Security Services Industry Award

If you provide security services in Australia - guarding, patrol, alarm response, crowd control or monitoring - and employ staff who are not otherwise award-free, the Security Services Industry Award 2020 (MA000016) generally applies. It covers both in-house security teams and staff supplied by a security firm. Some roles, such as office administration, fall under a different award, and guarding incidental to another industry may be covered by that industry's award, so confirm coverage for each role against the Fair Work source.

MA000016 sets minimum rates against security officer classification levels defined by the duties, skills, licences and responsibilities of each role, from basic guarding up to patrol, monitoring and supervisory positions. You assign each employee to the level matching the work they actually perform, then pay at least that level's minimum rate. Title alone is not enough; assess the real duties and licences held. Look up the current rate for the classification on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Casual security employees are paid an hourly rate plus a casual loading, in place of paid leave and other permanent entitlements. Across modern awards this loading is commonly 25%, but treat that as a guide only. Confirm the exact figure MA000016 sets, and how it interacts with shift and weekend loadings for casuals, against the Fair Work source before running pay - casual loading on top of penalties is a common point of error in security payroll.

Ordinary hours worked on Saturdays and Sundays attract weekend penalties on top of the minimum rate. As a general guide across awards, Saturday loadings commonly run around 25% and Sunday around 50%, and they can combine with night shift loadings. The security award sets its own figures, so confirm the current Saturday and Sunday rates for the relevant shift and employment type on the Fair Work Pay Calculator before processing pay for a weekend roster.

Work on a public holiday is paid at a premium under MA000016, and as a guide public holiday rates across awards can reach up to 150% of the ordinary rate. Employees who would normally work that day but do not because it is a public holiday are generally entitled to their ordinary pay. Since sites still need guarding on public holidays, confirm the current public holiday entitlement for each shift type against the Fair Work source before running that pay.

Overtime applies when a security employee works beyond the ordinary hours set by the award, such as exceeding daily or weekly limits or working outside the agreed spread of hours, which is common when a shift is extended or a relief fails to arrive. Overtime rates step up after the first couple of hours, with higher rates on Sundays and public holidays. Confirm the exact overtime multipliers for your situation on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

A broken shift is one split into separate periods of work by an unpaid break within the day, which is common in patrol and event security. MA000016 sets conditions on how a shift may be broken and provides a broken-shift allowance to compensate for the disruption. Paying only for the hours worked misses the allowance. Check the award's broken-shift provisions and confirm the current allowance on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Yes. Part-time employees work fewer than full-time hours on a reasonably predictable pattern recorded in writing, with changes also agreed in writing, and receive pro-rata leave and the same classification rates as full-timers. Casuals are engaged by the hour with a loading. Given how variable security rosters are, apply the part-time agreement requirements and casual minimum engagement carefully, and check the provisions in MA000016 before rostering.

The award provides for allowances that can include a broken-shift allowance, a first aid allowance for designated first aiders, a supervision allowance for employees in charge of others, and allowances for particular duties or conditions such as a firearm allowance for armed work and an aviation allowance for airport work. Some are paid per shift or per occasion and are easy to overlook. Identify which apply to each role and confirm the current amounts on the Fair Work Pay Calculator, as they change with the annual review.

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 ordinary rate. 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 where shift workers have a different leave entitlement check that too, confirming the calculation against the Fair Work source.

Minimum 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%. You must apply the new rates from that pay period, not the calendar date, so verify the current figures for each classification and allowance on the Fair Work Pay Calculator each year.

Crowd controllers and event security are covered by MA000016, and the award sets the relevant classification and conditions for that work. The basic crowd controller classification is experience-based rather than age-based, so no junior rates apply. Event work is often casual, late-night and across weekends, so casual loading, shift and weekend penalties and broken-shift rules frequently combine. Confirm the correct classification and the current rates and loadings for crowd control work on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.

Start by confirming each employee's correct classification, then apply the current minimum rate, the right night, weekend and public holiday loadings, broken-shift conditions and any allowances, refreshing every figure from the Fair Work Pay Calculator after each 1 July increase. Accurate records of split and overnight shifts are essential on a 24/7 operation. Valont runs award-compliant payroll for employers like security firms, mapping rosters to the correct classifications, penalties and allowances so the right amount is paid every cycle.