Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services Award

It covers employers in the Aboriginal community controlled health services industry and their employees in the award's classifications, plus any employer that engages staff as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers or Practitioners. That includes dental assistants, administrative and ancillary roles in covered services. Employees under the Nurses Award, Medical Practitioners Award or an enterprise award are excluded, so confirm coverage for each role against the award and the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The award groups roles into separate streams: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (from trainee through generalist, advanced and senior/coordinator grades), dental assistants graded by qualification, and administrative, dental/oral health therapy and ancillary employees. Most grades contain incremental levels. Classify each person by the role they actually perform and their qualifications, then read the current rate for that classification and level from the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Always take current rates from the Fair Work Pay Calculator or the MA000115 pay guide rather than memory or an old spreadsheet. Rates differ by classification stream, grade, level and employment type, and they are reviewed annually, rising from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. Any figure therefore has a use-by date. Valont keeps these rates current as part of award-compliant payroll for health-service employers.

Casual employees are paid an hourly rate plus a casual loading, which is commonly 25% across modern awards, in place of paid leave and other entitlements casuals do not receive. Casual overtime is calculated on top of this. Treat 25% as a guide only, and confirm the exact loading and how it interacts with overtime and penalties for this award from the Fair Work source before running pay.

Overtime generally applies to hours worked beyond ordinary hours, with higher rates for the first couple of hours and a higher rate beyond that, and separate treatment for casuals. There are also minimum-engagement rules for weekend and public holiday overtime, plus rest-period protections after extended overtime. An employee and employer can agree in writing to take time off instead of overtime pay within a set period. Confirm the applicable rates and minimums via the Fair Work source.

MA000115 includes wage-related allowances such as a bilingual qualification allowance, a medication administration allowance for qualified health workers and a nauseous (dirty or offensive) work allowance, plus expense-related allowances like clothing and laundry, motor vehicle per kilometre, meal, telephone and on-call allowances. Because several are role- or task-specific, they are easy to miss. Identify which apply to each employee and confirm the current dollar amounts using the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Yes. The award sets penalties for ordinary hours worked on Saturdays and Sundays, on top of the base rate. As a general guide, weekend penalties across awards commonly run around 25% on Saturday and 50% on Sunday, but this award sets its own figures, and weekend overtime can carry a minimum engagement. Confirm the exact Saturday and Sunday rates that apply to the employee's hours against the Fair Work source rather than assuming.

Public holiday entitlements flow from the National Employment Standards and the award. As a guide, public holiday work across awards can attract penalties of up to 150%, but this award's own provisions determine what actually applies, including any minimum engagement for being called in. Always verify the public holiday rate and any substitution arrangements for MA000115 via the Fair Work Pay Calculator before processing a pay run that includes a public holiday.

The award provides loadings for shifts worked in the evening and overnight, and a higher loading for employees on continuous night shift over an extended run, in addition to weekend rates for ordinary hours on Saturday and Sunday. Shift loadings are separate from overtime. Identify which shift each employee actually works, then confirm the relevant loading for that shift, and how it stacks with weekend rates, from the Fair Work source.

Employees required to be on call are generally paid an on-call allowance for each period, with a higher rate on public holidays. If they are then recalled to work, recall provisions apply, including a minimum payment and minimum break protections between a recall and the next shift. These are distinct from ordinary overtime. Map each employee's on-call and recall periods and confirm the current allowance and recall rules from the Fair Work source.

Under the National Employment Standards, employees may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact outside working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. This applies to award-covered employees, with later commencement for small-business employers. A reasonable exception exists for legitimate work-related contact, such as notifying an on-call employee. Set clear expectations around after-hours contact and on-call arrangements so they sit within the award and the NES.

Modern award minimum rates increase following the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review and take effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. The 2026 review added 4.75% to modern award minimums. Apply increases from the correct pay period, not the calendar date, and pull the new figures for each classification, level and allowance from the Fair Work source so pay stays compliant.

The risks with MA000115 sit in the detail: correct stream and level, task-specific allowances like bilingual, medication and nauseous-work, shift and weekend loadings, on-call and recall, and rates refreshed every July. The safest approach is to anchor every figure to the Fair Work Pay Calculator and review pay each 1 July. Valont runs award-compliant payroll for Aboriginal community controlled health services, mapping rosters to the right classifications, allowances and penalties so figures stay current and accurate.