This article provides guidelines about when to use the different work types and tags that are included as part of the pre-built Road Transport and Distribution award 2020 (MA000038) package. For further information about the Road Transport and Distribution award 2020, refer to Road Transport and Distribution Award.
The template also combines this award with the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) award 2020 (MA000039). For further information about the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) award, refer to Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award.
Key updates
Select the current financial year tab to see award updates for the 2024/25 financial year, while all previous updates before this time you can find in the historical financial years tab.
11st
In accordance with award clause 16.2(e), as meal allowance is paid only when employees "work overtime for 2 continuous hours or more", we have updated and added new rules relating to paying meal allowance across all rule sets to ensure correct interpretation.
For example, where an employee works from 5:00 AM to 3:30 PM, the overtime is split into 30 minutes in the morning and 1 hour and 30 minutes in the afternoon. While the total overtime is 2 hours, it does not satisfy the condition of being "continuous hours", so meal allowance would not be paid.
Alternatively, where an employee works from 3:00 AM to 12:00 PM, the total overtime is 2 hours and 30 minutes of continuous overtime in the morning, making the employee eligible to be paid the meal allowance.
21st
We have made several updates to enhance the accuracy and alignment of the award:
- Rule: LD: 23.2(b)(ii) Additional annual leave loading
- The rule has been revised to include a multiplier per clause 20.2(a)(ii) for the Permanent Employees - Short and Long Distance Operations rule set.
- Employees or administrators must select the "Long Distance Job" shift condition on the same timesheet where Annual Leave is recorded to qualify for the allowance. This shift condition is automatically enabled for all employees.
- The pay category Leave Loading (additional long distance award) has been renamed to "Additional Loading - Long Distance Job" and enabled into the pay rate templates for Permanent Long Distance Worker Grades 1 through 9.
- Rule: LD: 14.2(c) Living away from home travel time allowance
- The rule has been revised to cap the allowance to a maximum of one unit per day, per clause 18.3(c)(i) (Long Distance Operations) for both Permanent Employees - Short and Long Distance Operations and Casual Employees - Short and Long Distance Operations rule set.
- Special vehicle allowances
- Per clause 19.3(b), Transport Worker Grade 7 will receive an additional all-purpose allowance for driving a low loader when transporting each additional complete tonne over 43 tonnes GCM. The base rate for permanent and casual "Transport Worker Grade 7B (49 tonnes)" in the pay rate templates has been adjusted to include this all-purpose special vehicle allowance.
- Pay Condition Rule Name
- The pay condition Casual Employees has been renamed to "Casual Employees - Short Distance Operations" for consistency.
8th
All pay rate templates have been updated to fix the super rate for "Permanent- Per km driving rate" and "Permanent - per km driving rate - Good Friday and Christmas Day" pay categories.
1st
We have updated the award to reflect the Fair Work Commission's National Minimum Wage increase detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2023-24 decision and also includes updates to expense-related allowances. You can find more information on the Determinations for MA000038 here and here, and for MA000039 here and here.
These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after the 1st July 2024. 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 2024.
All rule sets have been updated to include a rule for Paid Family Domestic Violence Leave.
2nd
We have made some updates to the award to ensure that the rules for Afternoon and Night shifts are applied correctly, as per clause 22.1.
Additionally, we have updated the rules for Short and Long Distance Operations, as well as the Pay rate templates to align with the Fair Work cents-per-kilometre method. As part of these changes, we have introduced the following:
- New Work Type: Long distance trips beyond 2,850km - kilometres travelled
- New Pay Categories:
- Per km driving rate beyond 2,850km
- Per km driving rate beyond 2,850km - Good Friday & Christmas Day
- Per km driving rate beyond 2,850km - Public Holiday
The pay rate templates for Grade 4 and Grade 9 permanent employees under Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award 2020 for Grade 4 and 9 has been updated to reflect the correct rate for "per km driving rate".
1st
From 1 August, all employees are entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year. The (Unpaid) Family and Domestic Violence Leave configuration settings under awards have been updated - the leave category is disabled from award leave allowance templates, and the work type is not enabled automatically for all employees. Please ensure that employees no longer use the unpaid leave category or work type.
1st
We have updated the award to reflect the Fair Work Commission’s National Minimum Wage increase detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2022-23 decision and includes updates to expense-related allowances. You can find information on the Determinations here and here. These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after the 1st July 2023.
Please install these updates after you have finalised your last pay run before the first full pay period beginning on or after the 1st of July 2023. We have also updated the Community Service Leave category to make sure it pays at base rate.
We have updated the pay conditions rule sets for Casual Employees, Casual Oil Distribution Employees, and Casual Short and Long Distance Operations to make sure that the Public Holiday Overtime pay categories will apply with the correct penalty rates.
We have updated the award to reflect changes made as part of the Fair Work Decision regarding Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave. Further information on what changes have been applied to the platform and what you should be aware of can be found within this article.
We have created the following new categories:
- New Leave Category: Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave.
- New Pay Category: Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave.
- New Work Type: Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave.
We have updated the Leave Allowance Templates to disable the existing unpaid Family and Domestic Violence and we have enabled the new Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave. We also updated any impacted rule conditions.
As part of Fair Work ruling, an employee must be paid their full pay rate; this includes their base rate plus any incentive-based payments and bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates, and any other separately identifiable amount.
The pay condition rule set for Permanent Employees - Short and Long Distance Operations has been updated to ensure that the corresponding overtime rate for shift workers is applied when majority of the shift falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday as per clause 22.8 of the award.
The award has been updated in line with the ATO's requirements for STP Phase 2 reporting. The reporting of gross earnings is now being disaggregated into distinguishable categories. Pay Category payment classifications have been updated in line with the ATO specification categories found here. For further information please see our STP support article.
The award has been updated to reflect the Fair Work Commission’s National Minimum Wage increase of 2.5% detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2020-21 decision. This also includes updates to expense-related allowances. Information on the Determinations can be found here, here, here and here.
These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2021. Please install these updates AFTER you have finalised your last pay run prior to the first full pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2021.
Updates have also been made to the Leave Category Family & Domestic Violence Leave, so that the balance is displayed in days instead of hours in line with the National Employment Standards.
Once the update is installed, all employees' FDV leave balances will be displayed in days, not hours. This will mean that an employee’s balance may now show as 38 days. For further instruction on how to correct the balance, please see How to Fix Family & Domestic Violence Leave Balance Data.
This update is to ensure that any new installs of this award conducted since 1 July are now captured with the SG increase from 9.5% to 10% for all pay categories. If you have installed this award between 1 July 2021 to 8 July 2021 for the first time, please ensure you select "NO" to preserve custom pay categories. If you were using this award prior to 1 July 2021, then you do not need to select "NO." Further information can be found in Incorrect SG rate used in pay runs article here.
The award, as part of Group 2 awards, has been updated to reflect the Fair Work Commission’s National Minimum Wage increase of 1.75% detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2019-20 decision. This also includes updates to expense-related allowances. Information on the Determinations for MA000038 can be found here and here. Information on the Determinations for MA000039 can be found here and here.
These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 November 2020. Please install these updates AFTER you have finalised your last pay run prior to the first full pay period commencing on or after 1 November 2020.
The award has been updated to reflect the High Court's decision on the accrual of personal/carer's leave, which overturns the decision made by the Full Federal Court of Australia, with personal/carer's leave being calculated on working days, not hours. Information on the decision can be found here.
As such, we have removed the Personal/Carer's (10 days) Leave Allowance Templates and updated associated Employment Agreements. Please note, this update will not remove any of the above from a business where the award was already installed prior to 25 August 2020. However, any new award installs from 25 August 2020 will not display personal/carer's (10 days) leave details.
For further information on migrating from daily personal/carers leave accruals to hourly, please refer here.
The pay condition rule sets for Permanent Employees - Short Distance Operations, Permanent Oil Distribution Employees, and Permanent Employees - Short and Long Distance Operations have been updated for Clause 29 Public Holidays to ensure the public holiday for shift worker permanent pay rates are applied.
The award has been updated to reflect changes made as part of the Fair Work Decision 4-year review of modern awards. The corresponding pay rate templates and employment agreements and their naming conventions for Long Distance employees has been updated to align with Road Transport workers.
The award has been updated to reflect changes made as part of the Fair Work Decision around flexibility during coronavirus. The new schedule allows employees to take up to two (2) weeks of unpaid pandemic leave. A new pay category (Unpaid Pandemic Leave Taken), leave category and work type (Unpaid Pandemic Leave) have been created.
Also, the rule sets have been updated, where necessary, to include/exclude the work type and leave category to some pay conditions. Further, the Leave Allowance Templates have been updated to ensure this new leave category is enabled and is now accessible for employees to take this leave when required.
Further, under this new schedule employees can take up to twice as much annual leave at a proportionally reduced rate if their employer agrees. The employee's pay rate and leave balance will need to be manually adjusted to half in each pay run for the period of leave.
Due to recent changes to the interpretation of personal/carer's leave accrual under the National Employment Standards, updates have been made to the setup of the award. Further information can be found here.
A new Leave Category called Personal/Carer's (10 days) Leave has been created. Also, new Leave Allowance Templates (LATs) have been created specific to 10 days accrual per year for each state, and the LATs have been attached to the current Employment Agreements for selection options for an employee's LAT in their Employee Default Pay Run screen. Any rules impacted by Personal/Carer's Leave have also been updated with the new leave category.
Instructions on converting the accruals to the 10-day method can be found here.
Pay Rates have been updated for Casual and Permanent - Transport worker grade 7B to reflect the current rates of an employee working as a Transport worker grade 7 with a low loader driver of 49 tonnes.
The award has been updated to reflect the Fair Work Commission’s National Minimum Wage increase of 3% from its Annual Wage Review 2018-19 decision. This also includes updates to expense-related allowances. Information on the Determinations can be found here and here.
These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2019. Please install these updates AFTER you have finalised your last pay run prior to the first full pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2019.
Update to the rule set pay conditions for Casual and Permanent Employees, Casual and Permanent Oil Distribution Employees, and Casual and Permanent Employees - Short and Long Distance Operations to the automatic unpaid meal break rule. One unpaid meal break will automatically be applied after five hours and 30 minutes of work, if no break has been taken prior to this during the shift.
Update to the Employment Agreements for Long Distance Transport Workers (combined), all grades, to include the combined Pay Rate Templates allocating the correct pay rates to each worker for Long Distance and Road Transport pay conditions.
Update to the rule set pay conditions for Casual Employees, Casual Oil Distribution Employees and Casual Employees - Short and Long Distance Operations to the Apply Overtime rules for Overtime worked on a Public Holiday. The current rule 27 "Pay Overtime - Public Holiday" the rules the casual public holiday rate for the whole shift; no overtime rate applies.
The award has been updated to reflect changes made as part of the Fair Work Decision 4-year review of modern awards. The determination for the new clause in the modern award allowing employees to take unpaid leave to deal with family and domestic violence can be found here and here. Family and Domestic Violence leave applies from the first full pay period on or after 1 August 2018. Further information can be found at Fair Work.
Employees, including part-time and casual employees, are entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year of their employment. The 5 days renew each 12 months of their employment, but does not accumulate if the leave is not used.
A new leave category has been created - “Family and Domestic Violence Leave” and a new Work Type - “Family and Domestic Violence Leave taken”. The leave allowance templates and any impacted rule conditions have also been updated.
The award has been updated to reflect the Fair Work Commission’s national minimum wage increase of 3.5% from its Annual Wage Review 2017-18 decision. This also includes updates to expense-related allowances.
These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2018. Please install these updates AFTER you have finalised your last pay run prior to the first full pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2018.
Additionally, the following changes have been made as part of this update:
- The Payment Classification settings for allowance-based pay categories have been updated as per single touch payroll (STP) requirements.
- We have created a new rule - 12.4(h) Apply Overtime - Over Advanced Standard Hours - Part-Time. This rule reflects the following provisions of clause 12.4(h):
- The hours worked each day
- Which days of the week the employee will work
- The actual starting and finishing times of each day.
Previously, we could only assess the number of hours worked per week for overtime purposes using the existing Apply Overtime - Over Standard Hours - Part Time rule. Now, however, we can assess the advanced standard work hours as set up within the employee's Pay Run Defaults screen.
The rule will assess hours as follows:
- Any time worked on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday will be deemed overtime
- Any time worked before the start times on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday will be deemed overtime
- Any time worked after the end times on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday will be deemed overtime.
N.B:
- This rule only works where advanced standard work hours have been set up using start and finish times, NOT hours only
- If no advanced standard work hours have been set up for a part-time employee, then all hours will be deemed overtime.
Installing and configuring 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.
Coverage
This industry award covers employers throughout Australia in the road transport and distribution industry, defined as follows:
- The transport by road of goods, whether in its raw state or natural state; wholly or partly manufactured state, or of a solid or liquid or gaseous nature or otherwise, and/or livestock, including where the work performed is ancillary to the principal business, undertaking or industry of the employer
- The receiving, handling or storing of goods whether in its raw state or natural state, wholly or partly manufactured state, or of a solid or liquid or gaseous nature or otherwise in a distribution facility
- The storage and distribution of goods, whether in its raw state or natural state, wholly or partly manufactured state, or of a solid or liquid or gaseous nature or otherwise, and/or livestock where the storage and distribution activities are carried out in connection with air freight forwarding and customs clearance
- The wholesale transport and delivery by road of meat from abattoirs, slaughterhouses and wholesale meat depots
- Mobile food vending
- The cartage and/or distribution, in tankers, of petrol or bulk petroleum products (in the raw or manufactured state) from refineries, terminals or depots of oil companies and/or distributors
- The cartage and/or distribution on road vehicles of packaged petroleum products (in the raw or manufactured state) from refineries, terminals or depots of oil companies and/or distributors and the transport and/or distribution of petrol and petroleum products (in the raw or manufactured state) for distributors of oil companies or for contractors or subcontractors to such distributors;
- The road transport of crude oil or gas condensate
- The transport on public roads of milk and cream in bulk and the transport, vending and distribution of milk, cream, butter, cheese and their derivatives (including fruit juices, yoghurt and custard)
- The cartage by road of quarried materials.
See Section 4 of the award for more information and exclusions. The award template also combines the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) award 2010 (MA000039) so can also be used for long distance operations.
The award defines a long distance operation as follows:"Long distance operation means any interstate operation, or any return journey where the distance travelled exceeds 500 kilometres and the operation involves a vehicle moving livestock or materials whether in a raw or manufactured state from a principal point of commencement to a principal point of destination. An area within a radius of 32 kilometres from the GPO of a capital city will be deemed to be the capital city."
Special Notes
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 19.3(b) | Wage-related allowances - Special vehicle allowances |
Need to create customise rules to enable the special vehicle allowance to be added as an all-purpose allowance. |
Accessing the long distance operations pay conditions
We have created a shift condition called 'Long Distance Job'. This can either be selected when completing a timesheet by clicking on 'edit' when completing the timesheet, or it can be assigned to a location. If your locations are organised into routes, this is a simple method of ensuring the correct award is applied to that shift.
Paying drivers using the rate per kilometre method for long distance operations
The Long Distance Operations award allows a driver to be paid on a rate per kilometre or an hourly method. To use the kilometre method, use the tag "Long distances paid on a cents per km basis". Then, when entering the timesheet, select the "Long distance trips" and enter the number of kilometres. Alternatively, if the trip is done between two capital cities, there are specific work types which can be selected.
The following work types can be selected, and a number of 1 (one-way trip) or 2 (return trip) can be entered to represent the distance travelled:
| Adelaide/Brisbane (number of agreed distances) | Melbourne/Adelaide (number of agreed distances) |
| Adelaide/Darwin (number of agreed distances) | Melbourne/Brisbane (number of agreed distances) |
| Adelaide/Melbourne (number of agreed distances) | Melbourne/Darwin (number of agreed distances) |
| Adelaide/Perth (number of agreed distances) | Melbourne/Perth (number of agreed distances) |
| Adelaide/Sydney (number of agreed distances) | Melbourne/Sydney (number of agreed distances) |
| Brisbane/Adelaide (number of agreed distances) | Perth/Adelaide (number of agreed distances) |
| Brisbane/Darwin (number of agreed distances) | Perth/Brisbane (number of agreed distances) |
| Brisbane/Melbourne (number of agreed distances) | Perth/Darwin (number of agreed distances) |
| Brisbane/Perth (number of agreed distances) | Perth/Melbourne (number of agreed distances) |
| Brisbane/Sydney (number of agreed distances) | Perth/Sydney (number of agreed distances) |
| Darwin/Adelaide (number of agreed distances) | Sydney/Adelaide (number of agreed distances) |
| Darwin/Brisbane (number of agreed distances) | Sydney/Brisbane (number of agreed distances) |
| Darwin/Melbourne (number of agreed distances) | Sydney/Darwin (number of agreed distances) |
| Darwin/Perth (number of agreed distances) | Sydney/Melbourne (number of agreed distances) |
| Darwin/Sydney (number of agreed distances) | Sydney/Perth (number of agreed distances) |
Paying drivers using the hourly method for long distance operations
Alternatively to the method shown above, if you would like to use the hourly method to pay your drivers, ensure that the tag "Long distances paid on a cents per km basis" is not selected. When the employee completes their timesheet, they need to use the "long distance driving" work type and enter the start and finish time of their drive.
We have built a series of shift conditions to represent trips between capital cities. These can be selected when entering the timesheet screen, when entering a timesheet, or they can be assigned to a location. When selected, a minimum number of hours will apply. The following is a list of these shift conditions:
| Adelaide/Brisbane | Melbourne/Adelaide |
| Adelaide/Darwin | Melbourne/Brisbane |
| Adelaide/Melbourne | Melbourne/Darwin |
| Adelaide/Perth | Melbourne/Perth |
| Adelaide/Sydney | Melbourne/Sydney |
| Brisbane/Adelaide | Perth/Adelaide |
| Brisbane/Darwin | Perth/Brisbane |
| Brisbane/Melbourne | Perth/Darwin |
| Brisbane/Perth | Perth/Melbourne |
| Brisbane/Sydney | Perth/Sydney |
| Darwin/Adelaide | Sydney/Adelaide |
| Darwin/Brisbane | Sydney/Brisbane |
| Darwin/Melbourne | Sydney/Darwin |
| Darwin/Perth | Sydney/Melbourne |
| Darwin/Sydney | Sydney/Perth |
Other long distance work operation types
The following is a list of work types employees can select on their timesheet:
| Work type | Description |
| Loading/unloading on a long distance trip | Use this to record time spent loading or unloading the truck, regardless of whether hours or kilometres are used |
| Long distance trips beyond 2,850km - kilometres travelled | Use this to record trips beyond 2,850km travelled |
| Delayed due to breakdown or highway impassable | Use this to record down time due to breakdowns or impassable highways |
| RDO taken (long distance) | Use this where the employee is having an RDO |
| Travelling allowance (long distance) | Use this to record a travel allowance where required for an overnight stay |
| Travelling by sea or rail | Use this when travelling by sea or rail to a job |
Other long distance shift conditions
| Shift condition | Description |
| Driving vehicle - length exceeds the limit | Apply this shift condition when the vehicle exceeds the length permitted by law and you pay the employee under the kilometre method. |
| Driving vehicle - width exceeds 3.5 metres | Apply this shift condition when the vehicle exceeds the width of 3.5 metres and you pay the employee under the kilometre method. |
Other long distance operation employee tags
There is a tag called "Driver usually works under the long distance award". Apply this where most trips are long distances. If they are short distances primarily, do not apply the tag. If the employee normally works short distances (and the tag is not selected), they will receive an allowance when performing a long distance trip (see 'Accessing the Long Distance Pay Conditions' above).
Work types
The following is a list of work types employees can select on their timesheet.
Choose this work type when annual leave is taken.
Choose this work type when engaged in carting, loading, and/or unloading carbon black except when packed in sealed metal containers. (N.B., you do not have to select this work type if you are tagged with "Carting carbon black").
Choose this work type when engaged in carting loading, and/or unloading offensive material, as defined in clause 3 of the award. (N.B., you do not have to select this work type if you are tagged with "Carting offensive material").
Choose this work type if you are a shift worker and have not been provided with 48 hours notice of any shift change or if you have transferred from day work to shift work (and vice versa) with less than 48 hours notice.
Choose this work type when community service leave is taken.
Choose this work type when compassionate leave is taken.
Choose this work type when engaged to sell goods or articles without receipt of commission when such goods are sold. (N.B., you do not have to select this work type if you are tagged with "Driver-salesperson").
Choose this work type when engaged to drive a motor vehicle in excess of the limit in length, as prescribed by or under any State or Commonwealth Act.
Choose this work type when engaged to drive a motor vehicle in excess of 3.5 metres in width or transport a load in excess of that width.
Use this work type to represent ordinary hours, unless another work type is more specific.
Choose this work type when any unpaid leave is taken.
Choose this work type when long service leave is taken.
Choose this work type when an employee is directed by an employer to work in excess of 5 hours and 30 minutes without a meal break.
Choose this work type when personal or carer's leave is taken.
Choose this work type when an accumulated RDO day is taken.
Choose this work type when time in lieu leave is taken.
Choose this work type for payment of incurred travelling expenses.
Tags
The following tags are available for application to employees under the Road Transport and Distribution award 2010.
Assign this tag to an employee engaged in rural distribution operations where agreement has been reached to work ordinary working hours over any three consecutive days, Monday to Saturday.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) in carting, loading, and/or unloading offensive material.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) in loading, transporting and delivery of butcher’s meat from abattoirs or meat works and where such meat is to be used for human consumption where the commencement of ordinary hours are between 12:01am and 6:00am Monday to Friday.
Assign this tag to a driver permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) in a fish, fruit or vegetable store where the commencement of ordinary hours are between 12.01am and 6:00am Monday to Friday.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) to collect or pay out money, excluding non-negotiable cheques, and who is responsible for the safe custody of up to $20 collected to be paid out.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) to collect or pay out money, excluding non-negotiable cheques, and who is responsible for the safe custody of up to $1,000 collected to be paid out.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) to collect or pay out money, excluding non-negotiable cheques, and who is responsible for the safe custody of up to $2,000 collected to be paid out.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently appointed (or permanently appointed for a period of time) as a leading hand in charge of not less than 3 and not more than 10 employees.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently appointed (or permanently appointed for a period of time) as a leading hand in charge of more than 10, but not more than 20 employees.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) in driving a sanitary vehicle.
Assign this tag to an employee permanently engaged (or permanently engaged for a period of time) in transporting bulk dangerous goods or carting explosives in conformity with the Australian explosives code by public road.
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