Medical Practitioners Award

If you employ medical practitioners in Australia - for example interns, residents, registrars, career medical officers or salaried specialists - and they are not award-free, the Medical Practitioners Award 2020 (MA000031) generally applies as the safety net for their minimum pay and conditions. It does not cover doctors who are genuine independent contractors or practice principals. Confirm coverage for your specific arrangements against the Fair Work source before setting pay and conditions.

MA000031 is specific to employed medical practitioners - that is, doctors. Nurses and midwives are covered by the Nurses Award, and allied health and support staff by the Health Professionals and Support Services Award. A hospital therefore applies several awards across its workforce. Make sure doctors are paid under the Medical Practitioners Award and other clinical staff under their own instruments, and confirm which applies to each role on the Fair Work source.

The award follows the medical career path, broadly from interns and resident medical officers, through registrars and doctors in advanced training, to career medical officers and salaried medical officers and specialists. Within these bands, pay typically progresses by year of experience or stage of training. Classify each doctor by their actual stage and role, then read the current minimum for that pay point from the Fair Work Pay Calculator, remembering the award is a floor and many doctors are paid above it.

Casual medical practitioners are paid an hourly rate plus a casual loading, which is commonly 25% across modern awards, in place of the paid leave and other entitlements casuals do not receive. Locum and sessional doctors are sometimes engaged on this basis. The loading can interact with weekend, shift and public holiday penalties, so treat 25% as a guide and confirm the exact loading and how it combines for this award on the Fair Work source before running pay.

Medical services run seven days a week, so Saturday and Sunday work attracts weekend penalties on top of the ordinary rate. As a general guide across awards, weekend penalties commonly run around 25% on Saturday and 50% on Sunday, and they can combine with shift loadings for evening or overnight work. The award sets its own figures, so confirm what MA000031 actually provides for the relevant shift and employment type on the Fair Work source rather than assuming.

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%, but the award's own provisions determine what actually applies to a given shift and doctor. Where doctors are also on-call over a public holiday, the on-call and recall rules apply as well. Verify the public holiday rate and any on-call treatment for MA000031 on the Fair Work Pay Calculator before processing the pay run.

Overtime generally applies to hours worked beyond a doctor's rostered ordinary hours, with the award setting overtime rates that can step up after the first hours and differ on weekends and public holidays. Recall to work while on-call is also paid at overtime rates, often with a minimum period. Given how often doctors work extended hours, identify which hours are overtime for each practitioner and confirm the applicable rate on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Yes. Part-time medical practitioners work fewer than full-time hours on a reasonably predictable pattern, and the award requires a written agreement setting out the agreed hours, days and times, with changes also agreed in writing. Part-timers receive pro-rata leave and the same minimum rates as full-timers for their classification. Part-time and job-share arrangements are common in medicine; check the part-time provisions in the award for the full requirements.

Employed doctors required to be available outside their rostered hours are typically entitled to an on-call (or availability) allowance, and if they are actually recalled to work, that work is paid at the applicable overtime rate, often subject to a minimum payment. The distinction between being available and being called in matters, because each is paid differently. Confirm the current on-call allowance and the recall provisions for MA000031 on the Fair Work source.

Annual leave loading is an extra payment on top of base pay when an employee takes annual leave. Under this award it is 17.5% of the minimum rate of pay, and it applies to full-time and part-time medical practitioners taking paid annual leave; casuals do not accrue annual leave. Where a doctor normally earns shift or weekend loadings, leave loading helps ensure they are not worse off taking leave. Apply it when processing leave and confirm the calculation on the Fair Work source.

Minimum rates and 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%. Even if you pay your doctors above award, you must check that those rates still clear the new minimums from that pay period, so verify the current figures for each classification on the Fair Work Pay Calculator every year.

Yes. An above-award salary does not remove the obligation to meet award entitlements; the total must always be at least what the award would require for the hours, overtime, on-call and penalties involved. Long rosters and frequent recall can erode the margin, and annual increases lift the floor each July. Set salaries with the award terms in mind, keep records of hours worked, and confirm the relevant minimums on the Fair Work source.

The risks with MA000031 sit in the detail: the right classification and training pay point, on-call versus recall, overtime and shift loadings on long and overnight rosters, weekend and public holiday penalties, and rates refreshed every July, including for above-award salaries. Anchor every figure to the Fair Work Pay Calculator, track each doctor's hours and stage, and review pay each 1 July. Valont runs award-compliant payroll for employers of medical practitioners, mapping classifications, on-call, overtime and penalties so the right amount is paid every cycle.

Allied health professionals and practice support staff sit under the Health Professionals Award.

Nurses are covered by the Nurses Award.