Ambulance and Patient Transport Industry Award

MA000098 covers employers in the ambulance and patient transport industry throughout Australia and their employees in the listed classifications. It applies to ambulance and patient transport operations and the operational, communications, fleet and administrative staff who support them. Employees covered by certain other awards, such as nursing or health professionals instruments, are generally excluded. Confirm coverage against the award and the Fair Work Ombudsman, as some staff may fall under a different instrument.

The award has an operational structure and a clerical and administrative stream. Operational roles run from student and trainee levels through ambulance attendant, ambulance officer, patient transport officer, clinical transport officer and communications call taker, up to assistant station officer, station officer or team manager and senior station officer, with fleet maintenance officer and mechanic roles alongside. Administrative officers are graded across bands. Classify each worker by the duties they actually perform, then read the current rate from the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

MA000098 includes a paramedic skills allowance paid in addition to the minimum rate, reflecting an employee's clinical practice level, and it has more than one level. It recognises the clinical skills paramedics apply on the job. Make sure eligible clinical staff receive it at the correct level, and confirm the current amount from the Fair Work source, as it changes with each Annual Wage Review.

Always take current rates from the Fair Work Pay Calculator or the MA000098 pay guide rather than memory or an old spreadsheet. Rates differ by classification, by level and by employment type, and several allowances sit on top. They are reviewed annually and rise from the first full pay period on or after 1 July, so any figure has a use-by date. Valont keeps these rates current as part of award-compliant payroll for ambulance and patient transport operators.

Casual employees are paid an hourly rate plus a casual loading in place of the paid leave and other entitlements casuals do not receive. Across modern awards the loading is commonly 25%, but this award lifts the casual loading for weekend and public holiday work, so the figure is not the same in every case. Treat 25% as a guide only and confirm the exact loading for weekdays, weekends and public holidays for this award from the Fair Work source before running pay.

Ambulance and patient transport is a seven-day operation, so Saturday and Sunday work attracts weekend penalties. As a general guide, weekend penalties across awards commonly run around 25% on Saturday and 50% on Sunday, but MA000098 sets its own figures and expresses some as a total percentage of the ordinary rate rather than as a separate add-on, with a higher rate again for casuals. Confirm what the award actually provides for the relevant day and employment type against the Fair Work source.

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%, and MA000098 sets a high public holiday rate that may be quoted as a total percentage of the ordinary rate. The award's own provisions determine what applies to a given shift and employment type. Always verify the public holiday rate, and arrangements for staff who do not work the day, using the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

MA000098 includes wage-related allowances such as a paramedic skills allowance, plus communications centre, operational crewing, flying, on-call and control call allowances paid for specific duties. It also provides expense-related allowances including meal, overtime meal, spoilt meal, relieving (meals and accommodation), travelling per kilometre, uniform and protective clothing, and driving licence allowances. Because some are paid per shift, per hour or per kilometre, they are easy to miss. Identify which apply to each role and confirm current amounts using the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The award provides an on-call allowance for time an employee is required to be available to be recalled to work, and overtime applies when they are actually called in, typically with a minimum payment period. Control call and operational crewing allowances also apply to specific duties. Record on-call periods and any callouts separately from rostered hours, and confirm the current on-call allowance, recall minimum and overtime rate for this award from the Fair Work source.

Overtime generally applies to hours worked beyond an employee's ordinary or rostered hours, or outside the daily span, with the award setting different rates for the first overtime hours and for hours after that, and separate rates on weekends and public holidays. Recall and callout work also attracts overtime with a minimum payment. Identify which hours count as overtime for each worker, and confirm the applicable overtime rate for this award via the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Full-time employees work 38 ordinary hours a week, or an average of 38 over a cycle, with part-timers on fewer agreed hours. MA000098 also allows an arrangement where employees are rostered 40 hours a week and receive, in exchange, additional paid leave each year or an accrued day off in each four-week period. Set rosters and accruals to match whichever arrangement applies, and confirm the detail against the Fair Work source.

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 and allowance from the Fair Work source so ambulance and patient transport pay stays compliant.

The risks with MA000098 sit in the detail: the right operational or administrative classification, the paramedic skills allowance at the correct level, weekend and public holiday rates that may be expressed as a total percentage, the full set of per-shift and on-call allowances, 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 ambulance and patient transport operators, mapping rosters to the correct classifications, allowances and penalties so figures stay current and accurate.