Seafood Processing Award
Industry award covering employers throughout Australia in the seafood processing industry — post-harvesting land-based receipt/sorting/handling/preparing/cooking/preserving/filleting/gutting/shucking/drying/smoking/freezing/refrigerating/washing/grading/processing/canning/packaging/labelling/palletising/cold storage/cleaning/sanitising of fish, seafood and marine products. Includes wholesale fish market selling. Excludes Fast Food, Food Beverage Tobacco Manufacturing, General Retail, Hospitality, Meat Industry, Poultry Processing, oyster farms. Single sector (seafood_processing). Distinctive: only 4 classifications (Process Attendant L1-L4) — all employees regardless of seafood-processing sub-activity; STANDARD RATE = TOP grade L4 = $1,068.40/wk = $28.12/hr (NOT mid-tier as in most awards); day worker max 5.5 days/week of ordinary hours (cl 13.2(e)); continuous shiftwork = 6 consecutive days 24hrs (cl 2 def + 13.3) NOT 7; PH OT for continuous shiftworker 200% (cl 19.6(c)/(d)) — LOWER than non-continuous shiftworker 250% and day worker 250%; cold-places <0°C allowance $0.79/hr + 20-min rest after every 2 hrs without loss of pay (cl 17.2(b)) — EXPLICITLY EXEMPT from cl 17.4 'extra rates not cumulative max 2x ordinary' cap; junior rates start at 55% (cl 15.2 — lower floor than typical); casual hourly rate ALL-PURPOSE (cl 11.1(b)); no apprentices (only trainees via MA000104 Schedule E NTW).
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.
What's built
- All 4 cl 12 + 15.1 classifications at PR786606 ppc 01Jul25 figures: PA1 $922.70/wk = $24.28/hr (cl 12.1 — new employee first 3 months under direct supervision, max 6 months at this level); PA2 $948.00/wk = $24.95/hr (cl 12.2 — filleting, weighing, cleaning, grading, cold storage chiller/freezer ops); PA3 $1,019.00/wk = $26.82/hr (cl 12.3 — refrigeration, forklift up to 4500kg, steam raising, specialist filleting, retort setting); PA4 $1,068.40/wk = $28.12/hr STANDARD RATE (cl 12.4 — supervising/coordinating single processing section, QA officer).
- Junior rates 55/65/75/100% for <17/17/18/19+ (cl 15.2 — DISTINCTIVE lower floor) — lower than typical 60-70% floor.
- All cl 17 allowances: first aid; **cold places <0°C $0.79/hr (cl 17.2(b)) DISTINCTIVE — 20 min rest after every 2 hrs without loss of pay AND explicitly exempt from cl 17.4 'extra rates not cumulative max 2x ordinary' cap**; meal allowance; damage reimbursement; protective clothing.
- Penalty rows: Sat AM 125% PM 150%; Sun ordinary 200% (by agreement only — cl 13.2(e)); PH 250%; OT 150% first 3h / 200% after with 3-hr split; casual variants on already-loaded rate (cl 19.1(b) NOTE — distinctive); shift afternoon/night 115%; permanent night 130%; non-successive 150/200; **continuous shift PH OT 200% (cl 19.6(c)/(d)) — DISTINCTIVE LOWER** than non-continuous 250% and day worker 250%; **continuous shift Sun/PH ordinary 200% (cl 20.7(a)) — DISTINCTIVE LOWER** than day worker 250%; **unrelieved shift 200% (cl 19.1(e)) DISTINCTIVE** — when 7.6+ hrs notice of relief absence + shiftworker required to continue on RDO.
- 8 leave entitlements: AL 4w day worker / 5w shiftworker (NES + cl 21), 17.5% loading, excessive accrual standard set, AL in advance + cashout; personal/carer's, compassionate, parental, community service, FDV, LSL.
- 4 pay conditions: Full-Time, Part-Time, Casual (25% loading ALL-PURPOSE per cl 11.1(b) — DISTINCTIVE), Continuous Shiftworker (cl 13.3 — 6 consecutive days 24hrs, NOT 7).
- Cl 13A right to disconnect with reserve/stand-by carve-out.
- Default super funds (cl 18.4 substituted PR794762 ppc 23Jan26).
- Pay frequency weekly or fortnightly. Termination 7 days. Standard NES termination notice tier (1/2/3/4 weeks).
- **No apprentices** — only trainees via Misc Award MA000104 Schedule E national training wage (cl 15.6).
- ~95 configuration entries including 5.5-day cap (cl 13.2(e)), 6-day continuous-shift definition, all-purpose casual rate flag (cl 11.1(b)), cold-places exemption-from-cumulative-cap flag (cl 17.4), continuous-shift-PH-200% flag, unrelieved-shift trigger (7.6hrs notice), no-apprentice flag with NTW source MA000104.
Known limitations
- Standard rate is the TOP grade L4 (cl 2 def references the L4 rate in cl 15.1) — DISTINCTIVE — most awards anchor standard rate to a mid-tier classification. Apprentice rate percentages don't apply (no apprentices), but %-of-standard allowance bases use L4.
- Day worker max 5.5 days/week of ordinary hours (cl 13.2(e)) — distinctive cap. Sat ord by default, Sun ord by agreement only. Resolver enforces the 5.5-day cap.
- Continuous shiftwork = 6 consecutive days 24hrs (cl 2 def + 13.3) — DISTINCTIVE — not the more common 7 consecutive days. Resolver checks 6-day pattern when classifying as continuous shift.
- PH OT for continuous shiftworker is 200% (cl 19.6(c)/(d)) — LOWER than non-continuous shiftworker's 250% (cl 19.6(e)/(f)) and day worker's 250% (cl 19.6(a)/(b)). Continuous shift Sun/PH ordinary is also 200% per cl 20.7(a). Engine MUST check engagement type before applying PH penalty.
- Unrelieved shiftworker 200% (cl 19.1(e)) — distinctive notice-period trigger: applies when 7.6+ hrs notice of relief absence + shiftworker required to continue on RDO.
- Cold places <0°C (cl 17.2(b)) — $0.79/hr + 20 min rest after every 2 hrs without loss of pay. EXPLICITLY EXEMPT from cl 17.4 'extra rates not cumulative max 2x ordinary' cap. Resolver MUST exempt this allowance from the cumulative cap.
- Casual hourly rate is ALL-PURPOSE (cl 11.1(b)) — casual loading is part of the casual all-purpose rate. OT rates apply to that already-loaded rate per cl 19.1(b) NOTE. Resolver does NOT re-add casual loading after applying OT multipliers.
- Junior rates start at 55% for under-17 (cl 15.2) — DISTINCTIVE lower floor than typical 60-70%.
- No apprentices — resolver routes apprentice candidates to MA000104 Schedule E National Training Wage instead.
Setup & special instructions
- Standard rate = Process Attendant Level 4 = $1,068.40/wk = $28.12/hr (cl 2 def). DISTINCTIVE — standard rate is the TOP grade, not a mid-tier.
- Only 4 classifications (PA1-PA4) cover all employees regardless of seafood-processing sub-activity. PA1 max 6 months (mandatory progression). PA4 = QA / supervisor of single processing section.
- Day worker max 5.5 days/week ordinary (cl 13.2(e)). Sat ord default; Sun ord by agreement only.
- Continuous shiftwork = 6 consecutive days 24hrs (cl 2 def + 13.3) — NOT 7. Distinct from typical 7-day continuous-shift definition.
- PH OT continuous shiftworker 200% — LOWER than non-continuous 250% and day worker 250%. Engine must check engagement type before applying PH penalty.
- Cold places <0°C allowance $0.79/hr (cl 17.2(b)) — EXEMPT from cl 17.4 cumulative cap. Plus 20-min paid rest after every 2 hrs.
- Casual hourly rate (cl 11.1(b)) is all-purpose — apply OT/penalty multipliers to the loading-inclusive base. Don't re-add 25%.
- No apprentice classifications — use MA000104 Schedule E National Training Wage for trainees (cl 15.6).
- • Seafood processing
- • Fish processing
- • Shellfish processing
- • Marine product processing
- • Filleting
- • Gutting
- • Shucking
- • Smoking
- • Freezing
- • Cold storage
- • Wholesale fish market
- • Fish canning
- • Fish packaging
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 seafood processing 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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