Pastoral Award

If you run a broadacre farming, cropping, grazing, livestock or station operation in Australia, or engage shearers, or run a pig or poultry farm, and you employ staff who are not otherwise award-free, the Pastoral Award 2020 (MA000035) generally applies. Horticulture, fruit and vegetable growing and nursery work fall under separate awards. Confirm coverage for your operation and the specific work against the Fair Work source before setting pay and conditions.

Match the worker to the level that reflects the work they actually do, using the classification definitions in the award, which describe the skills, experience and responsibilities for each grade across farming, livestock and station work. Title alone is not enough; assess the real duties. Shearing-sector and piecework roles use separate arrangements. Once you have the correct level or arrangement, look up its current rate on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The shearing sector has its own pay arrangements, with shearers and crutchers commonly paid per 100 head and shed hands and wool handlers paid under their own rates, often per run or per day. These differ from the standard hourly classifications. Pieceworkers must still be able to earn at least the equivalent minimum. Because tallies and rates are specific, confirm the current shearing and shed-hand rates for this award on the Fair Work source before paying.

Casual employees are paid an hourly rate plus a casual loading, which is commonly 25% across modern awards, in place of the paid leave and notice entitlements casuals do not receive. The loading applies on top of the minimum rate for their classification. Treat 25% as a guide only, and note that some shearing work is paid on piece rates rather than hourly plus loading. Confirm the exact arrangement for this award on the Fair Work source before running pay.

Weekend work can attract penalties under MA000035, though the award applies its own rules and these can differ across the farming, livestock and shearing streams. As a general guide across awards, weekend penalties commonly run around 25% on Saturday and 50% on Sunday. Parts of the shearing sector operate on piece rates instead. Always confirm what the award actually provides for the relevant stream and employment type on the Fair Work Pay Calculator before processing pay.

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 role and stream. Employees 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 entitlement for this award on the Fair Work source before processing the pay run.

Overtime generally applies when an employee works beyond the ordinary hours set by the award, which is common during seasonal cropping, harvest and busy livestock periods. The award sets overtime rates that step up after the first hours, with the detail varying across streams. Shearing piecework operates differently. Identify which hours count as overtime for each worker and stream, and confirm the applicable overtime rate for this award via the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The award permits piecework in defined circumstances, where a worker is paid by output - such as per unit, per bin or per head - rather than by the hour. A key protection is that a pieceworker must be able to earn at least the equivalent of the applicable minimum rate for the time worked, and a written piecework agreement is generally required. Confirm the current piecework provisions and the minimum-earnings requirement for this award on the Fair Work source.

The award provides for allowances depending on the work, which can include keep or board where accommodation and meals are provided, vehicle or travel allowances, a first aid allowance, and tool or equipment allowances, along with shearing-specific provisions. Some allowances and the rules on charging for keep have limits set by the award. Identify which apply to each role and confirm current amounts and limits 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 an employee takes paid annual leave. Under this award it is generally 17.5% of the minimum rate of pay, and it applies to full-time and part-time employees taking annual leave. Casuals do not accrue annual leave, so the loading does not apply to them. Apply the loading when processing leave payments and confirm the calculation, including how it applies across streams, against the Fair Work source.

Minimum rates, shearing 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 hourly, shearing and piecework arrangements on the Fair Work Pay Calculator each year.

Yes. 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 recorded in writing at the start, with changes agreed in writing too. Part-timers receive pro-rata leave and the same classification rates as full-timers, and additional hours may attract overtime or penalty treatment. This can suit year-round livestock work better than seasonal cropping. Check the part-time provisions in the award for the full requirements before engaging staff this way.

Start by confirming each worker's correct classification or shearing arrangement, then apply the current rate, the right piecework or tally calculation, overtime, any weekend or public holiday entitlements, keep or accommodation rules and applicable allowances, refreshing all figures from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate records of hours, tallies and deductions are essential, especially with seasonal labour. Valont's award-compliant payroll service handles this classification, rate and penalty mapping for pastoral employers so the right amount is paid every cycle.