Airline Operations - Ground Staff Award

It covers employers engaged in the on-airport servicing of aircraft - both the operating and ancillary work - for commercial passenger and freight air transport, and for private or instructional flying from Australian bases. That includes ground handling, ramp, cargo, maintenance, clerical and storeperson roles, plus group training and labour-hire providers supplying staff into those roles. Aircrew and pilots are covered by separate awards.

Rates are set by classification within four streams: aviation transport workers, clerical/administration and support, maintenance and engineering, and storepersons/logistics. Each stream has its own levels, so you map each employee to the correct stream and level based on their actual duties and qualifications. Always confirm the current dollar rate for that classification using the Fair Work Pay Calculator, as the figures change each year.

The award sets penalty rates for both Saturday and Sunday work, with Sunday paid at a higher rate than Saturday. As a guide across awards, weekend penalties are commonly around 25% extra on Saturday and around 50% extra on Sunday, but this award sets its own figures. Because the exact percentages can differ and are reviewed annually, confirm the current rate for each classification against the Fair Work source.

Employees who work on a public holiday are paid a penalty rate, which across modern awards can reach up to 150% of the ordinary rate, and those who would normally have worked but get the day off are still entitled to their ordinary pay. The award also sets how public holiday work interacts with shift and weekend arrangements. Check the current public holiday rate for the relevant classification using the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Casual employees are paid a loading on top of the ordinary hourly rate, commonly 25% across modern awards, in place of paid leave and certain other entitlements. There is also typically a minimum engagement period each time a casual is rostered. Confirm the casual loading and the minimum engagement that apply under this award using the Fair Work source, and note that overtime and penalties can apply on top of the loaded rate.

Overtime is generally paid at time-and-a-half for the first period worked beyond ordinary hours and double time after that, with higher rates on weekends and public holidays. The award also sets how overtime applies to shiftworkers and casuals. Because the precise thresholds and rates are specific to this award and reviewed annually, confirm the current overtime provisions and figures against the Fair Work source before processing pay.

Ground operations run across early morning, afternoon, night and continuous-night shifts, and the award sets a separate loading for each, plus extra payments for working multiple broken shifts in a day. These loadings are distinct from weekend and public holiday penalties. Identify each employee's shift pattern carefully and confirm the current loading for it using the Fair Work source, as flat-rating shifts is a common error.

The award contains several allowances, including first aid, foreign language, leading hand, money collection, disability, aircraft type-rating endorsements, ASIC card reimbursement, travel and board, motor vehicle use, and uniform and laundry. A meal allowance can also apply during overtime. Each has its own eligibility test, and the dollar amounts change annually, so confirm what applies to each employee and the current figure against the Fair Work source.

The award provides for reimbursement of costs employees must incur to access airport facilities, which includes the legislatively required Aviation Security Identification Card (ASIC) and similar fees. The reimbursement is for the actual cost rather than a fixed rate. Check the exact entitlement and any conditions under the award's allowances using the Fair Work source, and keep records of what was reimbursed for each employee.

Minimum rates, penalties and most allowances rise from the first full pay period on or after 1 July each year, following the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review. The 2026 review added 4.75% to modern award minimums. The increase is not always exactly the same percentage on every component, so the safest approach is to refresh every rate from the Fair Work Pay Calculator each July rather than applying one blanket uplift.

Where the award provides annual leave loading, it is commonly 17.5% on top of an employee's ordinary pay for the period of annual leave. Shiftworkers may instead be entitled to the higher of the loading or their shift penalties for that period. Confirm whether and how leave loading applies to a given employee under this award using the Fair Work source, and apply it correctly in your final pay and termination calculations.

Some arrangements like annualised wage agreements or set rosters are possible, but they must satisfy strict award conditions and a reconciliation showing the employee is no worse off than award entitlements. Done incorrectly, they create underpayments that accrue every pay run. Before relying on any such arrangement, check the specific provisions in the award via the Fair Work source. Valont's award-compliant payroll service runs these reconciliations so you stay covered.

Underpaying against the award creates a back-pay liability plus possible penalties, and errors usually repeat every pay cycle until caught, so the total can grow quickly. The fix is to audit each employee's classification, penalties and allowances against the current Fair Work figures and correct any shortfall. Valont provides outsourced, award-compliant payroll for SMEs, mapping classifications and keeping rates current so MA000048 obligations are met accurately.