FeaturesAward interpretation software for Australian venues
Shiftly estimates wages, penalties, allowances and overtime for every shift under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (HIGA, MA000009), the Restaurant Industry Award (MA000119) and five other Modern Awards, using pay rates loaded from the Fair Work Commission's award data, so payroll starts from numbers you can check.
What is award interpretation software?
Award interpretation software applies the pay rules in an Australian Modern Award to the hours an employee has actually worked, so wages, penalties, loadings, allowances and overtime are worked out shift by shift instead of by hand.
Built for Australian Modern Awards
Most hospitality and retail staff are covered by a Modern Award published by the Fair Work Commission. What a shift pays depends on the employee's classification, employment type and age, plus the day and time they work.
Every shift costed as you roster
Shiftly estimates what a shift costs while you build the roster, including weekend and public holiday penalties, overtime, casual loading and the allowances that apply to each employee.
You confirm what gets paid
Shiftly is a calculation tool, not a payroll provider. It shows the breakdown behind every estimate so you can check the rates against the award before anyone is paid.
Apply custom pay rates to every shift
Stay on top of payroll
Shiftly's built-in award interpretation applies the rates from each employee's Modern Award to every shift, from their classification level, employment type and age. Whether you're managing casuals, part-timers or full-time employees, Shiftly works out what a shift costs and shows the breakdown behind it.
Reduce manual calculations
From penalties to automatic age-based recalculations
For every shift, Shiftly calculates:
- Weekend and public holiday pay
- Early morning and late night penalties
- Break times deducted from hours worked
- Loadings based on classification
- Age-based rate recalculations
- Casual loading on top of the base rate
- Overtime once the award's thresholds are reached
Adjust wages by position
Custom rates for different positions
Shiftly supports position-based pay rates so employees receive a little extra based on the position they work in. Whether an employee works the floor as a waiter or covers bar duties, Shiftly calculates wages using the appropriate rate tied to each role.
Supported Australian Modern Awards
Rates for these awards are loaded from Fair Work Commission data and updated when the award changes.
Hospitality award
MA000009
Restaurant award
MA000119
Fast food award
MA000003
Retail award
MA000004
Clerks award
MA000002
Seafood processing award
MA000068
Broadcasting and cinemas award
MA000091
+ Any other award
Enter your own rates and penalty rules
Hospitality Award guides
Reference pages on the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (HIGA, MA000009) and its neighbours, kept current with each 1 July rate change.
- Hospitality Industry (General) Award (MA000009): rates and rules for 2026/27Classification levels, adult and junior rates from 1 July 2026, weekend and public holiday penalties, overtime, minimum shifts and allowances in plain tables.Read the guide
- MA000009 explained: hospitality award levels in 2026How to classify kitchen, floor and front office staff from Introductory to Level 6, and what changes when someone moves up a grade.Read the guide
- Australian hospitality awards explainedHospitality, Restaurant and Fast Food awards side by side: which one covers your venue and how the penalty rates differ.Read the guide
FeaturesExplore more of Shiftly
Employee rostering
Easily plan shifts, publish rosters, sync timesheets and export in seconds, with no spreadsheets and no stress. Stay in control and keep payroll running smoothly with Shiftly.
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Award-based timesheets
Pay is worked out from each employee's award, approved hours are captured, and everything syncs to Xero ready for your pay run.
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Paperless onboarding
Streamline your hiring process with our seamless digital onboarding system to automatically sync with Xero for payroll. Reduce the manual workload and onboard staff in minutes.
Read MoreLet us show you around
We'll walk you through how Shiftly works and help you see if we're the right fit for you.
Questions, answered
Award interpretation software applies the pay rules in an award to the hours an employee has actually worked, so wages, penalties, loadings, allowances and overtime are worked out shift by shift instead of by hand. In Australia that usually means a Modern Award published by the Fair Work Commission, where what a shift pays depends on the employee's classification, employment type and age, plus the day and time they work.