Professional Employees Award
Covers five occupational streams: professional engineering, professional scientific, IT, telecommunications services, quality auditing (Schedule A), and professional medical research duties carried out at medical research institutes (Schedule B). 9 classifications: a five-pay-point Level 1 (1.1 split into 3yr / 4-5yr degree, then 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.4) plus L2-L4 (all streams) and L5 (medical research only - $111,756). Standard rate is L1 1.1 (3yr) at $63,795 annual. The award publishes ANNUAL minimums and uses a distinctive 313/6 hourly divisor (cl 14.2) - annual × 6/313 ÷ 38 ≈ annual ÷ 1982.33hrs. Two highly distinctive features: (1) overtime is paid at the MINIMUM HOURLY RATE with NO premium (cl 18.2(a)) - almost unique among modern awards; (2) employees on contractual salaries ≥25% above the classification minimum are EXEMPT from OT, TOIL, penalty rates AND record-keeping (cl 18.6). Penalty rates only exist from 16 Sep 2023 (PR760322).
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 9 cl. 14.1 classifications at FWC AWR 2024-25 figures (PR786603 ppc 1Jul25): L1 1.1 (3yr) $63,795 → L5 $111,756 annual.
- Standard rate config = annual $63,795 + hourly $32.18 with the 313/6 divisor formula (cl. 14.2) and 52.1667 weeks/year reference exposed on AwardConfiguration.
- Cl. 16 allowances: vehicle $0.98/km (CPI Private motoring sub-group, cl. 16.5), travelling expenses reimbursement (cl. 16.2), equipment & special clothing provided free (cl. 16.4).
- Cl. 18.4 penalty rates correctly modelled with FT/PT vs Casual rows: Mon-Sat <6am or >10pm = 125% (FT/PT) / 150% (Casual); Sun any time = 150% / 175%; PH any time = 150% / 175%. Saturday daytime 06:00-22:00 carries NO penalty (D15).
- Cl. 18.2(a) OT: rule rates at 1.0x for ALL pay conditions - no OT premium (D4). FT hours over 38/wk paid at minimum hourly; PT and Casual likewise per cl. 10.2 / 11.1 + cl. 18.2 NOTE.
- 4 pay conditions: Full-Time / Part-Time / Casual / **Exempt - High Salary (cl 18.6)**. The exempt condition has all-day rules at 1.0x and no penalty/OT entitlement (D7).
- Casual minimum engagement = 2 consecutive hours (cl. 11.2 - D10), shorter than most awards.
- All 3 default super funds per cl. 17.4 (substituted by PR794759 ppc 23 Jan 2026): AustralianSuper, CareSuper, HOSTPLUS Superannuation Fund.
- AL loading 17.5% with the cl. 19.2(a) ABS-AWE cap reference exposed; 7-day shiftworker (cl. 19.3) gets 5 weeks AL + 10-week excessive accrual threshold via advanced rule (D14).
- Cl. 13.2 13-week ordinary hours averaging captured as an inactive advanced rule (D8) for individual-agreement activation.
- Coverage carve-outs (cl. 4.2) listed: Airport, Black Coal Mining, Electrical Power, Nurses, Port Authorities, Rail, State Government Agencies, Water Industry awards.
Known limitations
- Cl. 18.6 high-salary exemption requires runtime comparison of contractual annual salary against the current classification minimum × 1.25. Detector rule is inactive by default - payroll/HR onboarding must trigger condition switch when the threshold is crossed.
- AL loading ABS-AWE cap (cl. 19.2(a) - D9) needs the current published ABS Cat 6302.0 Average Weekly Earnings (All Males, Australia, September quarter) figure per business; payroll applies cap at leave-payment time. Sep-2024 quarter ≈ AUD 2,007.50/wk (verify).
- 13-week averaging period (cl. 13.2) is an arrangement flag - no schema field for the agreed averaging window per employee. Pay condition description references the option only; per-employee agreements need a separate table.
- Penalty rates pre-16 Sep 2023 did not exist (PR760322 inserted them). Historical timesheet replay before that date must retire all penalty rules.
Setup & special instructions
- Standard rate is ANNUAL ($63,795 for L1 1.1 / 3yr), not weekly. Use the 313/6 divisor (cl. 14.2): hourly = (annual × 6/313) ÷ 38; weekly = annual ÷ 52.1667. The standard ÷52 multiplier produces the wrong figure.
- OT is paid at the MINIMUM HOURLY RATE - NO premium (cl. 18.2(a)). Do not apply 150% / 200% OT multipliers; this award is unusual.
- Employees on contractual salaries ≥25% above the classification minimum are EXEMPT from OT, TOIL, penalty rates AND record-keeping (cl. 18.6). Switch them to the **Exempt - High Salary (cl 18.6)** pay condition; do NOT apply Full-Time/Part-Time/Casual rules.
- Casual penalty rates are FT/PT penalty + 25% additive (cl. 18.4 NOTE 1) - Sun & PH casual = 175% (not 150% × 1.25 = 187.5%).
- Saturday during 06:00-22:00 is ORDINARY rate (no penalty). Penalty only applies before 6am or after 10pm.
- Casual minimum engagement = 2 consecutive hours (cl. 11.2) - shorter than most awards. Do not default to 3-4 hrs.
- 7-day shiftworkers (regularly rostered Sun + PH per cl. 19.3) get 5 weeks AL - flag at hire.
- Schedule B Level 5 ($111,756) is MEDICAL RESEARCH ONLY - do NOT assign to Schedule A streams (engineers, scientists, IT, telecoms, quality auditors).
- IFAs may vary OT, penalty rates, allowances AND AL loading (cl. 5.1) - wider than most awards but BOOT applies.
- • Engineering
- • Professional engineering
- • IT
- • Information technology
- • Telecommunications
- • Quality auditing
- • Scientific
- • Medical research
- • Research institutes
- • Professional services
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 professional employees 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.
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