If you run a building crew or manage payroll for a construction business, you need to understand the Building and Construction General On-site Award — known officially as MA000020. It sets the minimum pay rates, overtime rules, penalty rates, allowances, and leave entitlements for most on-site construction workers in Australia.
This guide breaks it down in plain language — the numbers and rules you actually need to run compliant payroll, without the HR jargon.
Last updated: March 2026. Rates reflect the 3.5% annual wage increase effective 1 July 2025 (Fair Work Commission, June 2025). The next wage review decision is expected in early June 2026 for rates effective 1 July 2026.
Who does the award cover?
MA000020 covers employees performing building and construction work on-site, including labourers, tradies, crane operators, scaffolders, riggers, and apprentices. It applies to both permanent and casual workers employed by businesses in the general building, civil construction, and metal and engineering construction sectors.
It does not cover sole traders, independent subcontractors operating under their own ABN, or workers already covered by an enterprise agreement.
If you employ anyone on-site, from a first-week labourer to a tower crane operator, this award probably applies to them. When in doubt, use the Fair Work Award Finder.
Pay Rates by Classification (July 2025 — June 2026)
The award groups workers into classifications from CW1 (entry-level labourer) to CW8 (advanced tradesperson). Current base rates for full-time, weekly-hire employees working 38 ordinary hours per week:
| Classification | Typical Roles | Hourly Rate | Weekly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CW1(a) | New entrant labourer (0-3 months) | $27.91 | $1,060.60 |
| CW1(b) | Labourer (3-12 months) | $28.43 | $1,080.30 |
| CW1(c) | Labourer (12+ months) | $28.79 | $1,093.90 |
| CW1(d) | Trades assistant, concrete gang | $29.02 | $1,102.70 |
| CW2 | Scaffolder, steel fixer, concrete finisher | $29.58 | $1,124.00 |
| CW3 | Carpenter, joiner, rigger, plumber, sparky | $31.44 | $1,194.80 |
| CW5 | Special class tradesperson, crane 10-100t | $31.24 | $1,187.10 |
| CW7 | Tower crane driver, crane 180t+ | $32.91 | $1,250.70 |
Sources: Fair Work Pay Guide MA000020, MPAV Wage Rates July 2025
These are minimum rates. Many builders pay above-award to attract and keep good tradies. But you cannot pay below these figures — and getting it wrong carries serious penalties (more on that below).
For exact rates including all sub-classifications, use the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT).
Overtime Rates
Ordinary hours under the award are 38 per week, typically worked as 8 hours per day across a 19-day, 4-week cycle (with one RDO — see below).
When your crew works beyond ordinary hours, overtime kicks in:
| When | First 2 Hours | After 2 Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 150% (time and a half) | 200% (double time) |
| Saturday | 150% (first 2 hours before noon) | 200% (after 2 hours or after noon) |
| Sunday | 200% for all hours | 200% for all hours |
| Public holiday | 250% for all hours (min 4-hour engagement) | 250% for all hours |
Sources: Fair Work — Pay Under Construction Award, HIA — Penalty Rates
If a worker misses their meal break and works through it, that period is paid at 200% (double time) until they get their break (Workstem, 2025).
Casual Penalty Rates: The Numbers Nobody Puts in One Table
Casuals receive a 25% loading on their base rate instead of paid leave entitlements. Their penalty rates stack on top of that loading, which means the actual percentages are higher than permanent employees.
We could not find another guide that puts these side by side:
| Scenario | Permanent Employee | Casual Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours (Mon-Fri) | 100% | 125% |
| Overtime first 2 hrs (Mon-Fri) | 150% | 175% |
| Overtime after 2 hrs (Mon-Fri) | 200% | 225% |
| Saturday (first 2 hrs before noon) | 150% | 175% |
| Saturday (after 2 hrs / after noon) | 200% | 225% |
| Sunday (all hours) | 200% | 225% |
| Public holiday (all hours) | 250% | 275% |
Sources: PayCat — MA000020 Guide, Workforce Advisory
Casuals also have a minimum 4-hour engagement per shift. If you call someone in for 2 hours of work, you still pay them for 4.
RDOs: How Rostered Days Off Actually Work
RDOs confuse a lot of people, even experienced site managers. The maths:
- Workers accrue 0.4 hours of RDO time per ordinary day worked.
- Over a standard 19-day work period (across 4 weeks), that adds up to 7.6 hours — which equals one full paid day off.
- The typical pattern: work 8 hours/day for 19 days, then take the 20th day as your RDO. Repeat.
- Workers can bank up to 5 RDOs at any time. Beyond that, the employer and employee must agree on when to take them.
- Casuals do not get RDOs. Their 25% loading compensates for this.
- On termination, all banked RDOs and accrued RDO time must be paid out.
Source: Fair Work — Rostered Days Off in the Building & Construction Award
Example: Jake is a CW3 chippy earning $31.44/hr. He works 19 days in a 4-week cycle and takes the 20th day as his RDO. His RDO day is paid at 7.6 hours x $31.44 = $238.94. If he leaves the company with 3 banked RDOs, he is owed 3 x $238.94 = $716.82 on top of his final pay.
Many builders find tracking RDO accrual across a crew of 10-20 workers to be a nightmare on spreadsheets. Digital time tracking tools like SkillsClock can calculate RDO balances automatically from clocked hours.
Key Allowances
The award includes several allowances. These are the ones that cause the most payroll confusion:
| Allowance | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Industry allowance (general/civil/M&E) | $59.70/week | Already built into the published pay guide rates |
| Industry allowance (residential) | $47.76/week | Lower rate for residential building |
| Tool allowance (carpenter, joiner, stonemason) | $32.11/week | Already built into rates for applicable trades |
| Travel allowance | $17.43/day worked | Paid for each day of on-site construction work |
| Leading hand (2-5 workers) | ~$42.10/week | Varies by classification and number supervised |
| Multistorey (1st-15th floor) | $0.73/hour | Increases per floor band up to $1.74/hr (46th-60th) |
Sources: Fair Work — Allowances in the Building and Construction Award, PayCat — Industry Allowance, MBAWA July 2025 Wage Sheet
Important: The industry allowance and tool allowance are already included in the published pay guide rates. Do not add them on top unless your payroll system expects separate line items.
Inclement Weather Pay
Rain days are a fact of life on Australian construction sites. The award handles them like this:
- Workers sent home or unable to work due to rain, extreme heat, or other weather get paid their ordinary hourly rate for the time lost.
- There is a cap: 32 hours of inclement weather pay per 4-week cycle.
- If a worker is already on overtime when weather stops work, no inclement weather payment applies for that period.
- Employers can transfer workers to another site or to under-cover work instead of paying inclement weather.
Source: Fair Work — Pay Under the Building and Construction Award
What happens if you get it wrong
Fair Work does not play around with construction award compliance. Here is what you face for underpayment:
| Penalty Type | Maximum Amount |
|---|---|
| Civil penalty per breach (company) | $469,500 |
| Civil penalty (serious contravention) | $939,000 or 3x the underpaid amount |
| Criminal penalty — intentional underpayment (company) | $7,825,000 |
| Criminal penalty — intentional underpayment (individual) | $1,565,000 or 10 years prison |
Sources: Sprintlaw — Fair Work Penalties Guide, Landers & Rogers — Wage Theft Offence from Jan 2025
The criminal wage theft offence commenced on 1 January 2025 under the Closing Loopholes Act. Intentional underpayment is now a criminal offence, not just a civil matter (DEWR).
You are also required to keep employee records for 7 years (Fair Work — Record-keeping). Paper timesheets that get lost, damaged, or are unreadable can leave you exposed. This is where digital time tracking pays for itself — GPS-verified attendance records give you a legally defensible audit trail.
Payday Super from July 2026
From 1 July 2026, super payments work differently. Under Payday Super:
- Super must be paid at the same time as wages — not quarterly.
- Payments must reach the super fund within 7 business days of payday.
- The superannuation guarantee rate is 12% (from 1 July 2025).
- Late payments attract a penalty of 60% of the shortfall plus daily interest.
- The ATO Small Business Super Clearing House closes on 30 June 2026 — you need an alternative SuperStream-compliant solution before then.
Sources: Fair Work — Payday Super, Pitcher Partners — Payday Super 2026, Hamilton Locke — Payday Super Reforms
For context: in 2021-22, 2.8 million Australians missed super payments worth $5.1 billion (CCF NSW). Payday Super is the government's fix. But for builders, it means your payroll and time tracking systems need to talk to your super fund on every single pay run, not once a quarter.
If you already manage payroll from tracked hours using something like SkillsDock, the change is mostly procedural. Your clocked hours feed payroll calculations, which then feed your super payments each pay run. If you are still doing this manually, July 2026 is going to hurt.
When do rates change?
The Fair Work Commission reviews minimum wages every year. The pattern is predictable:
- March: Submissions open from employer groups and unions.
- April-May: Hearings held.
- Early June: Decision announced (3 June 2025 for the latest review).
- 1 July: New rates take effect from the first full pay period on or after this date.
The 2025-26 increase was 3.5%. The 2026-27 increase is expected to be announced in early June 2026, with economists projecting between 3.0% and 4.0% (FairWork Mate).
Tip: Bookmark this article. We update it every July when the new rates are announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum hourly rate for a construction labourer in 2026?
A new entrant labourer (CW1(a), first 3 months) earns a minimum of $27.91 per hour or $1,060.60 per week as of 1 July 2025. After 12 months (CW1(c)), this increases to $28.79/hr. Rates will next change from 1 July 2026 following the Annual Wage Review.
Do casuals get overtime on construction sites?
Yes, and it stacks with their 25% loading. Monday to Friday overtime is 175% for the first 2 hours, 225% after that. Sundays: 225%. Public holidays: 275%.
How many RDOs can a construction worker bank?
Under the Building and Construction Award (MA000020), workers can bank up to 5 RDOs at any time. All accrued RDO time must be paid out upon termination. Casuals do not receive RDOs.
What are the penalties for underpaying construction workers?
Companies face civil penalties of up to $469,500 per breach, or $939,000 for serious contraventions. Since 1 January 2025, intentional underpayment is a criminal offence carrying fines up to $7.825 million and up to 10 years imprisonment.
When does Payday Super start?
1 July 2026. From that date, super must be paid at the same time as wages, reaching the fund within 7 business days. No more quarterly payments.
What is the inclement weather pay cap?
32 hours per 4-week cycle, paid at ordinary hourly rate. If the crew was already on overtime when weather stopped work, no inclement weather payment applies for that period.
Written by Essa Azimi, Founder of SkillsDock. This guide is updated annually following the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review. For personalised advice, consult your accountant or a Fair Work adviser.
Related reading:
- What Timesheet Records Do Construction Employers Have to Keep?
- ABN vs Employee in Construction: How to Tell the Difference
- How to Track Subcontractor Licences and Insurance Without Spreadsheets
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