Higher Education Industry - Academic Staff - Award

If you are a higher education provider in Australia - a university or other institution delivering higher education - and you employ academic staff who teach, research or both, the Higher Education Industry—Academic Staff—Award 2020 (MA000006) generally applies to that academic workforce. Non-academic professional and general staff are covered by a separate award. Coverage can turn on the nature of the role and the provider, so confirm it against the Fair Work source before setting pay and conditions.

The award sets minimum salaries against five academic levels - Level A associate lecturer, Level B lecturer, Level C senior lecturer, Level D associate professor and Level E professor - with incremental steps within most levels. You classify each academic by the level descriptors that match their role and responsibilities, then pay at least the minimum for that level and step. Part-timers are paid pro-rata. Always confirm the current salary point on the Fair Work Pay Calculator, as it changes each year.

Casual academic pay is generally built into activity-based sessional rates for lecturing, tutoring, marking and demonstrating rather than expressed as a single hourly rate plus a separate flat loading, though casual loading is commonly 25% as a guide across awards. These rates often already account for associated preparation or marking time. Because the structure is unusual, confirm the exact current sessional rate for each activity and how loading is treated for MA000006 on the Fair Work source before running pay.

Academic work under this award is not generally structured around the weekend and shift penalty grids used in shift-based industries; pay is set by salary level for permanent staff and by activity-based rates for sessional staff. That said, the award governs hours and any additional-duty or overtime arrangements that may apply in limited cases. Rather than assuming a weekend loading, confirm how the award treats the specific hours or activity in question against the Fair Work source.

Public holiday entitlements flow from the National Employment Standards and the award. Permanent academics who would normally work a day that falls on a public holiday are generally entitled to be absent without loss of ordinary pay. Casual and sessional treatment differs and depends on the engagement. As public holiday arrangements vary by employment type, verify what applies to your staff for MA000006 using the Fair Work source before processing a pay run that includes one.

Academic roles are largely salaried and self-directed, so the award does not apply a shift-style overtime grid in the way an hourly award does. There are, however, provisions governing hours, workload and additional duties, and limited circumstances in which extra payment may arise. Identify whether the work in question falls within ordinary academic duties or triggers an additional entitlement, and confirm the position for this award via the Fair Work source.

Part-time academics work fewer than full-time hours and are paid pro-rata to the full-time minimum salary for their level and step, with pro-rata leave entitlements. The agreed pattern of work should be documented, and the same level descriptors and increments apply as for full-time staff. Fractional appointments are common in higher education. Check the part-time and fractional provisions in the award, and confirm the pro-rata rate on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

MA000006 sets separate casual rates for different academic activities. Lecturing typically attracts a higher rate that accounts for preparation; tutoring is paid per tutorial, often with a distinction between a repeat tutorial and a newly developed one; marking and demonstrating have their own bases. The rate can also vary with the academic's qualifications. Apply the correct rate for each activity performed, and confirm the current figures for each on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The award can provide for certain allowances connected to academic duties and circumstances, alongside the level-based salaries and activity-based casual rates that do most of the work in setting pay. Because the structure leans on salary levels and sessional rates rather than a broad allowance grid, the key is getting the level, step or activity rate right first. Identify any allowance that applies to a particular role and confirm its current amount on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

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

Minimum salaries and casual sessional rates 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%. Because teaching periods do not align neatly with the calendar, apply increases from the correct pay period and refresh each salary point and sessional rate from the Fair Work Pay Calculator every year.

Both are covered. MA000006 applies to ongoing and fixed-term academic staff paid by salary level and to casual and sessional academics paid on activity-based hourly rates. Casual and sessional teaching is a major part of the higher education workforce and is squarely within the award. Make sure sessional teachers are engaged as casual employees with the correct activity rates and recognised associated time, confirming those rates on the Fair Work source.

Start by classifying ongoing academics at the right level and step and paying sessional staff the correct activity-based rate for each task, including the associated preparation and marking time the award recognises, then refresh every figure from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate records of activities and hours are essential given how sessional pay works. Valont's award-compliant payroll service handles this level, step and sessional-rate mapping for higher education employers so academic staff are paid correctly every cycle.

Professional and non-academic university staff are covered by the General Staff Award.