Hospitality Industry Award 2025 Pay Rates (MA000009)

Plain-English Summary

Who does this award cover?

The Hospitality Industry (General) Award covers employees working in hotels, motels, serviced apartments, pubs, taverns, licensed clubs, casinos, catering companies, and similar hospitality venues across Australia. If you work as a room attendant, hotel receptionist, bar attendant, gaming attendant, porter, kitchen hand, cook, or any other role in one of these venues, this award applies to you. It covers roughly 250,000 workers.

This award does NOT cover employees working in standalone restaurants and cafes (covered by the Restaurant Industry Award, MA000119), fast food outlets (Fast Food Industry Award, MA000003), or aged care catering (depending on context, may fall under the Aged Care Award). If your workplace is primarily a food service venue without accommodation, gaming, or a liquor licence tied to a hotel or club, the Restaurant Award is more likely to apply. See clause 4.1 and clause 4.6 for the full coverage rules.

How classification levels work

The award has six core classification levels from Level 1 (introductory) through Level 6 (advanced), plus a separate management structure (clause 14 and Schedule A). Each level maps to a set of duties. Level 1 covers entry-level roles like kitchen hand, room attendant, and porter. Level 4 covers qualified trades roles like Cook Grade 2 and experienced bar attendants. Level 6 covers highly skilled roles like head chef and operations supervisors. Your employer must classify you based on what you actually do, not what they call your position.

Weekend and late-night work

Hospitality operates outside normal business hours, so the penalty rate structure here is different from office-based awards. Saturday and Sunday penalty rates are lower than in many other awards because weekend work is considered normal in the industry. However, late-night and early-morning loadings apply to compensate for unsociable hours (clause 32.2). Understanding these penalties is worth real money -- a Level 3 permanent employee who works every Sunday earns an extra $3,624 per year in penalties compared to weekday rates.

Classification Levels and Base Rates

All rates effective 1 July 2025. Source: Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review 2024-25.

Hourly rate = weekly rate / 38 (clause 13.1). Casual rate = hourly rate x 1.25 (clause 11.1).

Note: Managerial staff (Hotel Services Coordinator, Motel Manager) have separate higher rates defined in Schedule B. These are not listed here as they apply to a small subset of employees.

Penalty Rates

All penalties are calculated on the base hourly rate (clause 32 and clause 33).

Full-Time and Part-Time Employees

Casual Employees

Casual penalty rates include the 25% loading. For example, Sunday casual = base x 1.75 (not base x 1.25 x 1.50). The casual loading is already built into the penalty multiplier. See clause 32.3.

Worked Examples

Example 1: Casual room attendant working a Saturday

Tran is a casual Level 1 room attendant working a 6-hour Saturday shift in a hotel.

• Base rate: $23.23/hr
• Saturday casual rate: 150% = $23.23 x 1.50 = $34.85/hr
• Total for 6 hours: $209.10 gross
• Clause reference: clause 32.3(c)

Example 2: Full-time bar attendant on a public holiday

Sophie is a permanent Level 3 bar attendant who works an 8-hour public holiday shift (ANZAC Day).

• Base rate: $24.16/hr
• Public holiday rate: 225% = $24.16 x 2.25 = $54.36/hr
• Total for 8 hours: $434.88 gross
• Plus: Sophie is entitled to a substitute day off or an extra day of annual leave (clause 36.4(c))
• Clause reference: clause 36.4(a)

Example 3: Part-time cook with overtime crossing into Sunday

Carlos is a part-time Level 4 cook (Cook Grade 2) who starts work at 6pm Saturday and finishes at 3am Sunday. His agreed hours are 6pm to midnight Saturday (6 hours).

• Base rate: $24.68/hr
• 6pm to midnight Saturday (ordinary hours): Saturday rate 125% = $24.68 x 1.25 = $30.85/hr x 6 hours = $185.10
• Midnight to 3am Sunday (overtime, as it falls outside agreed hours): Sunday overtime rate 200% = $24.68 x 2.00 = $49.36/hr x 3 hours = $148.08
• Total for the shift: $333.18 gross
• Note: The overtime rate applies because the hours fall outside his agreed part-time hours. The Sunday rate alone is 150%, but the overtime rate of 200% is higher, so Carlos gets the higher rate (clause 33.2 -- pay the higher of penalty or overtime, not both).
• Clause reference: clause 33.1(b), clause 33.2

Example 4: Late-night casual shift vs standard evening

This example shows why knowing the exact time thresholds matters:

A casual Level 2 employee works 6pm to midnight on a Tuesday.

• 6pm to 7pm: ordinary casual rate 125% = $23.85 x 1.25 = $29.81/hr (1 hour)
• 7pm to midnight: evening casual rate 135% = $23.85 x 1.35 = $32.20/hr (5 hours)
• Total: $29.81 + $161.00 = $190.81 gross

If the same employee worked 7pm to 1am instead:

• 7pm to midnight: evening casual rate 135% = $32.20/hr (5 hours)
• Midnight to 1am: after-midnight casual rate 140% = $23.85 x 1.40 = $33.39/hr (1 hour)
• Total: $161.00 + $33.39 = $194.39 gross

The second shift pays $3.58 more for the same number of hours. Time-of-day penalties matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why are hospitality weekend penalties lower than other awards?

The Saturday rate for permanent hospitality workers is 125% (compared to 150% in the Clerks Award). The Sunday rate is 150% (compared to 200% in the Clerks Award). This is because weekend work is a normal and expected part of hospitality operations. The Fair Work Commission set lower weekend penalties for industries where Saturday and Sunday trading is standard. The trade-off is that hospitality workers get evening and late-night loadings (110% and 115%) that do not exist in most office-based awards. See clauses 32.1 and 32.2.

2. What is the minimum shift length for casuals in hospitality?

Casual employees must be engaged for a minimum of 2 hours per shift (clause 11.2). This is the same as the Restaurant Award but shorter than the Clerks Award (3 hours). At Level 1 casual rate ($29.04/hr), the minimum payment for any casual shift is $58.08 gross.

3. Do I get penalty rates if I work an evening shift during the week?

Yes. If you work between 7pm and midnight Monday to Friday, you receive a 10% loading on top of your base rate (clause 32.2(a)). If you work after midnight, the loading increases to 15% (clause 32.2(b)). These are permanent employee rates. Casuals receive 35% and 40% respectively (which includes the 25% casual loading). These loadings apply even if your ordinary rostered hours fall within this period -- they are not overtime rates.

4. Can my employer make me work on a public holiday?

Your employer can request that you work on a public holiday, but you can refuse if you have reasonable grounds (clause 36.3). Reasonable grounds include family responsibilities, the notice given, and whether you would receive penalty rates. If you do work, you are paid 225% for full-time/part-time or 250% for casuals. If you are a permanent employee who does not work on the public holiday, you are paid your ordinary rate for the hours you would have normally worked.

5. I work in a pub bistro. Am I under the Hospitality Award or the Restaurant Award?

If the bistro is part of a licensed pub or hotel, you are under the Hospitality Industry Award (MA000009). The test is whether your employer's business is primarily a pub, hotel, or club that also serves food, rather than a standalone food service venue. Even if you personally only work in the bistro kitchen and never touch the bar, your award is determined by the nature of the overall business, not your specific duties. See clause 4.1 and clause 4.6 of the Hospitality Award.

Check Your Rate

Working in a hotel, pub, or club? Use our free calculator to check exactly what you should be earning for every hour.

Check your pay rate now

Select your role (kitchen hand, cook, room attendant, bar staff, receptionist), tell us your employment type and when you work, and get a breakdown showing your exact rate for each part of your shift -- including the evening and late-night loadings that are often missed.

Schema Markup Suggestions

FAQ Schema (FAQPage)

Apply FAQPage schema to the 5 FAQ questions and answers above.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Why are hospitality weekend penalties lower than other awards?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Weekend work is a normal part of hospitality operations. The Fair Work Commission set lower weekend penalties (Saturday 125%, Sunday 150%) for industries where Saturday and Sunday trading is standard, but added evening and late-night loadings (110-115%) that do not exist in most office-based awards."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Table Schema (Dataset)

• name: "Hospitality Industry Award MA000009 Pay Rates July 2025"
• description: "Classification levels and hourly pay rates for hotel, pub, club, and accommodation employees under the Hospitality Industry Award"
• temporalCoverage: "2025-07-01/.."
• creator: Fair Work Commission
• license: CC BY 4.0

Breadcrumb Schema

Home > Awards > Hospitality Industry Award (MA000009)

Rates current as of 1 July 2025. Source: Fair Work Commission, CC BY 4.0. This information is general in nature and is not legal advice. Always verify rates against the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) at calculate.fairwork.gov.au.