Health Professionals and Support Services Award

If you run a private-sector health business in Australia - a physiotherapy, psychology, dental, optometry, pathology, imaging or similar practice - and employ staff who are not covered by the nursing, medical practitioner or aged care awards, the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 (MA000027) usually applies. It covers both clinical and support roles. Some staff may fall under a different instrument, so confirm coverage against the Fair Work source before you set pay and conditions.

The award splits roles into two streams - support services and health professional - each with its own pay levels, and the health professional stream includes annual pay points within a level. Allied health professionals and pharmacists sit within the health professional stream as particular occupations rather than streams of their own. You classify each employee by the qualifications, experience and responsibilities of the work they actually do, using the award's classification definitions, then read the current minimum rate for that stream, level and pay point. Always confirm the figure on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Casual employees are paid an hourly minimum plus a casual loading, which is commonly 25% across modern awards, in place of paid leave and other permanent entitlements. The loading does not replace weekend, public holiday or shift penalties, which can still apply on top. Treat 25% as a guide only and confirm the exact casual loading and how it interacts with penalties for MA000027 on the Fair Work source before running pay.

Work on Saturdays and Sundays attracts weekend penalties on top of the minimum rate. As a general guide across awards, Saturday loadings are commonly around 25% and Sunday around 50%, but the figure depends on the classification, the shift and whether the employee is casual. For a Saturday clinic or weekend on-call arrangement, confirm the current weekend penalty for the relevant role on the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than assuming a number.

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% of the minimum rate, and a minimum engagement may apply. Permanent staff who would normally work that day but do not because it is a public holiday are generally entitled to their ordinary pay. Verify the public holiday rate and arrangements for your staff on the Fair Work source before a pay run that includes one.

Overtime generally applies when an employee works beyond their ordinary or rostered hours, outside the spread of ordinary hours, or beyond the daily or weekly limits set by the award, with rates that step up after the first couple of hours and higher rates on Sundays and public holidays. Recall to work after hours can also trigger overtime or recall provisions. Identify which hours count as overtime for each worker and confirm the applicable rate via the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Part-time employees work fewer than full-time hours on a reasonably predictable pattern, and the award requires the agreed hours, days and times to be set out in writing, with changes also agreed in writing. Part-timers receive pro-rata leave and the same minimum rates and pay points as full-timers for their classification. Hours worked outside the agreed pattern may attract overtime or penalties. Check the part-time provisions in the award for the full requirements.

Within the health professional stream, which is where allied health practitioners and pharmacists sit, each level contains annual pay points, so an employee's minimum rate increases with years of relevant experience until they reach the top point of their level. This means a graduate does not stay on the entry rate indefinitely. Track each professional's progression and apply the correct pay point, confirming the current rate for that level and point on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The award can provide for allowances such as uniform and laundry, first aid, on-call and recall, vehicle, qualification and leading hand allowances, and in some cases reimbursement of mandatory professional registration. Some are paid per shift or per occasion and are easy to overlook, particularly on-call and recall for after-hours health work. Identify which apply to each role and confirm the current amounts on the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than relying on remembered values.

Annual leave loading is an extra payment on top of base pay when a permanent employee takes paid annual leave, and under this award it is 17.5% of the minimum rate of pay. It applies to full-time and part-time staff taking annual leave; casuals do not accrue annual leave. Apply the loading when processing leave payments for eligible staff and confirm the calculation against the Fair Work source.

Minimum rates, pay points 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 on the Fair Work Pay Calculator every year.

MA000027 covers allied health professionals, including pharmacists, along with technical and support staff in the private health sector, while registered and enrolled nurses are generally covered by the Nurses Award. Medical practitioners, aged care workers and community or disability support staff fall under their own awards. The line is about the role and the setting, not the workplace as a whole, so a single clinic can have staff on different awards. Confirm the correct instrument for each role via the Fair Work source.

Start by classifying each employee into the right stream, level and pay point, then apply the correct minimum rate, weekend and shift penalties, overtime and any on-call, recall or registration entitlements, refreshing every figure from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate time and pay records are essential, especially across mixed clinical and reception rosters. Valont's award-compliant payroll service handles this classification, pay-point, penalty and allowance mapping for private health employers so the right amount is paid every cycle.

Registered and enrolled nurses are covered by the Nurses Award.

Employed doctors are covered by the Medical Practitioners Award.

Usually, yes. The award has separate support-services classifications for reception, administration and clinical support in a health practice, alongside the health-professional levels. Classify each role on the duties actually performed and the qualification held, and check the Fair Work pay guide linked above for the current rate for that level.