Rates current as at 11 October 2026. Rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Source: FWO Professional Employees 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.

Many engineering, IT and consulting firms assume their professional staff are award-free. Some are, but many are not. From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, Professional Employees Award minimum rates rose 4.75%. A graduate with a 3-year degree must now be paid at least $66,825 a year ($33.71 an hour). A graduate with a 4 or 5-year degree must be paid at least $68,538 a year ($34.57 an hour).

Who this applies to:

• employees doing professional engineering or scientific duties, in any industry
• professional employees of employers principally engaged in the IT, quality auditing or telecommunications services industry
• professional medical research employees of medical research institutes

Who it doesn't: employees in wholly or principally managerial positions, employees covered by the awards excluded in clause 4.2, and professionals whose work falls outside these categories (for example accountants or lawyers).

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Coverage

Rule (cl 4.1): the award covers:

• (a) employers throughout Australia, for their employees performing professional engineering and professional scientific duties
• (b) employers principally engaged in the information technology, quality auditing or telecommunications services industry, and their employees covered by the Schedule A classifications
• (c) medical research institutes, for their professional medical research employees

What this means: an engineer is potentially covered whatever industry the employer is in. An IT professional is covered under paragraph (b) only if their employer's principal business is IT, quality auditing or telecommunications. A developer at a bank or retailer may therefore not be covered by this award. Check coverage role by role.

Exclusions: the award does not cover employees covered by the Airport Employees, Black Coal Mining Industry, Electrical Power Industry, Nurses, Port Authorities, Rail Industry, State Government Agencies or Water Industry awards (cl 4.2). Schedule A also excludes employees in a wholly or principally managerial position.

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Pay Rates 2026-27

The award sets minimum annual wages for full-time employees (cl 14.1). Hourly rate = (annual wage × 6/313) ÷ 38 (cl 14.2). Weekly figures below are annual × 6/313. Casual rates include the 25% loading. The last column is 125% of the annual minimum: a contractual salary at or above it meets the cl 18.6 test.

• Level 1, Pay Point 1.1 (3-year degree): Annual: $66,825; Weekly: $1,280.99; Hourly: $33.71; Casual hourly: $42.14; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $83,531.25
• Level 1, Pay Point 1.1 (4 or 5-year degree): Annual: $68,538; Weekly: $1,313.83; Hourly: $34.57; Casual hourly: $43.21; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $85,672.50
• Level 1, Pay Point 1.2: Annual: $69,688; Weekly: $1,335.87; Hourly: $35.15; Casual hourly: $43.94; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $87,110.00
• Level 1, Pay Point 1.3: Annual: $72,590; Weekly: $1,391.50; Hourly: $36.62; Casual hourly: $45.78; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $90,737.50
• Level 1, Pay Point 1.4: Annual: $76,267; Weekly: $1,461.99; Hourly: $38.47; Casual hourly: $48.09; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $95,333.75
• Level 2, Experienced professional / quality auditor / experienced medical research employee: Annual: $78,836; Weekly: $1,511.23; Hourly: $39.77; Casual hourly: $49.71; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $98,545.00
• Level 3, Professional / senior (lead) quality auditor / experienced medical research employee: Annual: $86,157; Weekly: $1,651.57; Hourly: $43.46; Casual hourly: $54.33; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $107,696.25
• Level 4, Professional / experienced medical research employee: Annual: $97,173; Weekly: $1,862.74; Hourly: $49.02; Casual hourly: $61.28; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $121,466.25
• Level 5, Experienced medical research employee: Annual: $117,064; Weekly: $2,244.04; Hourly: $59.05; Casual hourly: $73.81; 25% salary test (cl 18.6): $146,330.00

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman Pay Guide MA000065, published 24 June 2026 (hourly and casual rates); Professional Employees Award cl 14.1 (annual wages). Operative from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.

Cite this data

Suggested citation: Scale Suite, Professional Employees Award Pay Rates 2026-27 reference, October 2026, https://www.scalesuite.com.au/resources/professional-employees-award-reference-2026-27

• Rates rose 4.75% from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.
• The 3-year-degree graduate minimum is $66,825 a year ($33.71 an hour).
• The 4 or 5-year-degree graduate minimum is $68,538 a year ($34.57 an hour).

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Classification Levels

Levels are set by the work, depending on duties, autonomy and responsibilities, not the title.

• Level 1, Graduate professional (Pay Points 1.1 to 1.4): initial professional tasks of limited scope, under supervision. A graduate is appointed at Pay Point 1.1. Pay Point 1.2 applies once they are assessed as competent at 1.1 and have up to one additional year of practical professional experience. Later pay points follow the same pattern (Schedule A.1.2).
• Level 2: experienced professionals or quality auditors exercising more independent judgement.
• Level 3: professionals with significant experience, or senior (lead) quality auditors.
• Level 4: professionals with wider responsibility for technical outcomes.
• Medical research employees (Schedule B): a separate set of definitions for professional medical research employees of medical research institutes. Levels 2 to 4 sit alongside the professional levels in cl 14.1, and Level 5 applies only to experienced medical research employees. Schedule B describes Level 5 as an employee recognised as an authority nationally or internationally in their area of research, who oversees a program of research and receives independent research funding.

The cl 14.1 labels are: Level 2 Experienced professional/quality auditor/experienced medical research employee; Level 3 Professional/senior (lead) quality auditor/experienced medical research employee; Level 4 Professional/experienced medical research employee; Level 5 Experienced medical research employee.

"Senior developer" can be Level 2 in one firm and Level 3 in another.

Is this role covered? A decision path

1. Is the employee in a wholly or principally managerial position? If so, the Schedule A classifications exclude them.
2. Does the work involve professional engineering or professional scientific duties? If yes, the award can cover it in any industry (cl 4.1(a)).
3. If the role is IT, quality auditing or telecommunications, what is the employer's principal business? Coverage under cl 4.1(b) depends on the employer being principally engaged in one of those industries.
4. Is the employer a medical research institute? Professional medical research employees are covered under cl 4.1(c).
5. Does a cl 4.2 exclusion apply? If the employee is covered by one of the listed industry awards, this award does not apply.
6. Record the answer. Keep a short file note for each role, with the duties relied on, and review it when the role changes.

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Overtime and Penalty Rates

Rule: overtime and penalty rates were added to the award from 16 September 2023 (PR760322).

• Overtime (cl 18.2): a full-time employee must be paid the ordinary minimum hourly rate (100%) for all hours over 38 a week, or over an average of 38 hours across an agreed period. This includes call-backs and remote work. The payment is in addition to the minimum annual wage. Employees doing remote work outside ordinary hours must keep a record of it.
• Penalty rates (cl 18.4): Monday to Saturday before 6am or after 10pm, 125% (casual 150%). Sunday or a public holiday, 150% (casual 175%).
• Records (cl 18.5): employers must record hours over 38 a week, hours before 6am or after 10pm, and Sunday and public holiday hours.
• Time off instead of payment (cl 18.3): possible by written agreement, hour for hour.

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The 25% Salary Exemption (cl 18.6)

Rule, exact wording: clauses 18.2 (payment for overtime), 18.3 (time off instead of payment for overtime), 18.4 (penalty rates) and 18.5 (record keeping) "will not apply to employees who have a contractual entitlement to an annual salary which exceeds the appropriate minimum annual wage prescribed in clause 14.1 by 25% or more."

Employer action: test each salaried employee's contractual annual salary against 125% of the cl 14.1 minimum for their classification, and retest every year after the Annual Wage Review.

Hypothetical example: the 25% test

Assumption: a graduate engineer with a 4-year degree at Pay Point 1.1.

• Award minimum annual wage: $68,538
• 25% above the minimum: $68,538 × 1.25 = $85,672.50
• A salary of $80,000 is above the minimum but below the 25% threshold. Clauses 18.2 to 18.5 apply, so hours over 38 a week attract overtime at the ordinary hourly rate, and records must be kept.
• A salary of $86,000 exceeds the threshold, so the exemption can apply.

A salary that cleared the threshold in 2025-26 may not clear it after the 1 July 2026 increase.

Hypothetical example: overtime below the threshold

Assumptions: the same graduate on $80,000 works 45 hours a week for 6 weeks during a project deadline. The minimum hourly rate is $34.57 (Pay Point 1.1, 4 or 5-year degree).

• Hours over 38 a week: 45 − 38 = 7
• Total overtime hours: 7 × 6 = 42
• Overtime at the ordinary minimum hourly rate: 42 × $34.57 = $1,451.94

The hours must also be recorded under cl 18.5. Whether any above-award part of the salary can be set off against these amounts depends on the contract wording, so check the contract and get advice before relying on it. Alternatively, by written agreement, the employee can take 42 hours off instead (cl 18.3).

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Hypothetical Example: Graduate Cohort Cost

Assumption: four graduates on 4-year degrees at the Pay Point 1.1 minimum.

• Base: 4 × $68,538 = $274,152
• Super at 12%: $32,898.24
• Total before payroll tax, workers compensation and leave loading: $307,050.24

Annual leave loading is 17.5% of the base rate. It is capped at ABS average weekly earnings for all males for the prior September quarter, and can be satisfied by equivalent remuneration (cl 19.2).

See the FY2026-27 wage cost report.

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Common Mistakes

• Assuming professionals are award-free. Engineers and scientists doing professional work are often covered.
• Misreading IT coverage. IT coverage depends on the employer's principal industry.
• Not progressing graduates. Many payroll systems need manual review to move employees between pay points.
• Treating the 25% test as one-off. The threshold rises each 1 July.
• Assuming overtime is 150%. Under this award, overtime is paid at the ordinary minimum hourly rate. The obligation is to pay it and keep records.

See salary bands and pay progression and annualised salary reconciliation.

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Compliance Checklist

1. List employees doing professional engineering, scientific, IT, telecommunications, medical research or quality auditing work.
2. Check coverage under cl 4.1, including your principal industry for IT staff, and the cl 4.2 exclusions.
3. Classify each employee to a level and pay point using Schedule A.
4. Load the 2026-27 rates from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.
5. Test each salary against 125% of the cl 14.1 minimum.
6. Where a salary is below the threshold, keep the cl 18.5 records and pay overtime and penalties.
7. Diarise a review each July.

Scale Suite's outsourced payroll services and HR services can help with classification and salary testing.

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FAQ

What is the 2026-27 graduate minimum?

$66,825 a year ($33.71 an hour) for a 3-year degree, and $68,538 a year ($34.57 an hour) for a 4 or 5-year degree, from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.

Does the award cover software developers?

It can, if the employer is principally engaged in the IT, quality auditing or telecommunications services industry and the work fits the Schedule A classifications (cl 4.1(b)).

What is the 25% rule?

Under cl 18.6, the overtime, time off instead of overtime, penalty rate and record-keeping clauses do not apply to employees with a contractual annual salary that exceeds the cl 14.1 minimum annual wage by 25% or more.

When did overtime start applying?

From 16 September 2023.

What is the overtime rate?

The ordinary minimum hourly rate for hours over 38 a week (cl 18.2).

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About Scale Suite

Scale Suite provides embedded finance, payroll and HR support for Australian engineering, IT and consulting firms. Visit Scale Suite | Bookkeeping for engineering consultants | Bookkeeping for IT consulting

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Disclaimer

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 for your circumstances.

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Sources

• Professional Employees Award 2020 [MA000065], consolidated to 1 July 2026: https://awards.fairwork.gov.au/MA000065.html
• Fair Work Ombudsman, Pay Guide – Professional Employees Award [MA000065], published 24 June 2026: https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/Download/AwardSummary?awardCode=ma000065&effectiveDate=&fileType=pdf&krn=
• Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Review 2026 – announcement of decision: https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/resources/annual-wage-review-2026-decision-announcement.pdf

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