Concrete Products Award

It covers employers and employees in the concrete products industry: the fabrication or manufacture of cement and concrete products such as panels, pipes, blocks, pavers, tiles, baths and troughs, including the casting and machining of precast and reconstituted-stone articles. It also covers on-hire workers placed into that industry and trainees engaged via group training. It does not apply where an enterprise award or another industry award covers the work.

The Concrete Products Award (MA000056) applies to making finished solid concrete and cement products like panels, pipes and pavers. The Premixed Concrete Award (MA000057) applies to producing and delivering wet premixed (ready-mix) concrete. They have different classifications, allowances and rates, so check which describes your actual operations before setting pay. If in doubt, confirm coverage against the Fair Work source.

MA000056 uses a five-level classification structure (Levels 1 to 5) in Schedule A. Employees are graded by skill, duties and responsibility, and each level has a set minimum hourly and weekly rate. Apprentices and trainees are paid a percentage of the relevant rate. The current dollar figures change each year, so always read them from the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than relying on a remembered number.

Modern award minimum rates and most allowances increase 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 minimum wages. Your obligation is to apply the new figure from the correct pay period, so confirm the current rate via the Fair Work Pay Calculator before your first July pay run.

The award includes an all-purpose industry allowance, plus separate (non-all-purpose) allowances such as a leading hand allowance, a fork-lift operators allowance, a bituminous sprayer allowance, a cement or concrete (in-tank) allowance and a first aid allowance. It also has expense allowances for meals, accommodation, boots, clothing and tools. Which apply depends on the role and the work performed. Always read the current dollar amounts from the Fair Work source, as they change annually.

Casual employees are paid a casual loading on top of the ordinary hourly rate, commonly 25%, in place of paid leave and some other entitlements. The loading applies to ordinary hours, and casual overtime and penalty figures are calculated separately and differ from the full-time equivalents. Confirm the exact loading and the casual penalty rates against the Fair Work source before processing pay.

Weekend work attracts penalty rates, which as a guide commonly sit around 25% extra for Saturday and around 50% extra for Sunday, with public holidays attracting up to 150%. The exact figures, and how they interact with shift and overtime rules, are set in the award and differ for casuals. Because these change, verify the current rate from the Fair Work Pay Calculator before you pay weekend or public holiday work.

Overtime under MA000056 is paid at stepped rates: a higher rate for the first part of the overtime and a still higher rate after that, with separate, higher figures for casuals and for Sunday work. The applicable multipliers also differ between day workers and shift workers. A flat single rate will usually be wrong, so apply the correct stepped figure from the award text or the Fair Work source for each situation.

Ordinary day-work hours are generally worked between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, with a standard 38-hour week averaged over a roster cycle of up to four weeks. Shift workers have their own hours and penalty arrangements. Work outside the ordinary span, or beyond the agreed daily and weekly limits, generally attracts overtime or shift penalties under the award.

Yes. Shift workers attract shift loadings that differ for afternoon, night and continuous-night arrangements, and they have their own overtime and weekend rules. Seven-day shift workers can also receive an extra week of annual leave under the National Employment Standards. The specific loadings are set in the award, so confirm each one and the leave entitlement against the Fair Work source for the employee's roster.

Employees taking paid annual leave generally receive a leave loading of 17.5%, or the relevant shift penalty they would have earned, whichever is greater. This sits on top of the base pay for the leave period. The principle is set in the award and the National Employment Standards, so apply the higher of the two amounts and confirm the calculation against the Fair Work source if a shift worker is involved.

Casual employees are generally entitled to a minimum engagement of four hours' pay each time they are required to work, even if sent home earlier. There are also rules covering recall to work. The exact minimum-engagement and recall provisions are set in MA000056, so check the award text for the specific situation rather than assuming a shorter shift can be paid as worked.

Valont provides outsourced payroll for Australian SMEs, mapping each employee to the correct MA000056 classification and applying the right allowances, casual loading, overtime steps and penalty rates from the Fair Work source. We also apply the annual increase from the correct first-July pay period, so your pay runs stay accurate and auditable. The figures themselves always trace back to the Fair Work Pay Calculator and the current award text.