Road Transport Award, explained for shift work.
Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 · Reviewed July 2026 by the MyGig compliance team
Road freight transport and the distribution operations tied to it: drivers, yard staff, and distribution-facility employees in transport-driven businesses.
Penalties and loadings to know
- Casual loading of 25% on the ordinary hourly rate
- Saturday penalties, with Sunday and public holidays higher again
- A distinctive casual overtime rule applies (overtime rates plus a fixed additional percentage, in place of the casual loading during overtime)
Roles typically covered
Casual hourly rates under the Road Transport Award
| Classification | Casual $/hr |
|---|---|
| Transport worker grade 1 | $33.59 |
| Transport worker grade 2 | $34.39 |
| Transport worker grade 3 | $34.79 |
| Transport worker grade 4 | $35.40 |
| Transport worker grade 5 | $35.84 |
| Transport worker grade 6 | $36.25 |
| Transport worker grade 7 | $36.78 |
| Transport worker grade 8 | $37.85 |
| Transport worker grade 9 | $38.48 |
| Transport worker grade 10 | $39.44 |
Adult casual hourly rates including the 25% casual loading, effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, covering all 10 casual classifications in MyGig's award engine. 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 Road Transport Award
| Min hours | Max hours | Break (mins) | Type | Paid | To be taken after | To be taken before | What the award says | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | Meal | Unpaid | - | - | “An employee must be allowed a regular unpaid meal break during the ordinary hours of work except where unforeseen extraordinary circumstances arise.” | cl 16.1(a) |
| - | - | - | Meal | - | - | - | “If the meal break is not allowed, all time worked after the starting time of the regular meal break until a break without pay for a meal time is allowed must be paid for at 200% of the applicable minimum hourly rate in clause 17.1.” | cl 16.1(c) |
| - | - | 20 | Rest (overtime) | Paid | - | Starting overtime of 2 hours or more (or as soon as practicable after) | “An employee required to work overtime for 2 hours or more after working ordinary hours must be allowed a paid break of 20 minutes before commencing overtime work or as soon as practicable after commencing overtime work.” | cl 16.2(a) |
| - | - | - | Rest (overtime) | Paid | Each 4 hours of overtime | - | “A further rest break must be allowed after completing each 4 hour period until the overtime work is finished. Any rest breaks will be paid for at the applicable minimum hourly rate.” | cl 16.2(b) |
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
“A minimum payment of 4 hours per engagement is to be paid.”
cl 11.3“The ordinary hours of work must not exceed 8 hours per day and must be worked continuously (except for meal breaks or any breaks taken for the purpose of complying with fatigue management rules/regulations).”
cl 13.5“The ordinary hours of work are to be worked between 5.30 am and 6.30 pm.”
cl 13.6(a)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: $33.59/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.
Road Transport Award FAQs
Road Transport or Storage Services: which award applies to my site?
It turns on whether the operation is transport-driven (road freight and its distribution facilities: Road Transport Award) or warehousing-driven (Storage Services Award). Getting this wrong is a common underpayment source; MyGig’s engine makes the call per site and cites it.
How does casual overtime work under this award?
Unusually: casuals receive overtime rates plus a fixed additional percentage of the minimum rate, rather than the 25% loading, during overtime hours. It is exactly the kind of clause automated award interpretation exists for.
Where are current transport rates published?
In the official MA000038 pay guide linked on this page, refreshed after each annual wage review.
General information only, not legal advice. The award itself (Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020, MA000038) 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.