Funeral Industry Award

If you operate a funeral directing or funeral services business in Australia and employ staff who are not otherwise award-free, the Funeral Industry Award 2020 (MA000105) generally applies. It covers staff who conduct funerals, care for and prepare the deceased, arrange services and drive and maintain funeral vehicles. Cemetery and crematorium operations and some other roles fall under different awards, so confirm coverage against the Fair Work source before setting pay.

Assign each employee to the level that reflects the work they actually perform, using the classification definitions in the award, which describe the skills, qualifications and responsibilities for each level, from funeral assistant through to embalmer and qualified funeral director. A title alone is not enough; assess the real duties. Once you have the correct level, 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. On weekend or public holiday work the casual loading interacts with the relevant penalty, so the all-up rate needs care. Treat 25% as a guide and confirm the exact loading and how it combines with penalties for this award on the Fair Work source.

Funerals are held across the week, so Saturday and Sunday work attracts weekend penalties on top of the ordinary rate. As a general guide, weekend penalties commonly run around 25% on Saturday and around 50% on Sunday, but the award sets its own figures by day and employment type. Confirm the current Saturday and Sunday rates for the relevant employee on the Fair Work Pay Calculator before processing a pay run that includes weekend work.

Work on a public holiday is paid at a significant premium under MA000105, which as a guide can reach up to 150% of the minimum rate, and a minimum payment may apply. Staff who would normally work that day but do not because it is a public holiday are generally entitled to their ordinary pay. Because services and collections can still occur on public holidays, confirm the current entitlement against the Fair Work source before paying.

Overtime generally applies when an employee works beyond the ordinary hours set by the award, including hours worked after being recalled outside the roster. It is paid at stepped penalty rates that increase after the first couple of hours, with different treatment on Sundays and public holidays. Identify which hours count as overtime for each worker, and confirm the applicable overtime rate for this award via the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

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 classification. Given the responsive nature of funeral work, be clear in writing about how additional or on-call hours are handled, and check the part-time provisions in the award.

Funeral businesses often need staff available outside rostered hours for after-hours collections and arrangements, and the award provides specific on-call or standby entitlements, with further entitlements where an employee is actually recalled to work. These are separate from ordinary pay and from overtime once work begins. Set out the on-call roster clearly, pay the standby entitlement for the period on call, and confirm the current figures against the Fair Work source.

The award provides for a range of allowances tied to the work, which may include distinctive stand-by and exhumations allowances, a leading hand allowance, a meal allowance for qualifying overtime, and a vehicle allowance where employees use their own vehicle for work. Because several are linked to specific duties or conditions, they are easy to miss. Identify which apply to each role and confirm the current amounts on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

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. Apply the loading when processing leave payments and confirm the calculation against the Fair Work source so the leave entitlement is paid correctly.

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 classification and allowance on the Fair Work Pay Calculator every year.

Yes. The award's classification structure recognises increasing skill and responsibility, so qualified roles such as embalmers, conductors and funeral directors generally sit at higher levels than entry-level funeral assistants, with correspondingly higher minimum rates. The key is to classify each person by the duties they actually perform and the qualifications they hold, then read the current rate for that level. Confirm each level's rate on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Start with the correct classification for each employee, then apply weekend and public holiday penalties, overtime, and the on-call, standby and recall entitlements that this industry depends on, refreshing every figure from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate records of rostered and call-out hours are essential. Valont runs award-compliant payroll for funeral businesses, mapping rosters and call-outs to the correct classifications, penalties and allowances so the right amount is paid every cycle.