The Building & Construction General On-site Award (MA000020) sets the legal minimum for employed tradies and apprentices — base rates, penalty rates and the allowances that catch employers out. The dollar figures change (usually each July), so this guide is the STRUCTURE; pull the live numbers from the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide.
Classifications — CW1 to CW9
The award grades workers from CW1 to CW9, with a standard tradesperson at CW3. Your minimum base rate is set by the classification, and the actual dollars live in the Fair Work pay guide (Schedule B). Always pull the current rate — they change at least each 1 July, and the latest set applied from the first full pay period on or after 24 February 2026.
Penalty rates — the stable part
These multiples of the ordinary hourly rate hold across the year; only the base dollar they multiply changes:
| When | Permanent | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday overtime, first 2 hrs | 150% | 175% |
| Weekday overtime, after 2 hrs | 200% | 225% |
| Saturday | 150% then 200% | + loading |
| Sunday | 200% | + loading |
| Public holiday | 250% (or a day off in lieu) | 275% |
Allowances — the bit employers forget
The award carries a stack of allowances (exact cents are in the pay guide / Schedule B):
- Industry allowance — all-purpose for construction-site workers, so it forms part of the ordinary rate that penalties and overtime are calculated on.
- Tool allowance — where the worker supplies prescribed tools (or you supply and maintain them instead).
- Fares & travel — for each day attending a site (recent pay guides around $17.43/day).
- First aid, height, confined space — paid on top for the relevant work.
Miss the all-purpose industry allowance and you have under-loaded every penalty and overtime hour.
Casuals, part-timers, apprentices
- Casual: a 25% loading on the ordinary rate, with a minimum 4-hour engagement; casual overtime and penalties run at 175% / 225% / 275%.
- Part-time: the same ordinary hourly rate, entitlements pro-rata, with hours agreed in writing before they start.
- Apprentices: a percentage of the tradesperson rate, by year (clause 19.7/19.8) — pull the stage dollars from the pay guide. Under-18 apprentices cannot be required to work overtime or shiftwork.
Award vs EBA
The award is the safety-net floor. An enterprise agreement must pass the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) — it cannot undercut the award overall, and paying below the award minimums (including penalties and allowances) is underpayment even under an approved EBA. On commercial jobs, CFMEU EBAs typically sit well above the award (higher base, site allowances, travel, RDOs, redundancy) — check the specific registered agreement on the FWC database.
Common mistakes
- Hardcoding old rates — pull them live each July.
- Forgetting the all-purpose industry allowance loads penalties and overtime.
- Under-paying casuals — no 25% loading, or the wrong penalty multiples.
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