To understand some of the key terms used in most Queensland awards displayed on our Awards Online pages, refer to the following topics:
Wageline and the Department of Justice and Attorney-General are not responsible for the content of any particular award. If you want further information about how the content of an award is determined, please read What is an Award?
The information outlined on the Wageline website applies to employees and employers who are under State industrial relations jurisdiction. Since the commencement of the federal government's workplace relations laws on 27 March 2006, employers who are constitutional corporations (including a financial or trading corporation - generally Pty Ltds or Limiteds) and their employees are now covered under federal industrial relations jurisdiction.
These employees and employers should contact the Queensland Workplace Rights hotline on 1300 737 841 for further information and assistance on the laws or refer to this Department's web page on how federal workplace laws will affect you.
The majority of employees in Queensland have their employment covered by a state award or agreement of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC).
Generally, an award comes about through negotiations between unions on behalf of employees and employer organisations on behalf of employers. The QIRC has the power to make awards setting fair and reasonable conditions of employment for employees in Queensland.
The QIRC can make an award upon the application of an employer, a union or employer association registered under the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (PDF, 1.9 mB), (the Act) the Queensland Minister for Justice and Attorney-Genral, or on its own initiative. It has the power to make an award in the course of an arbitration to resolve an industrial dispute.
Queensland awards are 'common rule' awards, which mean that an award will apply to employers and employees automatically, whether or not they were aware of the award, or agree with the conditions of employment contained in it. All awards contain clauses dealing with 'application' or 'award coverage' and 'definitions' or 'classification'. These clauses will set out the type of work, industries, employers or areas where the award applies. Refer to key terms used on awards on this web page for more details.
The employment conditions set out in a state award are legal entitlements enforceable under the Act.
There are over 300 state awards in operation throughout Queensland. A Queensland state award may apply to:
Common state awards apply in the clerical, retail, building construction, retail take-away food, restaurant, transport, nursing, hairdressing, plant nursery and wholesale warehouse industries.
An award is legally binding on all the employers and employees undertaking the work covered by the award, whether or not they were party to the making of the award.
All awards displayed on the Wageline site are current and contain the latest rates of pay and employment conditions. From time to time the QIRC makes amendments to awards that may have an operative date prior to the date the amendment is published in the Queensland Government Industrial Gazette. Employers are required to back pay employees for any variations to wages and conditions from the amendments operative date.
The following information will assist you to successfully navigate the online awards:
The table of contents represents the arrangement of the award, clause by clause. Each clause is shown as a hyperlink. To visit the desired clause, hold your shift key down and simultaneously click on the link provided. A new window will be launched. You can go back to the awards arrangement by:
Hint: Occasions may arise where it is necessary to read two or more clauses or awards simultaneously (e.g. hours of work and overtime clauses). You can rearrange your screen viewers more efficiently by opening both clauses and tiling windows vertically.
To view any open windows side by side, right-mouse click an empty part of the taskbar (the bar at the bottom of your screen), and click either Tile Windows Horizontally or Tile Windows Vertically. To cancel tiling right-mouse click on the taskbar and select 'Undo Tile'.
This clause states who is and who is not covered by a particular award. This clause may also be called 'Application'. In Queensland different awards may apply to specific classes of workers; an industry; a single employer, or either to the whole of the state or to a specified area only. If you are unsure which award applies to your employment situation, you may wish to contact Wageline.
The classification clause of an award determines the level of an employee's skills, duties, responsibilities and training for which an appropriate rate of pay level is derived.
In Queensland, most awards contain an area allowance (or divisional and district parity) that provides small additional amounts for employees employed outside the south east corner of the State. This allowance is added to the adult award rate of pay to compensate employees whose employment is based in remote Queensland districts, as defined in the award. In the award this allowance is usually set out in a separate clause to the rate of pay. These additional amounts range from 90 cents per week in the Mackay Division to $3.25 per week in the Western District of the Northern Division.
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Note: The rates of pay in the award wage summary sheets have the pertinent district allowances included in their calculation.
The wages provided in Queensland awards are expressed as gross amounts, or 'before tax'.
To determine an employee's net wage, or 'take home pay', reference can be made to the Australian Taxation Office
for their withholding tax tables.
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In Queensland different awards apply in different areas of the state. The map depicts a general indication of the boundaries of each district. You are advised to read the 'Application' clause and/or 'Area of Operation' clause within an award to ascertain the relevant district that covers your employment situation. If you are unsure which district applies, you may wish to contact Wageline. |
Awards wage summary sheets
Wageline has developed award wage summary sheets in Portable Document Format (.pdf) 
files for selected Queensland state awards as a quick reference guide for employers and employees. These summary sheets are not an award, however are an extract of commonly requested information (e.g. wages, ordinary hours, penalty rates, allowances, superannuation, notice provisions). Not all awards have a summary sheet and not all conditions of employment provided for in an award are covered in the summary sheet.
You will need an Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view and print Portable Document Format (.pdf) files.
Wageline provides information about the content of most private sector Queensland awards, as well as information about other employment condition matters. The Award Online Enquiry Service can be contacted online.
The Industrial Relations Information Service (IRIS) offers for sale current copies of individual state awards, agreements or orders of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.
In workplaces covered by an award or agreement, an employer has statutory obligation under the Act to display a copy of the award or agreement (other than a Queensland or Australian workplace agreement) at the workplace in a position where employees can easily read it.
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