be a criminal offence. Honest mistakes are not covered by the offence, and small businesses (fewer than 15 employees) that comply with the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code will not be referred for criminal prosecution (FWO). Civil remedies still apply.
Scale Suite's outsourced payroll services and HR services can help with classification reviews and award setup.
What is the Clerks Award pay rate for 2026-27?
From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, the minimum is $26.97 an hour ($1,024.70 a week) at Level 1, Year 1, rising to $33.99 an hour ($1,291.80 a week) at Level 5. Casual rates run from $33.71 to $42.49 an hour across Levels 1 to 5.
How much did rates rise on 1 July 2026?
4.75%, under the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review 2026 decision. Level 1, Year 1 moved from $25.74 to $26.97 an hour.
What are the casual penalty rates?
For ordinary hours, casuals receive 150% on Saturdays (7.00am to 12.30pm), 225% on Sundays and 275% on public holidays.
What overtime rates apply?
For full-time and part-time employees, Monday to Saturday overtime is 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after that, and Sunday overtime is 200%. Casuals receive 175%, 225% and 225%. Public holiday overtime is 250% (casuals 275%).
Can I pay a Clerks Award employee an annual salary?
Yes, for full-time employees under clause 18, with written terms, time records and a reconciliation at least every 12 months.
Scale Suite provides embedded finance and payroll teams for Australian SMEs, including registered BAS agent services and CA oversight. Visit Scale Suite | Finance services | HR services
General information only, current as at 11 October 2026. Scale Suite is a registered BAS Agent, not a licensed tax, financial or legal adviser. Check the award and FWO pay guide for your circumstances.
Scale Suite is a Sydney-based provider of outsourced finance and HR services for Australian SMEs. We deliver bookkeeping, financial reporting, payroll processing, fractional CFO support, recruitment, employee onboarding, people and culture support, and fractional HR oversight, all as a fully embedded team that works inside your business.
Employment Hero Gold Partner, CA-qualified, and Xero Certified, we replace fragmented finance and HR processes with one responsive, senior-level function at a fraction of the cost of full-time hires. We serve growing businesses across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, with packages starting from $1,500 per month and no lock-in contracts.
30 minutes with our team.
We will review your current finance setup, compare the full cost of an internal hire against our embedded team, and show you exactly what your finance function should cost at your stage of growth.
You will leave with a clear view of what is working, what is missing and where you would save.
No lock-in contracts. 30-day money-back guarantee.
Prefer to book directly? Grab a time here.
