This article provides guidelines about using the pre-built Award package. For further information about this industry award, refer to the Hydrocarbons Industry (Upstream) Award.
Key updates
See the current financial year tab to see award updates for the 2026/27 financial year, while all previous updates before this time can be found in the historical financial years tab.
1st
We have updated the award to reflect the Fair Work Commission's National Minimum Wage increase detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2026 decision, and also includes updates to expense-related allowances. You can find more information on the Determinations here and here.
These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after the 1st July 2026. Please install these updates after you have finalised your last pay run before the first full pay period beginning on or after the 1st July 2026.
6th
We have introduced a new suite of configurations for Salaried Employment Agreements to allow the employers to manage the salaried employees, who are under Individual flexibility arrangements, directly within the award instead of having to remove them.
This introduction, which is an enhancement rather than a legislative update requirement, includes the items below if they do not already exist within an award:
- Pay Categories (Salary and Salary - Public Holiday Not Worked).
- Leave Allowance Templates for “No loading” and “With loading”.
- Rule Set to disregard timesheets.
- Pay Rate Templates.
- Employment Agreements for all employee types (full-time, part-time, and casual).
For detailed information on the changes, please refer to our guide here.
1st
We have updated the award to reflect the Fair Work Commission's National Minimum Wage increase detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2024-25 decision and also includes updates to expense-related allowances. You can find more information on the Determinations here and here.
These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after the 1st July 2025. Please install these updates after you have finalised your last pay run before the first full pay period beginning on or after the 1st July 2025.
Install and configure the pre-built award package
For details on how to install and configure this Pre-built Award Template, please review the detailed help article here. While every effort is made to provide a high-quality service, Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for, guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness or up-to-date nature of the service. Before relying on the information, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
The award default Rule Set Period is set to Weekly that ends on a Sunday. If you follow a different work pattern or roster period, you can review and set the rule set period date that applies to your organisation.
Conditions of pay
| Clause | Conditions | |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours of work | 13.2(a) | Other than Shiftworkers: 6am-6pm, Monday to Sunday |
| Maximum hours per day |
13.2(a)
13.3(a) |
Other than Shiftworkers: Shiftworkers |
| Maximum hours over a period |
9/11.1/
23.1(b) |
Full-Time/Casual
Part Time |
| Overtime |
23.2(a)
23.2(b)
23.3(a)
23.3(b)
23.4
23.6(a) |
Other than continuous shiftworker (Permanent):
Other than continuous shiftworker (Casual):
Continuous shiftworker:
When computing overtime payments, each day or shift worked will stand alone. |
| TIL | 23.5(d) | The period of time off that an employee is entitled to take is the same as the number of overtime hours worked. |
| Annualised wage arrangement | 18 | An employer may pay a full-time employee an annualised wage. |
| Clause | Conditions | |
|---|---|---|
| Shiftwork |
24.1/24.3
13.3(b) |
Employees may be required to change shifts or change between day work and shiftwork, or shiftwork and day work. |
| Weekends |
24.4
24.5 |
Saturday:
Sunday
|
| Public Holidays |
24.6 |
|
| Exception - employee voluntarily swaps shifts | 24.7 | Clause 24 does not apply in respect of additional hours worked where an employee voluntarily swaps shifts with another employee. |
| Casual loading |
11.2(a)(ii) 23.3
|
A loading of 25% of the ordinary hourly rate. The rates for casual employees have been calculated by adding the casual loading to the overtime rates for full-time and part-time employees. |
| Clause | Conditions | |
|---|---|---|
| Auto meal breaks | 15.1 |
Other than shiftworkers:
|
| Higher Duties | 16.5 | An employee engaged for 3 hours or more per day or shift will be paid at the higher rate of pay for that day or that shift (except where the employee is engaged in training). |
| Recalled to work overtime | 23.2(d)/23.3(d) |
Other than continuous shiftworkers
|
| Minimum break between shifts |
15.4(a)
15.4(b) |
Other than shiftworkers:
Shiftworkers:
Otherwise, the employee will be paid overtime rates until they are released from duty. |
| Travelling time | 20.4(c) | Payment at the minimum hourly rate for the period in excess of 4 hours up to a maximum of 12 hours in respect of any journey. |
| Stand-down - Storms and cyclones | 16.8 | In the event of a stand-down, an employee will continue to be paid their minimum rate of pay for their ordinary hours |
| Annual Leave Loading | 25.5 | Higher of either what the employee would have earned for ordinary hours (including loadings, penalties and allowances paid for all purposes but not overtime or reimbursements) or their minimum rate plus a 17.5% annual leave loading. |
Special Notes
- Annualised Wage Arrangements
- Per clause 18, where employees are paid an annual salary, please use the employment agreement “Annualised Wage - Full Time”. Employees would be paid earnings by default and timesheet submitted for tracking purposes.
- Please refer to this article for more information on setting up employees with annualised wage arrangements.
- The timesheet should have start and end times for the rules to apply correctly.
- Leaves should be converted into a timesheet with the standard hours of work.
- Paid rest/meal breaks as per clauses 15.2 and 23.7 — Shiftworkers are entitled to a 20-minute paid meal break for shifts up to 10 hours, 40 minutes for shifts over 10 hours, and 20 minutes after every 4 hours of overtime. These paid breaks do not require clocking in or out. If the client requires break times to be recorded, they may refer to this link.
- A permanent night shift employee should have both tags: Shiftworker & Permanent Night Shift
- A continuous shift worker employee should have both tags: Shiftworker & Continuous Shiftworker
- The clauses listed in the table below were not included in the award. If you need any of these clauses, it is necessary to create or customise the award.
| Clause no. | Clause Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 13.2 | Employees other than shiftworkers |
Need to customise rules (b) An employer may agree with an individual employee or a majority of affected employees to alter the spread of hours in clause 13.2(a) provided that employees, other than shiftworkers, are not required to work more than 12 ordinary hours per day. |
| 11.4 | Minimum shift engagement - Casual |
Need to customise rules The minimum engagement for a casual employee is one day. |
| 14.1(d) | Work during non-working day |
Need to customise rules Where an employee is required to work during a period which would normally be a part of their non-working days, the employee: (i) will be paid as though each day on which they are required to work was a normal on-duty day, and will be allowed an additional off-duty day to be taken at a time mutually agreed between the employer and employee for each day worked; or |
| 16.6 | Supported wage system |
Need to create Pay Rate Templates and Employment Agreements For employees who, because of the effects of a disability, are eligible for a supported wage, see Schedule E—Supported Wage System |
| 16.7 | National training wage |
Need to create Pay Rate Templates and Employment Agreements Schedule E to the Miscellaneous Award 2020 sets out minimum wage rates and conditions for employees undertaking traineeships. |
| 19 | Composite rate instead of award provisions |
Need to create Pay Rate Templates, Employment Agreements and Rule Set. Apply only to employees who are required to perform drilling (as part of prospecting or exploration), prospecting and exploration duties. |
|
20.3(a)
23.7(a)
|
Meal allowance for overtime work |
Need to customise rules An employee will be paid a meal allowance on each occasion that the employee is entitled to a rest break during overtime work An employee may take a paid rest break of 20 minutes after each 4 hours of overtime worked, if the employee is required to continue work after the rest break. The current rules are configured to apply a maximum of two overtime meal allowances. A second meal allowance is triggered after an additional 4 hours of overtime, not for every 4-hour block. Custom rule configuration will be necessary if additional meal allowances are required, e.g., after 12 hours of overtime. |
|
30.3
30.4 |
Substitution of public holidays by agreement |
Need to customise rules
|
Work types
Work types are a description of the kind of shift you are working, and you select them when you record a timesheet. The following is a list of work types employees can select on their timesheet, and the meaning of each item.
| Annual Leave Taken | Choose this work type when annual leave is taken |
| Change to day work | Choose this work type when shiftworkers change shift to day work temporarily |
| Compassionate Leave Taken | Choose this work type when compassionate leave is taken |
| LAFHA - Remote Work | Choose this work type when an employee is required to live away from their normal place of residence |
| Leave Without Pay Taken | Choose this work type when any unpaid leave is taken |
| Long Service Leave Taken | Choose this work type when any unpaid leave is taken |
| No rest period after overtime | Choose this work type when an employee resumes work without having the 10 consecutive hours rest period (8 consecutive hours for shiftworkers) following overtime. |
| Overtime Meal Allowance | Choose this work type when an employee is required to continue working after each 4 hours of overtime and was not notified the previous day or shift, employer does not provide meal or meal-making facilities and the employee is not receiving a living away from home allowance |
| Paid Community Service Leave Taken | Choose this work type when community service leave is taken |
| Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave Taken | Choose this work type when paid family and domestic violence leave taken |
| Personal/Carer's Leave Taken | Choose this work type when personal and/or carer's leave is taken |
| Public Holiday not worked | Choose this work type where a Permanent employee is not required to work on a shift falling on a gazetted public holiday that the employee would have otherwise worked had it not been a public holiday. |
| Recalled to work | Choose this work type when an employee is recalled to work overtime after leaving the employer’s premises |
| Remote work - Travel time in excess of 4 hours | Choose this work type where the travelling time between a nominated assembly point and a workplace exceeds 4 hours at a given location |
| Stand down - Storms and Cyclones | Choose this work type for stand-down periods resulting from unsafe conditions caused by events like storms or cyclones. Employees will be paid their minimum ordinary hourly rate. |
| TIL of Overtime | Choose this work type if the employee elects to accrue time in lieu rather than be paid overtime for a shift |
| Time In Lieu Taken | Choose this work type when time in lieu is taken |
| Training | Choose this work type when an employee undergoes training |
Voluntary swaps shift |
Choose this work type when an employee voluntarily swaps shifts with another employee |
Shift conditions
Shift Conditions are another type of work type that allows employees to select multiple work types for a single day or timesheet. You can add a Shift Condition when editing a timesheet by clicking the "Add shift condition" link. Below is a list of available Shift Conditions and their meanings:
| No rest period after overtime | Select this shift condition when an employee resumes work without having the 10 consecutive hours rest period (8 consecutive hours for shiftworkers) following overtime. |
| Overtime Meal Allowance | Select this shift condition when an employee is required to continue working after each 4 hours of overtime and was not notified the previous day or shift, employer does not provide meal or meal-making facilities and the employee is not receiving a living away from home allowance |
| TIL of Overtime | Select this shift condition if the employee elects to accrue time in lieu rather than be paid overtime for a shift |
Tags
Employee Tags are specific conditions typically related to the employee’s agreement. These are often conditions negotiated and agreed between the employer and the employee, or unique characteristics of the employee’s role. Payment of these provisions is usually of a recurring and ongoing nature.
| Continuous Shiftworker | Assign this tag to an employee rostered 24/7, regularly working those shifts, including Sundays and public holidays. This tag would need to be assigned in addition to the Shiftworker tag. |
| Electrical Licence Allowance | Assign this tag to an employee who is required by their employer to hold an Electrical Technicians licence (or equivalent) |
| Leading Hand - 11-20 employees | Assign this tag to an employee appointed to be a leading hand in charge of 11-20 employees |
| Leading Hand - 20+ employees | Assign this tag to an employee appointed to be a leading hand in charge of more than 20 employees |
| Leading Hand - 3-10 employees | Assign this tag to an employee appointed to be a leading hand in charge of 3-10 employees |
| Permanent Night Shift | Assign this tag to a shiftworker employee who works on a night shift and does not rotate or alternate with another shift or with day work. This tag would need to be assigned in addition to the Shiftworker tag. |
| Shiftworker | Assign this tag to an employee engaged to shift work |
| TIL of OT | Assign this tag if an employee has agreed to have all overtime hours accrued as time in lieu of overtime |
| Tool Allowance | Assign this tag to an employee who is required to supply and maintain tools in the performance of their duties |
System limitations
Please note that rules will not be able to interpret or calculate the below clauses due to system limitations and will require manual intervention.
(ii) For the purposes of the NES an employee’s weekly hours may be averaged over a period of up to 26 weeks.
Employees may be required to work up to 12 consecutive ordinary hours (including meal breaks), provided that the number of days in a cycle on which ordinary time may be worked on on-duty days must not exceed the number of days in the cycle multiplied by 0.714, unless otherwise agreed between the employer and the employee.
In the event of a stand-down under clause 16.8 an employee will continue to be paid their minimum rate of pay for their ordinary hours in accordance with clause 16—Minimum rates for up to 5 working days.
The system cannot automatically limit stand-down pay to a maximum of 5 working days per event (e.g., per storm or cyclone).
(e) Time off must be taken:
(i) within the period of 6 months after the overtime is worked; and
(ii) at a time or times within that period of 6 months agreed by the employee and employer.
(f) If the employee requests at any time, to be paid for overtime covered by an agreement under clause 19.6 but not taken as time off, the employer must pay the employee for the overtime, in the next pay period following the request, at the overtime rate applicable to the overtime when worked
(g) If time off for overtime that has been worked is not taken within the period of 6 months mentioned in clause 19.6(e), the employer must pay the employee for the overtime, in the next pay period following those 6 months, at the overtime rate applicable to the overtime when worked.