Manufacturing Award, explained for shift work.
Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 · Reviewed July 2026 by the MyGig compliance team
Manufacturing, engineering, and associated production and technical occupations: the "C-scale" classification structure many other instruments reference.
Penalties and loadings to know
- Casual loading of 25% on the ordinary hourly rate
- Afternoon and night shift loadings
- Saturday penalties, Sunday higher, public holidays higher again
- Overtime at time-and-a-half then double time
Roles typically covered
Casual hourly rates under the Manufacturing Award
| Classification | Casual $/hr |
|---|---|
| Technical field - No qualification - 0 years of relevant work experien | $31.53 |
| C14 - Engineering/manufacturing employee - level I | $32.18 |
| C13 - Engineering/manufacturing employee - level II | $33.05 |
| Advanced Certificate or National Diploma - 0 years of relevant work ex | $33.16 |
| Technical field - No qualification - 1 year of relevant work experienc | $33.41 |
| Associate Diploma or National Advanced Diploma - 0 years of relevant w | $33.51 |
| C12 - Engineering/manufacturing employee - level III | $33.85 |
| C11 - Engineering/manufacturing employee - level IV | $34.96 |
| C11 - Laboratory tester | $34.96 |
| Technical field - No qualification - 2 years of relevant work experien | $36.08 |
| Advanced Certificate or National Diploma - 1 year of relevant work exp | $36.61 |
| Associate Diploma or National Advanced Diploma - 1 year of relevant wo | $36.78 |
Adult casual hourly rates including the 25% casual loading, effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Showing the 12 lowest-paid of 35 casual classifications in MyGig's award engine; the official pay guide has the full set. Source: MyGig award engine, built from Fair Work Commission pay guides. Penalties, overtime, and allowances apply on top per the award.
Free download:the 2026 Casual Rates Card puts every award’s entry casual rate on one printable sheet.
Get the rates cardBreaks under the Manufacturing Award
| Min hours | Max hours | Break (mins) | Type | Paid | To be taken after | To be taken before | What the award says | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | Meal | - | - | - | “Subject to clause 18.1, an employee must work during meal breaks at the rate of pay applying to the employee immediately prior to the scheduled meal break whenever instructed to do so for the purpose of making good any breakdown of plant or for routine maintenance of plant which can only be done while the plant is idle.” | cl 18.5(a) |
| - | - | 20 | Rest (overtime) | Paid | Each 4 hours of overtime | - | “An employee working overtime must be allowed a rest break of 20 minutes without deduction of pay after each 4 hours of overtime worked if the employee is to continue work after the rest break.” | cl 32.11(b) |
| - | - | 20 | Rest (overtime) | Paid | - | Starting overtime of more than 1.5 hours | “Where overtime is to be worked immediately after the completion of ordinary hours on a day or shift and the period of overtime is to be more than 1.5 hours, an employee, before starting the overtime, is entitled to a rest break of 20 minutes to be paid at the rate of pay applying to the employee immediately prior to the scheduled meal break.” | cl 32.11(d) |
| 5+ | - | - | Meal | - | - | 5 hours of work is exceeded | “The ordinary hours will be worked continuously except for meal breaks at the discretion of the employer. An employee will not be required to work for more than 5 hours without a break for a meal.” | cl 50.2(d) |
Quoted from the award text published by Fair Work, as at 20 August 2026. Clause numbers are the award’s own. The quoted words are the award’s. The structured columns are MyGig’s transcription of the quoted sentence in the same row, and a dash means the sentence does not state that value. Breaks vary with shift length, roster and agreement, so read the clause in full before relying on any row.
Span of hours
“On each occasion a casual employee is required to attend work the employee must be paid for a minimum of 4 consecutive hours’ work.”
cl 11.2 (the clause continues)“The ordinary hours of work are to be worked continuously, except for meal breaks, at the discretion of the employer between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm. The spread of hours (6.00 am to 6.00 pm) may be moved up to one hour forward or one hour back by agreement between an employer and:”
cl 17.2(d)Quoted from the award text published by Fair Work, as at 20 August 2026. Clause numbers are the award’s own.
Current minimum rates
Entry-level adult casual: $32.18/hr as at 1 July 2026, from MyGig's award engine (the same data that prices every shift). Award rates change with every annual wage review (first full pay period on or after 1 July). For the full classification tables, use the official pay guide, or let MyGig apply them for you: every shift estimate uses current rates, penalties included, clause cited.
Manufacturing Award FAQs
What does C14 or C10 mean?
They are classification grades on the Manufacturing Award’s C-scale: C14 is the entry level and C10 is the qualified tradesperson benchmark that many other pay structures reference.
Do shift workers in manufacturing get loadings?
Yes: afternoon and night shift loadings apply, plus weekend and public holiday penalties, per the award tables.
Where are the current C-scale rates?
In the official MA000010 pay guide linked on this page, updated each 1 July.
General information only, not legal advice. The award itself (Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020, MA000010) and the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay tools are the authoritative sources: read the award. Back to all award guides or MyGig compliance & EOR.
Stop interpreting awards by hand.
MyGig employs your casual workers as EOR and applies this award automatically: rates, loadings, penalties, and super, with the clause cited.