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Australian Award Rate Change Index 2026

Compare recent adult base-rate changes across Retail, Hospitality, Fast Food, Cleaning and SCHADS using Fair Work Commission Pay Database figures.

This AwardGuard analysis measures recent adult base-rate movements for curated classifications across five launch awards: General Retail (MA000004), Hospitality (MA000009), Fast Food (MA000003), Cleaning Services (MA000022), and SCHADS (MA000100). Figures come from the Fair Work Commission Modern Awards Pay Database when available; rows without a live rate are shown as unavailable rather than invented.

What this index includes

  • Adult base hourly rates for curated classifications only
  • Operative (effective) dates when the live source provides them
  • Prior rate and percentage change when history is available
  • Retrieval timestamp for this page render and a stable content-reviewed date

What this index excludes

  • A complete extract of every classification in each award
  • Apprentice rates; junior age-band rates as authoritative figures
  • Casual loading, penalties, overtime, and allowances (unless they appear as separate classification rows in the source)
  • Enterprise agreements and awards outside the five launch set

Index table

Live rate-change figures are temporarily unavailable from the Fair Work Commission source. Methodology and limitations below still apply. Try again shortly, or download the JSON endpoint when the feed recovers.

27 curated classifications listed without a live rate (not invented): Retail Employee Level 1; Retail Employee Level 2; Retail Employee Level 3; Retail Employee Level 4; Retail Employee Level 5; Retail Employee Level 6; Retail Employee Level 7; Retail Employee Level 8; Introductory Level; Level 1; Level 2; Level 3; Level 4; Level 5; Fast Food Employee Level 1; Fast Food Employee Level 2; Fast Food Employee Level 3 in charge of one or no person; Fast Food Employee Level 3 in charge of 2 or more people; Level 1; Level 2; Level 3; Cleaning Service Employee; Home care employee Level 1 — aged care; Home care employee Level 2 — aged care; Home care employee Level 3 — aged care; Pay point 1 — Certificate 3; Pay point 1 — Degree or diploma.

Machine-readable JSON: /guides/award-rate-change-index-2026.json. Industry slices: General Retail, Hospitality, Fast Food, Cleaning Services, SCHADS (Social & Community Services).

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How this index is built

  1. AwardGuard analysis: curated adult base-rate classifications for five launch awards only.
  2. Source: Fair Work Commission Modern Awards Pay Database via the official API.
  3. Current rate: the operative adult base hourly rate returned for each classification when available.
  4. Operative date: taken from the live rate row; rates without an operative date are not presented as current minimums.
  5. Prior rate: the most recent prior history row returned with the current rate (when available).
  6. Change %: ((current − prior) / prior) × 100 when both values exist.
  7. Rows without a live rate are listed with dataAvailable=false; no figures are invented.
  8. Content reviewed: 2026-07-17. Retrieval/generated timestamps are recorded separately per response and are not editorial review dates.

Limitations

  • Not a complete extract of every classification in each award.
  • Excludes apprentices; junior rates are out of scope for AwardGuard v1.
  • Does not include casual loading, penalties, overtime, or allowances unless those appear as separate classification rows in the source.
  • Temporary upstream failures may omit rates for some rows while educational pages remain available.
  • Not an official Fair Work Commission or Fair Work Ombudsman publication.
  • General information only — not legal or workplace-relations advice. The applicable modern award always prevails.

Source: Fair Work Commission Modern Awards Pay Database. Editorial content reviewed 2026-07-17. Index generated 2026-08-30T23:35:02Z (UTC) — generation time is not an editorial review date.

How to cite this dataset

Suggested citation: AwardGuard, “Award Rate Change Index 2026: Five Awards”, https://awardguard.mixma.ai/guides/award-rate-change-index-2026 (content reviewed 17 July 2026; page retrieved 31 August 2026 Australia/Sydney). Source data: Fair Work Commission Modern Awards Pay Database. This is AwardGuard analysis of curated classifications — not an official Fair Work publication and not a complete extract of every award rate.

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026 · Authored by AwardGuard (organisation).

General information only — not legal or workplace-relations advice. The applicable modern award always prevails. Rates and classifications should be verified against the Fair Work Commission — Modern Awards Pay Database. AwardGuard is not endorsed by the Fair Work Commission, Fair Work Ombudsman, or NDIS.

Identifies pay and roster items to review before payroll. General information only, not workplace relations or legal advice. The applicable modern award prevails. For authoritative guidance contact the Fair Work Ombudsman or a qualified adviser.