Aluminium Industry Award
Covers the Australian aluminium industry - bauxite mining and processing, alumina refining, aluminium smelting, melting, casting, rolling and extrusion, plus on-site ancillary maintenance and bulk-materials handling. Excludes employers covered by MA000010 (Manufacturing) doing aluminium processing as part of broader operations. Single fully-flexible classification stream - 8 Aluminium Worker grades, standard rate Grade 4.
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 8 cl. 16.1 grades at the July 2025 figures, mirrored across both shift sectors (rates identical; only OT / penalty regime differs).
- Two sectors representing the OT / penalty regimes: non_continuous_shift (cl. 20.1 - 150% first 3h, 200% after, M-Sat; 200% Sun; 250% PH) and continuous_shift (cl. 20.2 - flat 200% for all OT).
- Junior rates terminating at 18 - only 3 age bands (under 17 75%, at 17 85%, at 18 100%). No 19 / 20 bands.
- Apprentice rates anchored to Grade 4 with pre-2014 / post-2014 / Y12 split, plus adult apprentice variant with the cl. 16.3(b)(ii) 100%-of-Grade-1 alternative floor for years 2+.
- Wage-maintenance rules (cl. 16.3(c)) for adult apprentices who were FT employees ≥6 months / PT or regular casual ≥12 months immediately prior.
- Cl. 18.2(b) work conditions and disability allowance - single $48.08/wk all-purpose payment bundling wet / hot / dusty / fumes / heights / confined / molten / flue / isolated / PPE.
- Annual leave loading 20% (cl. 22.5(b)) - greater of 20% or projected roster earnings, NOT the 17.5% standard.
- 5-week annual leave for continuous shiftworkers.
Known limitations
No outstanding gaps at this revision - re-verify on the next Fair Work pay-guide release.
Setup & special instructions
- There is no separate hot-metal / potroom / molten-metal allowance. The cl. 18.2(b) work conditions and disability allowance ($48.08/wk, all-purpose) bundles ALL adverse-condition factors - don't add a separate molten-metal row.
- Annual leave loading is 20% (or projected roster earnings, whichever is greater) - NOT the 17.5% used by most awards.
- Span of ordinary hours for non-shiftworkers is 6am-6pm Mon-Sun (cl. 14.1(d)) - Sundays are included in the ordinary-hours span, distinct from typical Mon-Fri awards.
- Junior rates terminate at 18 - there are no 19 or 20-year-old junior rows.
- • Aluminium
- • Bauxite
- • Alumina refining
- • Smelting
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.
Want to see this award running on your data?
We can demo a pay run on the aluminium industry award using sample employees in a sandbox tenant - including any of the special-instruction steps above so you can see exactly what your team's day-to-day looks like.
Book a demo