Port Authorities Award
Industry award covering port operators (statutory or contractual right to manage/control a port + provide port services) and their employees in the cl 14 classifications, to the exclusion of any other modern award. Single sector (port_operator). Excludes Manufacturing Award and Electrical Contracting Award maintenance contractors (cl 4.3 - port operators retain coverage of in-house maintenance staff). 15 classification levels including specialist Marine Pilot tiers L13-L15 ($68.28-$74.89/hr) - substantially higher than general port-worker tiers (L1 = $24.28/hr). Standard rate = Level 4 = $1,068.40/wk = $28.12/hr. Distinctive features: casual loading is ALL-PURPOSE (cl 11.2(c)) - UNUSUAL - penalty multipliers apply to casual_ordinary_hourly_rate which already includes 25%; Sat/Sun ordinary hours AT PENALTY RATES (Sat 150% / Sun 200% per cl 19.3/19.4) NOT just OT; PH ordinary 250% (cl 19.5); shiftworker AL loading 20% NOT 17.5% (cl 20.3); shiftworker AL 5 weeks (cl 20.2); afternoon shift 112.5% (cl 19.7(a)) - most awards 115%; afternoon-shift definition starts after 10am; 7 default super funds (broad list); L1 cannot be engaged for more than 6 months - built-in progression mechanism.
Fully built. Rates, allowances, penalties and any required apprentice / junior rates are all wired to the rate resolver and have been verified against the consolidated award text and the latest pay guide.
Official Fair Work rates. This award’s minimum pay rates are synced directly from the Fair Work Commission’s Modern Awards Pay Database and updated automatically when the Commission changes them - including the annual wage review - so payroll always uses the current legal minimums without a manual update.
What's built
- All 15 cl 14 classification levels (PR786588 ppc 01Jul25): L1 $922.70/wk (entry, 6-month max) → L4 $1,068.40/wk STANDARD RATE → L12 $1,541.50/wk → Marine Pilot L13 $2,594.40/wk = $68.28/hr → L14 $2,727.30/wk → L15 $2,845.80/wk = $74.89/hr (Marine Pilot specialist tiers).
- All cl 17 allowances: electrician's licence allowance $48.61/wk ALL-PURPOSE (cl 17.2(b) - distinctive - only the electrician's licence is all-purpose); first aid $19.23/wk (cl 17.2(c)); tool allowance $17.90/wk for L4+ tradesperson (cl 17.3(c) - gated on classification); vehicle reimbursement $0.98/km (cl 17.3(a) - pre-approval required).
- Junior rates 75/85/100% of adult (cl 15.2 - under 17 / 17 / 18+).
- Apprentice rates (cl 15.3): pre-2014 45/55/75/88% of own classification; post-2014 50/60/75/88% (no Yr12) or 55/65/75/88% (Yr12) of L4 - whichever greater than pre-2014 own-classification. Adult apprentice (cl 15.3(d)/(e)): Y1 = 80% L4 OR cl 15.3(b)/(c) whichever greater; Y2+ = lowest adult classification (L1) OR cl 15.3(b)/(c) whichever greater. Continuity protection (cl 15.3(f)) - pre-apprenticeship FT 6mo or PT/casual 12mo retains pre-apprenticeship rate as floor.
- Penalty rows: OT Mon-Fri 150% first 3h / 200% after (cl 19.1); Sat ord ALL hours 150% (cl 19.3 - distinctive ord-at-penalty); Sat OT first 3h 150% / after 3h 200%; Sun ord ALL hours 200% (cl 19.4); PH ord 250% min 4h (cl 19.5 / 25.2); afternoon shift 112.5% (cl 19.7(a) - distinctive sub-115%); night shift 115% (cl 19.7(b)); recall to OT min 4 hours (cl 19.2); non-rostered shift premium 200% continuous / 150 first 3h then 200% other shift (cl 12.5(f) with 3 carve-outs per cl 12.5(g)).
- 7 leave entitlements: AL 4 weeks day worker / 5 weeks shiftworker (cl 20.2 - incl 7-day shiftworker AND permanent night), 17.5% loading day worker / 20% loading shiftworker (cl 20.3 - distinctive uplift), excessive accrual 8 weeks (10 weeks shiftworker per cl 20.5(a)), AL in advance / cashout (max 2 wks/yr, min 4 wks remaining), personal/carer's, compassionate, parental, community service, FDV, LSL.
- 4 pay conditions: Full-Time, Part-Time, Casual (25% loading per cl 11.2 - ALL-PURPOSE per cl 11.2(c), min 2 consecutive hours per cl 11.4, casual ord max 38h/wk per cl 11.1 - same cap as FT), Shiftworker (with continuous + non-continuous variants).
- Three worker types with distinct ordinary-hours rules: Day Workers (cl 12.2 - 38h/wk avg, max 608h/16 weeks, spread 6am-7pm); Continuous Shiftworkers (cl 12.3 - 24/7 operation, 12hr shifts allowed); Non-Continuous Shiftworkers (cl 12.4 - 12hr shifts allowed). Sat/Sun ordinary by agreement (cl 12.2(b)).
- 12-hour shifts by majority agreement (cl 12.5(e)) - requires health monitoring + suitable rosters + proper supervision + adequate breaks + trial/review process.
- Cl 13A right to disconnect with reserve/stand-by carve-out.
- 7 default super funds (cl 18.4 substituted PR794747 ppc 23Jan26): Aware Super, Australian Retirement Trust, CareSuper, Equipsuper, HOSTPLUS, AMP Super Fund, AustralianSuper. Plus pre-12-Sep-2008 fund / defined-benefit fund.
- Pay frequency weekly or fortnightly (cl 16.1). Cash or EFT (cl 16.2). Termination 7 days (cl 16.3).
- Standard NES termination notice (cl 29.1): <1y=1wk, 1-3y=2wk, 3-5y=3wk, >5y=4wk. NO over-45 extra week. Max 1 wk deduction if employee 18+ fails to give notice.
- Job search 1 day on termination (cl 29.2); 1 day per week of redundancy notice (cl 30.x).
- ~165 configuration entries (post v2 audit 2026-05-04 round 2) covering 8-item facilitative provisions registry, 7 default super funds + stapled/pre-2008/defined-benefit, dispute NES references (s.65B/66M/76B/333N), consultation significant-effects, full IFA set, casual all-purpose flag (distinctive), Sat/Sun/PH ord-at-penalty flags, 13 cl 2 definitions captured (afternoon/night shift start times, port operator, port services, shiftworker, ord+casual ord hourly rate inclusive flags, all-purpose), Schedule C CPI basis, work-cycle 3-month cap, non-rostered shift exclusions, continuous-shiftwork definition components, 12-hour shift conditions, NTW source MA000104, redundancy job-search detail.
Known limitations
- Casual loading is ALL-PURPOSE (cl 11.2(c)) - penalty multipliers apply to (base × 1.25) - additive stacking, NOT substitution. Resolver must NOT re-add casual loading after applying penalty multipliers. Casual base must include all-purpose allowances (e.g. electrician's $48.61/wk) BEFORE the 25% loading is applied.
- Sat/Sun ordinary hours are AT PENALTY RATES (Sat 150% / Sun 200% per cl 19.3/19.4) - distinct from typical 'Sat/Sun OT only' awards. Resolver applies these even to non-OT hours on weekend. Sat OT split (first 3h 150% / after 3h 200%) applies only to OT hours after the ordinary cap.
- PH 250% min 4 hours applies to BOTH ordinary AND overtime worked on PH (cl 19.5 / 25.2).
- Shiftworker AL loading is 20% (cl 20.3) - distinct from day-worker 17.5%. Resolver must check pay condition before applying loading.
- Shiftworker AL 5 weeks (cl 20.2) - 7-day shiftworker OR permanent night shiftworker = +1 week vs NES base.
- Afternoon shift 112.5% (cl 19.7(a)) - DISTINCTIVE sub-115% loading. Most awards use 115%.
- Afternoon shift definition (cl 2): commences AFTER 10am AND BEFORE 8pm. Distinctive late-start gating.
- Night shift definition (cl 2): commences AT OR AFTER 8pm AND BEFORE 5am.
- Tool allowance L4+ only - $17.90/wk gated on classification ≥ L4 (Standard Rate). Resolver checks classification before applying.
- Three worker types - route to Day Worker / Continuous Shiftworker / Non-Continuous Shiftworker pay condition based on roster pattern. Continuous shiftworker definition: 24/7 operation + each day in the week + no interruption except breakdown/unavoidable causes.
- Higher duties for ANY shift or day (cl 15.6) - even single shift at higher classification triggers higher rate. Most awards require longer threshold.
- L1 6-month cap (Schedule A.1) - cannot remain at L1 for more than 6 months. Built-in progression mechanism - resolver should flag for promotion.
- Marine Pilot tiers (L13/L14/L15) - likely tied to pilot certification level. Substantially higher rates ($68-$74/hr) than general port-worker tiers.
- Non-rostered shift premium (cl 12.5(f)) - 200% continuous / 150 first 3h then 200% other shift. EXCLUDED for: employee swap arrangements, customary rotation, short-notice transfer per s.524 (cl 12.5(g)).
Setup & special instructions
- Standard rate = Level 4 = $1,068.40/wk = $28.12/hr (cl 2 def). Used as the basis for adult-apprentice 80% rule and other %-of-standard references.
- Coverage excludes Manufacturing Award and Electrical Contracting Award maintenance contractors (cl 4.3) - port operators retain coverage of in-house maintenance staff.
- Casual ordinary hourly rate (cl 2 definition) is explicitly inclusive of casual loading AND all-purpose allowances; payable for ALL purposes. When employee is electrician + casual: casual_ordinary_hourly_rate = (base + electrician's allowance $48.61/wk) × 1.25.
- Day worker work cycle max 3 months (cl 12.5(d)(ii)) - distinctive cap.
- Daylight saving (cl 12.6): pay per CLOCK time (not adjusted time).
- Make-up time (cl 12.7) - employee may elect with employer consent. Shiftwork at shift rate.
- Apprentice block release (cl 15.4) - overnight stay travel reimbursed; closer-RTO disagreement excluded; textbook reimbursement within 6mo of apprenticeship/3mo of RTO start; employer can pay RTO directly; no OT/shiftwork blocking training.
- Casual min 2 consecutive hours (cl 11.4) - distinctive lower than typical 3h/4h minimums.
- Cl 18.4 super: 7 default funds (broad list). Plus pre-12-Sep-2008 fund / defined-benefit fund. Stapled fund per ATO process applies.
- PH compensation 250% min 4h (cl 25.2). NES standard PH/personal/compassionate/parental/community service/FDV - no award additions.
- • Port operations
- • Port authority
- • Marine pilot
- • Harbour
- • Wharf operations
- • Stevedoring (port-side)
- • Cargo handling
- • Vessel mooring
- • Channel marking
- • Dredging (port)
- • Port security
- • Port services
- • Maritime infrastructure
The consolidated award text is the authoritative source. Always confirm specific obligations against the award itself - Mployr's implementation status reflects what we've seeded; it does not replace legal advice.
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