Higher Education Industry - General Staff - Award

If you are a higher education provider in Australia - a university or other institution delivering higher education - and you employ general or professional staff who are not academics, the Higher Education Industry—General Staff—Award 2020 (MA000007) usually applies. It covers administration, student services, technical, library, IT, facilities and trades roles. Academic staff fall under the companion academic award. Coverage can turn on the role, so confirm it against the Fair Work source before setting pay and conditions.

The award sets minimum rates across a series of general-staff classification levels, from a base entry level up through senior professional bands, with incremental steps within many levels. You classify each role by the skill, responsibility, autonomy and qualifications it requires, using the award's classification descriptors, then pay at least the minimum for that level and step. Part-timers are paid pro-rata. Always confirm the current rate for the relevant level and step on the Fair Work Pay Calculator, as it changes each year.

Casual general staff 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 for staff working outside ordinary hours. Treat 25% as a guide only and confirm the exact casual loading and how it interacts with penalties for MA000007 on the Fair Work source before running pay.

General staff who work Saturdays or Sundays - in roles like security, facilities, library or IT support - can attract 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. 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 a general-staff 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 and on-call arrangements may also apply for some roles. 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 documented, with changes also agreed. Part-timers receive pro-rata leave and the same minimum rates and increments 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 and confirm the pro-rata rate on the Fair Work source.

Yes. Where a higher education provider employs apprentices in trades roles - such as electrical, carpentry or grounds maintenance - or trainees under a recognised traineeship, the award provides percentage-based rates that increase with the stage of the apprenticeship or the relevant year. These sit below the full adult rate for the classification. Confirm the current apprentice or trainee percentage and the resulting rate for the relevant stage on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The award can provide for allowances such as leading hand or supervisor, first aid, on-call, vehicle and qualification allowances, along with reimbursements in defined circumstances. Some are paid per shift or per occasion and are easy to overlook, particularly on-call for IT or facilities staff. Identify which apply to each role and confirm the current amounts on the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than relying on remembered values, as they change with the annual review.

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 general 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, increments 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 level and step on the Fair Work Pay Calculator every year.

Higher education relies heavily on fixed-term contracts tied to research funding and casual hours for projects and peak periods, and both arrangements are covered by the award when the staff are general (non-academic). The key is to use the correct engagement type - not labelling genuinely ongoing work as casual - and the right classification level for the work. Confirm the correct engagement and classification for each role, and the resulting rate, against the Fair Work source.

Start by classifying each role at the right level and step, then apply the correct minimum rate, weekend and shift penalties, overtime and any on-call or allowance entitlements, refreshing every figure from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate time and pay records matter, particularly for extended-hours and fixed-term roles. Valont's award-compliant payroll service handles this classification, increment, penalty and allowance mapping for higher education employers so general staff are paid correctly every cycle.

Lecturers, tutors and researchers are covered by the Academic Staff Award.