Professional Diving Industry (Industrial) Award

If you employ divers to perform commercial or industrial underwater work in Australia - construction, inspection, maintenance, salvage, demolition and similar tasks, including offshore diving from oil and gas rigs and platforms through the award's Inshore and Offshore Diver streams - the Professional Diving Industry (Industrial) Award 2020 (MA000108) generally applies, along with the attendants and supervisors who support those dives. Recreational and instructional diving sits under a different instrument, and government or public-sector diving may sit under separate arrangements, so confirm coverage against the Fair Work source before setting pay.

The award sets minimum rates against classification levels defined by a diver's qualifications, the type of diving and their responsibility on a dive, with supervisors and more qualified divers above attendants and entry-level roles. You classify each worker by the duties they actually perform, then add the diving allowances that apply. Because the base rate is only the starting point, confirm both the current base rate and the applicable diving payments from the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Casual employees under this award are paid the minimum rate for their classification plus a casual loading, commonly 25% across modern awards, in place of paid leave and other permanent entitlements - and the diving allowances still apply on top. The loading can also interact with weekend and public holiday penalties. Treat 25% as a guide and confirm the exact casual loading, and how it sits alongside the diving payments, against the Fair Work source.

Saturday and Sunday work attracts weekend penalties on top of the ordinary rate. As a general guide across awards, Saturday is commonly around 25% and Sunday around 50%, but MA000108 sets its own figures and they combine with the diving allowances for the dive. Always confirm the current Saturday and Sunday rates for your employee type, and how they stack with depth and condition pay, on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Work performed on a public holiday is paid at a significant premium under the award, which as a guide can reach up to 150% of the minimum rate, with the diving allowances still applying for the dive. A minimum engagement may apply if a diver or supervisor is called in. Staff who would normally work the day but do not because it is a public holiday are generally entitled to their ordinary pay. Confirm the current entitlement against the Fair Work source.

Overtime applies when an employee works beyond the ordinary hours the award sets, such as exceeding the daily or weekly limit or working outside the spread of ordinary hours - common when a dive program runs long or weather compresses the schedule. Overtime rates step up after the first couple of hours and are higher on Sundays, and the diving allowances continue to apply. Check the exact current multipliers in the overtime provisions and the Fair Work source.

Yes. Part-time employees work fewer than full-time hours on a reasonably predictable pattern, and the award requires a written agreement recording the agreed hours, days and times, with changes also agreed in writing. Part-timers receive pro-rata leave and the same minimum rates and diving allowances as full-timers for their classification and dives. Check the part-time provisions in the award for the full requirements before engaging crew this way.

A defining feature of commercial diving pay is that allowances commonly increase with the depth a diver works, with further payments where conditions such as decompression, contaminated water or particular equipment are involved. The deeper and more hazardous the dive, the more is typically payable on top of the base rate. Map each dive's depth and conditions, then confirm the current depth and condition allowance amounts against the Fair Work source.

The award's allowances are central to how divers are paid and commonly include depth-related diving pay plus payments tied to conditions such as decompression, hazardous or contaminated water and specific breathing equipment, alongside more general allowances the award provides. Because they drive total pay and vary dive to dive, they are easy to under-apply. Identify which apply to each dive and confirm the current amounts on the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than relying on remembered figures.

Yes. Annual leave loading is an extra payment on top of base pay when an 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 employees taking annual leave; casuals do not accrue annual leave. Apply the loading when processing leave payments and confirm the calculation against the Fair Work source.

Minimum rates and the diving 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%. Because allowances make up so much of a diver's pay, you must refresh both the base rates and the diving payments from that pay period, so verify the current figures on the Fair Work Pay Calculator each year.

Yes. The support crew on a dive - including diver's attendants or tenders, standby divers and dive supervisors - are covered by MA000108 and classified at the level matching their role and qualifications, which differs from the diver they support. Each role has its own minimum rate, and some diving-related payments may apply to support roles in defined circumstances. Confirm the correct classification and current rate for each crew member against the Fair Work source.

Start by confirming each person's correct classification - diver, supervisor, standby or attendant - then build pay correctly: the current base rate, the depth and condition diving allowances for each dive, weekend and public holiday penalties, overtime and the casual loading where it applies, refreshing every figure from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate dive logs and time records are essential. Valont's award-compliant payroll service handles this classification, rate and allowance mapping for professional diving employers so the right amount is paid every cycle.