Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award

If your business manufactures, processes or packages food, beverages or tobacco products in Australia and you employ staff who are not otherwise award-free, the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award 2020 (MA000073) generally applies. It covers operations such as baking, dairy, confectionery, soft drink and brewing. Some products and roles fall under a different award, so confirm coverage against the Fair Work source before setting pay and conditions.

Assign each employee to the grade that reflects the work they actually perform, using the classification definitions in the award, which set out the skills, training and responsibilities for each grade. A job title alone is not enough; assess the real duties, from basic process work through to higher-skilled trades and technical roles. Once you have the correct grade, read its current minimum rate from the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Casual employees are paid an hourly rate plus a casual loading, commonly 25% across modern awards, in place of the paid leave and entitlements casuals do not accrue. Casual loading can interact with shift and weekend arrangements, so the way it applies on a penalty shift is worth checking. Treat 25% as a guide and confirm the exact loading and how it combines with penalties for this award on the Fair Work source.

Saturday and Sunday ordinary hours attract weekend penalties under the award, and on a shift operation these can combine with afternoon or night shift loadings. As a general guide, weekend penalties commonly run around 25% on Saturday and around 50% on Sunday, but this award sets its own figures by shift type and employment type. Confirm the current weekend rates for the relevant shift on the Fair Work Pay Calculator before processing pay.

Work on a public holiday is paid at a significant premium under MA000073, which as a guide can reach up to 150% of the minimum rate, and a minimum payment may apply. Employees who would normally work that day but do not because it is a public holiday are generally entitled to their ordinary pay. Check the current public holiday entitlement, including any arrangements for shift workers, against the Fair Work source.

Overtime generally applies when an employee works beyond the ordinary hours set by the award, such as exceeding the weekly average, working outside the rostered shift, or working through a required break. It is paid at stepped penalty rates that increase after the first couple of hours, with different treatment on Sundays and public holidays. For the exact current multipliers, refer to the overtime provisions and the Fair Work source.

Yes. Part-time employees work fewer than full-time hours on a reasonably predictable pattern, and the award requires the agreed hours and days to be recorded in writing, with changes also agreed. Part-timers receive pro-rata leave and the same minimum rate as full-timers for their grade. Because shift rosters can shift demand week to week, keep the written arrangement current and check the part-time provisions in the award.

Junior employees and apprentices are generally paid a percentage of the relevant adult rate, with the percentage rising as they get older or progress through their apprenticeship. Apprentices in the trades streams have their own rate scale tied to their year of training. Because the percentages and the adult base both change, work them out fresh each time and confirm the current junior and apprentice rates on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

MA000073 provides for a range of allowances tied to the work and conditions, which commonly include leading hand, cold work or freezer, first aid, meal (for qualifying overtime) and laundry allowances, among others. Because several are linked to specific conditions rather than the base grade, they are easy to overlook. Identify which allowances apply to each role and confirm the current amounts on the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than relying on remembered figures.

Annual leave loading is an extra payment on top of base pay when an employee takes paid annual leave. Under this award it is 17.5% of the minimum rate. It applies to full-time and part-time employees taking annual leave, while casuals do not accrue annual leave. For shift workers there can be interaction with shift loadings, so apply the loading carefully and confirm the calculation against the Fair Work source.

Minimum rates and many allowances are reviewed each year in 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 increased modern award minimums by 4.75%. To stay compliant you must apply the new rates from that pay period, not the calendar date, so verify the current figures for each grade and allowance on the Fair Work Pay Calculator every year.

Plants that run around the clock often operate continuous shifts, which the award treats differently from ordinary day or non-continuous shift work, with their own shift loadings and rostering rules. The loading that applies depends on whether the work is continuous and on the shift's timing, and it stacks with weekend and public holiday penalties. Identify whether a roster is continuous and confirm the applicable loadings for each shift band against the Fair Work source.

Start with the correct grade for each employee, then layer the right shift loadings, weekend and public holiday penalties, overtime and any condition-based allowances, refreshing every figure from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate time and shift records are essential on a rotating roster. Valont runs award-compliant payroll for food, beverage and manufacturing employers, mapping shifts to the correct grades, penalties and allowances so the right amount is paid every cycle.

General manufacturing outside food, beverage and tobacco is the Manufacturing Award.

Meat processing is covered by its own Meat Industry Award.