Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009): pay rates, penalty rates and rules for 2026/27

The Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (HIGA, award code MA000009) is the Fair Work modern award that sets minimum pay and conditions for hotels, pubs, bars, motels, caterers, casinos and function venues across Australia. From 1 July 2026 the adult minimum rate runs from $25.74 an hour (Introductory) to $32.13 an hour (Level 6) for full-time and part-time staff, with a 25% loading for casuals.

This page is a working reference for venue owners and managers who roster under HIGA. It pulls the figures most people look up (base rates, penalty rates, overtime, minimum shifts, allowances) into plain tables, with the clause numbers so you can check them against the award text on the Fair Work Commission site.

Who does the Hospitality Award cover?

The Hospitality Award covers employers in the hospitality industry throughout Australia and their employees in the classifications it lists. Clause 4 names hotels, motels, boarding establishments, guest houses and serviced apartments, caravan parks, ski lodges, hostels, wine bars and taverns, liquor booths, resorts, caterers, casinos, and function and convention facilities. A restaurant or cafe that operates inside one of those premises (a hotel bistro, a casino restaurant) is covered by HIGA as well, and so are labour-hire employees placed into a hospitality business.

Some businesses that feel like hospitality sit under a different award. A stand-alone restaurant or cafe is usually covered by the Restaurant Industry Award (MA000119). A fast food outlet is usually covered by the Fast Food Industry Award (MA000003). Registered clubs, boarding schools, hospitals, local government, theme parks, in-flight catering and aged-care catering are excluded from HIGA under clause 4.4. If your venue holds a liquor licence and serves food, drink and accommodation to the public, HIGA is the likely starting point, but the coverage clause is the final word.

The award recognises three employment types. Full-time employees average 38 ordinary hours a week. Part-time employees are guaranteed at least 8 and fewer than 38 hours a week in a written agreement that sets their guaranteed hours and availability, and they must get two days off each week (clause 10). Casuals are paid a 25% loading on the minimum hourly rate and can be rostered for up to 12 hours in a day and an average of 38 hours a week over the roster cycle (clause 11).

What are the Hospitality Award classification levels and pay rates from 1 July 2026?

HIGA has seven adult classification levels, from Introductory to Level 6. From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, the minimum hourly rate for a full-time or part-time employee is $25.74 at Introductory, $26.44 at Level 1, $27.08 at Level 2, $27.97 at Level 3, $29.45 at Level 4, $31.30 at Level 5 and $32.13 at Level 6. Casuals receive those rates plus 25%.

Rates last verified: July 2026, against the Fair Work Commission determination for the 2025-26 Annual Wage Review (first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026). Weekly rates are the award figures; hourly rates are the weekly rate divided by 38. Check the current Fair Work pay guide before you run payroll.

Two details trip venues up. First, the Introductory level is capped: once an employee has worked up to three months and can perform Level 1 duties, they move to Level 1. Second, the award defines a standard hourly rate as the Level 4 minimum hourly rate ($29.45 from 1 July 2026). Several allowances and the evening loadings below are calculated as a percentage of that figure, which is why they move every July too.

Classification is about duties, not job title. A “barista” who also runs the till and clears tables is a food and beverage attendant, and the grade depends on the work they actually do and any qualifications the award requires for the grade. For a plain-English walk through each level, see MA000009 explained: hospitality award levels in 2026.

What are the junior rates under the Hospitality Award?

Junior employees under HIGA are paid a percentage of the adult minimum rate for their classification, set by age in clause 18: 50% at 16 years and under, 60% at 17, 70% at 18, 85% at 19 and the full adult rate at 20. A junior whose duties include serving liquor must be paid the adult rate regardless of age.

The examples are the junior percentage applied to the Level 1 adult hourly rate of $26.44 and rounded to the nearest cent; Fair Work pay guides may differ by a cent depending on where rounding is applied. Junior office employees use a separate table in clause 18 and are not shown here. A junior’s rate changes on their birthday, so a 17-year-old who turns 18 mid roster cycle is paid at 60% for shifts before the birthday and 70% from the birthday onward.

What are the Hospitality Award penalty rates for weekends, nights and public holidays?

Under HIGA clause 29, full-time and part-time employees are paid 125% of the minimum hourly rate on Saturdays, 150% on Sundays and 225% on public holidays. Casuals are paid 150% on Saturdays, 175% on Sundays and 250% on public holidays, which is the permanent penalty plus the 25% casual loading. Monday to Friday evening work attracts a flat dollar loading per hour instead of a percentage.

Percentages are of the minimum hourly rate for the employee’s classification, and the evening and overnight loadings are paid per hour or part of an hour. Where more than one penalty could apply to the same hour, clause 29.3 pays only the higher of them, so a casual working 9pm on a Saturday is paid 150%, not 150% plus $2.95. On a Level 2 casual ($27.08 base) that works out to $40.62 an hour on Saturday, $47.39 on Sunday and $67.70 on a public holiday.

Public holidays also carry a minimum payment. A full-time or part-time employee who works on a public holiday must be paid for at least 4 hours, and a casual for at least 2 hours, even if the shift is shorter. Full-time and part-time staff who would normally work that day but are given the day off are paid their ordinary hours at the base rate.

What are the Hospitality Award overtime rates?

HIGA overtime for full-time and part-time employees is 150% of the minimum hourly rate for the first 2 hours and 200% after that from Monday to Saturday, 200% on Sundays and 250% on public holidays (clause 28). The casual overtime column already includes the casual loading: 175% for the first 2 hours and 225% after that Monday to Saturday, 225% on Sundays and 275% on public holidays.

Overtime is triggered differently for each employment type. A full-time employee is on overtime once they pass 38 ordinary hours a week averaged over the roster cycle, work more than 11.5 hours in a day (10 hours on some roster arrangements), or return with fewer than 8 hours between shifts (10 hours in some cases). A part-time employee is on overtime for hours beyond their agreed guaranteed hours unless the extra hours were agreed in writing as additional ordinary hours. A casual is on overtime after 12 hours in a day or shift, or beyond an average of 38 hours a week across the roster cycle (clause 11.4).

Overtime rates and penalty rates do not stack. An hour is either an ordinary hour paid at the applicable penalty, or an overtime hour paid at the overtime rate for that day. Where an employer and employee agree in writing, overtime can be taken as time off in lieu at the overtime rate instead of being paid out.

Minimum shift lengths, maximum hours and breaks

The Hospitality Award sets a minimum engagement of 3 consecutive hours per shift for part-time employees (clause 15.2) and 2 consecutive hours for casuals (clause 11.3). If a shift is rostered shorter than the minimum, the employee is still paid for the minimum. The award also caps daily hours and requires a meal break on longer shifts.

The meal break rule has teeth. If an employee works more than 6 hours without being given their 30-minute unpaid break, clause 16 requires an extra 50% on their ordinary hourly rate from the end of the sixth hour until the break is taken or the shift ends. A busy Saturday service where the kitchen hand never got off the line becomes a penalty, not just a bad afternoon. Paid 20-minute rest breaks also apply on longer shifts, and how breaks interact with clock-ins is covered on Shiftly’s meal and rest breaks page.

Which allowances does the Hospitality Award include?

HIGA clause 26 sets out wage-related and expense-related allowances, with the dollar amounts listed in Schedule C of the award. The ones most venues meet are the split shift allowance, the meal allowance for unplanned overtime, and reimbursement for tools, equipment and special clothing an employee is required to supply. Most of them are indexed to the standard hourly rate, so they move each July.

Allowances are paid on top of the hourly rate and are not multiplied by penalty percentages unless the award says they are all-purpose. Schedule C of the award is the full list, including first aid, airport, and overnight stay allowances that only apply to particular venues.

When do Hospitality Award rates change?

Hospitality Award minimum rates change once a year, taking effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July, after the Fair Work Commission hands down its Annual Wage Review decision in June. The 2025-26 review lifted HIGA rates by about 4.75% for most levels, with slightly larger increases at Introductory and Level 1. Allowances tied to the standard hourly rate move at the same time.

“First full pay period” matters for venues with a fortnightly cycle. If your pay period runs Wednesday to Tuesday and 1 July falls on a Friday, the new rates start on the following Wednesday, not on 1 July itself. Penalty percentages and overtime multipliers are set in the award clauses rather than the annual review and change only when the Commission varies the award, which is rarer.

Each July, check three things: the new hourly rate for every level you roster, the new standard hourly rate (it drives the evening loadings and most allowances), and the date of your first full pay period on or after 1 July.

How Shiftly applies the Hospitality Award

Shiftly’s award interpretation engine includes the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (MA000009) as a supported award and is free for every venue, with no per-employee fee. You set each employee’s classification level, employment type and date of birth once during onboarding, and Shiftly applies the rules on this page to every shift as it is rostered and as timesheets are approved.

• Base rate by classification level and age, including the junior percentages and the liquor-service exception.
• Saturday, Sunday and public holiday penalties, and the 7pm-to-midnight and midnight-to-7am loadings, applying only the highest penalty for each hour.
• Casual loading, minimum engagement top-ups and the public holiday minimum payment.
• Overtime once a shift or a week crosses the award’s thresholds, at the full-time or casual overtime rate.
• Break deductions and the delayed meal break penalty when a break was not taken within 6 hours.
• Position-based extras and allowances you configure under custom pay rules, with the shift cost shown while you build the roster.

Shiftly is a calculation tool, not a payroll provider or legal adviser. Every estimate shows the breakdown behind it (base hours, penalty hours, overtime, loadings and allowances) so you can check it against the award before the figures are exported to your payroll software. For a wider view of the awards used in Australian venues, read Australian hospitality awards explained, or start with the Fair Work summary of MA000009.