About awards

Read our information on awards and working out award coverage.

On this page:

What’s an award

An award (modern award) is a legal document that outlines minimum pay rates and conditions of employment.

Awards don’t apply when there’s an enterprise agreementAn enterprise agreement sets out minimum employment conditions and can apply to one business or a group of businesses. in place.

Awards have a coverage clause (usually clause 4) outlining who the award covers and doesn’t cover.

In terms of how coverage works, awards usually fall into these categories:

Industry awards

Most awards have a definition for the industry they cover. An employer will be covered if their business is within the industry defined by the award. An employee will also be covered if there’s a classification for them.

Examples of industry awards include the Cleaning Award and the Hospitality Award.

Occupational awards

A small number of awards will cover an employee’s occupation. These awards may say they will only cover an employee if there’s no industry award for the employee.

Examples of occupational awards include the Architects Award and the Clerks Award.

Industry and occupational awards

Some awards contain both industry and occupational coverage rules.

Example of these awards include the Health Services Award and the Professional Award.

Enterprise awards or State reference public sector awards

Some employers and their employees are covered by enterprise awards or State reference public sector awards. Find a list on our Enterprise and public sector awards page.

What’s in an award

Each award has rules (terms) for a specific industry or occupation. These rules cover entitlements like:

  • pay rates
  • penalty rates and allowances
  • hours of work
  • breaks
  • rosters
  • overtime
  • dispute resolution processes.

If an employee is covered by an award, they get their entitlements from there. This is in addition to the minimum entitlements set out in the National Employment Standards (NES).

Working out which award applies

Every award has information about who it covers and who it doesn’t cover.

Award coverage can be based on:

  • the employer’s industry and the work performed by the employee within the industry
  • the employee’s occupation, or
  • both of the above.

Most awards are industry-based and should be generally considered before occupational awards. Occupational awards are considered if there’s:

  • no industry award
  • an industry award but it doesn’t have a relevant classification for the employee, or
  • an occupational award that’s relevant, which doesn’t exclude the industry award (competing coverage needs to be considered in these cases).

There are different resources you can use to help work out award coverage, including:

  • using our Pay and Conditions Tool
  • accessing a summary of an award’s coverage rules on our Award summaries page
  • reading an award’s coverage clause (usually clause 4) and job classifications (usually in the pay clause or a schedule).

A full list of awards can be found on our List of awards page.

Example: Employer works out which award applies

Amal owns a retail shoe store. She is planning on hiring a part-time bookkeeper.

Before hiring a new employee, Amal wants to confirm which award will apply. The bookkeeper will mainly perform clerical duties and will work from an office in the retail store.

Amal checks our website and confirms she first has to check if an industry award applies. She starts by reading the Retail Award summary. She learns that the Retail Award can cover clerical employees if they perform their duties in a retail store.

Amal also goes to the Retail Award and reads the coverage clause. She confirms that employees who perform clerical duties in the retail store are covered by the Retail Award. This means that Amal’s employee will be covered by the Retail Award because they will do their bookkeeping work at the store.

Amal then goes through the classification descriptions to work out which classification level will apply.

Example: Employee works out which award applies

Matthew has started a new job as a part-time cleaner at a gym. He’s employed directly by the gym and required to wear a uniform.

After a few weeks, Matt wants to know if he’s entitled to any extra payment for washing his work uniform. His employment contract says his pay and conditions come from an award.

Matt goes to our Pay and Conditions Tool to work out which award applies to his employment. He searches for ‘cleaner’. Based on his selections, the tool says that he’s likely covered by the Fitness Award.

Matt then goes to the Fitness Award and reads the coverage clause and classifications descriptions. He learns that the award covers employers in the fitness industry and their employees who perform cleaning duties.

Matt then checks the award to confirm that he’s entitled to an extra payment for washing the work uniform he’s required to wear.

If you need advice on award coverage information that’s not covered on our website, contact us.

Once you’ve determined your award, learn how to check and apply its classifications at Award classifications.

Tip: Check our Library

Our Library also has information on award coverage that isn’t covered on our main website.

Coverage for some jobs or industries isn’t always clear. To find out if we have an article related to your coverage question, search our Library.

Difference between an award and an agreement

An award is different from an enterprise agreement.

An enterprise agreement sets out minimum employment conditions (like an award) but applies to one business or a group of businesses.

Enterprise agreements are the result of a bargaining process between an employer or group of employers and their employees. They are tailored to the circumstances of the business or businesses involved.

The Fair Work Commission (the Commission) reviews and approves enterprise agreements. The Commission is the national workplace relations tribunal.

Learn how to find an enterprise agreement and check entitlements and obligations from our Agreements section.

Difference between an award and an employment contract

An award is also different from an employment contract.

An award covers many employees, while an employment contract is an agreement between an employer and an individual employee.

An employment contract sets out terms and conditions of employment. It applies in addition to an award or enterprise agreement. An employment contract can’t provide less than the legal minimum entitlements set out in the NES or their award or agreement.

A contract can be in writing or verbal.

For more information, go to About employment contracts.

Employers covered by more than one award

An employer can be covered by more than one award depending on the jobs the employees do.

Example: Multiple awards applying to one employer

Steve runs a building and construction business. He has qualified carpenters as well as office staff who do administration work. Multiple awards will apply to his business:

  • Building and Construction Award – for his qualified carpenters
  • Clerks Award – for his office staff.

Disputes about an award

All awards set out what steps to take if there’s a dispute about the rules (term) in an award or the NES. This is called the ‘dispute resolution’ process and each award contains one.

As a first step, it’s important to check your award to see what it says about workplace disputes.

In most awards, the first step involves the employee and their employer (or manager) trying to resolve the issue at the workplace level. This could be through having a conversation, researching the issue and trying to work out a solution.

If all appropriate steps have been taken and a dispute can’t be resolved at a workplace level, some awards allow an employee or employer to apply to the Commission for help. Learn more about how the Commission can help at Dispute about an award or agreement.

For more guidance on resolving a workplace issue, go to Fixing a workplace problem.

Changes to awards since 2020

The Commission was previously required to review all awards every 4 years. As part of its review, the Commission clarified how some award clauses work and changed other clauses.

In 2014, the Commission started reviewing most awards. In October 2022, the Commission confirmed it had finalised its review.

Most of the updated awards started taking effect at different stages throughout 2020.

For many awards, the biggest changes were to the:

  • layout and language
  • inclusion of rates tables to help find the right pay rate.

Learn more in our Library article Changes to awards since 2020.

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Source reference for page: Fair Work Act 2009 sections 12, 55, 57, 61, 139, 143

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