Professional Employees Award

If you employ professional engineers, professional scientists, or information-technology, quality-auditing, telecommunications or medical-research professionals doing professional-level work in Australia, the Professional Employees Award 2020 (MA000065) generally applies. It covers these disciplines from graduate level up. Some professionals fall under a more specific award, and genuine senior managers may sit above it, so confirm coverage for each role against the Fair Work source before setting pay.

The award sets minimum rates - usually expressed as salaries - against classification levels based on qualifications, experience and the responsibility and independence of the work, running from a graduate or entry level up through experienced professional bands. Progression through the early levels is often linked to experience and competency. Classify each professional by the work they actually do, then read the current minimum for that level from the Fair Work Pay Calculator rather than relying on memory.

Where a professional is genuinely engaged as a casual, they 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. Most professional roles under this award are salaried full-time or part-time rather than casual. Treat 25% as a guide and confirm whether casual engagement is appropriate and the exact loading against the Fair Work source.

This award is not built around the weekend penalty regime you see in retail or hospitality - it focuses instead on recognising additional hours for salaried professionals. Where it does provide for weekend or out-of-hours work in defined circumstances, penalties may apply, and as a general guide across awards Saturday is commonly around 25% and Sunday around 50%. Confirm exactly what MA000065 provides for the situation against the Fair Work source rather than assuming a figure.

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 a salaried professional who does not work the day is generally entitled to their ordinary pay for it. Because this award centres on salary and additional hours rather than rostered penalties, confirm what actually applies to your situation using the Fair Work source before processing a pay run involving a public holiday.

Rather than a conventional overtime table, the award provides for the recognition of additional hours: where a professional regularly works significant extra hours, that should be recognised, for example through additional payment or time off in lieu, so a salary does not mean unlimited unpaid work. The precise triggers and entitlements are particular to this award. Identify when additional-hours recognition applies and confirm the detail against the Fair Work source.

Yes. Part-time professionals work fewer than full-time hours on a reasonably predictable pattern, and the award requires a written agreement recording the agreed hours and pattern, 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 arrangements are common in professional and research settings, so check the award's part-time provisions before engaging staff this way.

Many employers pay professionals an annualised salary intended to absorb award entitlements such as additional-hours recognition. That is permitted, but the salary must leave the employee better off overall than they would be under the award, and it needs reviewing whenever minimums rise. A salary set comfortably above the minimum can quietly fall short after a 1 July increase. Reconcile salaries against the award and confirm current minimums on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Because this is a salaried professional award rather than a rostered-work award, it does not carry the long list of shift and trade allowances some industries have. Where the award does provide for particular payments or arrangements, they should be applied in addition to the minimum salary. Rather than assuming, identify which provisions apply to your professionals and confirm any current amounts on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

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. Note that some salary arrangements account for leave loading, so check how it is treated, and confirm the calculation against the Fair Work source.

Minimum salaries 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%. Apply increases from the correct pay period, not the calendar date, and importantly re-check annualised salaries each July against the new minimums for each classification on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

The award covers professional engineers and professional scientists, and information-technology, quality-auditing, telecommunications and medical-research professionals, performing genuinely professional-level work in those fields. Whether a particular role qualifies turns on the nature of the duties, not just the job title. Some professionals are covered by a more specific award instead. If a role sits on the boundary, confirm coverage against the award definitions and the Fair Work source.

Start by confirming each professional's correct classification by qualifications and experience, then check that their salary meets the current minimum, apply the award's recognition of additional hours where regular long weeks occur, and re-check annualised salaries against the new minimums after each 1 July increase using the Fair Work Pay Calculator. Keeping records of hours worked helps demonstrate compliance. Valont's award-compliant payroll service handles this classification, salary-reconciliation and additional-hours mapping for employers of professionals so the right amount is paid every cycle.