Gardening and Landscaping Award Pay Rates 2026-27: Every Level
Minimum rates under the Gardening and Landscaping Services Award 2020 (MA000101), effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
The short answer
A gardener or landscaper at the Introductory Level is paid $25.74 an hour or $978.10 a week full-time. A casual at the same classification is paid $32.18 an hour, including the 25% casual loading. On that full-time wage, take-home pay after income tax and the Medicare levy is $44,066 a year, or $1,695 a fortnight.
MA000101 rates by classification.
All 6 classifications, with the casual rate the award publishes and what each one actually takes home after tax.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introductory Level | $978.10 | $25.74 | $32.18 | $44,066 |
| Level 1 | $1,004.90 | $26.44 | $33.05 | $45,013 |
| Level 2 | $1,029.10 | $27.08 | $33.85 | $45,869 |
| Level 3 | $1,074.70 | $28.28 | $35.35 | $47,481 |
| Level 4 | $1,119.10 | $29.45 | $36.81 | $49,051 |
| Level 5 | $1,154.30 | $30.38 | $37.98 | $50,296 |
Take-home is an estimate for a single Australian resident for tax purposes with no study loan debt and no Medicare levy surcharge, calculated with the same Wage Calculator used across this site. Superannuation is paid by your employer on top of these rates and is never deducted from them.
MA000101 junior rates by age.
The award pays a junior employee a percentage of the adult rate. The percentages below are read from the award text, and the dollar figures are worked out from the adult weekly rate. Each table says exactly how, and which of its figures were checked against rates the award itself prints.
Clause 15.2(a): Junior rates
What each percentage is a percentage of, in the words of the clause: “The minimum wage payable to a junior employee will be the percentage of the adult rate prescribed for the classification in which the employee is employed as set out in the following table:”
| Age | Percentage of adult rate |
|---|---|
| Under 18 years | 70% |
| 18 years | 80% |
| 19 years | 90% |
| 20 years | 100% |
| Classification | Under 1870% | 1880% | 1990% | 20100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introductory Level | $18.02$684.70 a week | $20.59$782.50 a week | $23.17$880.30 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| Level 1 | $18.51$703.40 a week | $21.16$803.90 a week | $23.80$904.40 a week | $26.44$1,004.90 a week |
| Level 2 | $18.96$720.40 a week | $21.67$823.30 a week | $24.37$926.20 a week | $27.08$1,029.10 a week |
| Level 3 | $19.80$752.30 a week | $22.63$859.80 a week | $25.45$967.20 a week | $28.28$1,074.70 a week |
| Level 4 | $20.62$783.40 a week | $23.56$895.30 a week | $26.51$1,007.20 a week | $29.45$1,119.10 a week |
| Level 5 | $21.26$808.00 a week | $24.30$923.40 a week | $27.34$1,038.90 a week | $30.38$1,154.30 a week |
Each cell is the hourly rate, with the full-time weekly rate beneath it. The award prints the percentages. The dollar figures are worked out from them, as follows.
Each weekly figure is the adult weekly rate multiplied by the percentage, rounded to the nearest 10 cents as clause 15.2(a) says: “The wage payable to a junior will, in the case of a weekly employee, be calculated to the nearest $0.10, and in the case of an hourly employee, be calculated to the nearest cent.” Each hourly figure is that weekly figure divided by the 38 ordinary hours in a full-time week, rounded to the nearest cent.
Every figure in this table matches the award. 18 of the 24 junior rates are printed in Schedule B of the award, and each printed figure agrees to the cent. The 6 at 100% are the adult rate itself, and each one equals it.
Where these figures come from.
Provenance
Verified- Award
- Gardening and Landscaping Services Award 2020 (MA000101)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799381, PR799536
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-09
- Cross-checked
- 6 of 6 rates against Schedule B
Every rate above was read from the award text at the Fair Work award library and then checked a second time against Schedule B of the same award, which republishes the hourly rates. Casual rates are the award’s own published figures rather than our multiplication, because the award rounds differently from a calculator. The junior percentages were read from the award in the same way. The junior dollar figures are worked out from them, and each junior table says which of its figures were checked against rates the award itself prints. Nothing here is copied from another pay site.
What this page does not cover.
Listed as plainly as what it does, because a rate page that hides its gaps is how the wrong number ends up on a payslip.
Penalty rates
Overtime, weekend and public holiday work is paid at a higher rate set separately in the award.
Junior casual and penalty rates
The junior figures on this page are ordinary-hours minimums. Casual loading, weekend, public holiday and overtime rates for juniors are not worked out here.
Apprentice rates
The award sets a separate apprentice scale, which is set out by year on the Apprentice Landscaper Wages page.
Allowances
The award sets allowances on top of these rates. None of them is published here.
Other awards
Farm, orchard and nursery growing work is generally covered by a different award, at different rates.
Classification definitions
The award sets a level by the work done and the qualifications held, not by the job title. This page publishes the rates, not the level test.
Gardening and Landscaping Award Pay Rates questions, answered.
What is the award rate for a gardener?
Under the Gardening and Landscaping Services Award 2020, a gardener or landscaper at the Introductory Level is paid $25.74 an hour, $978.10 a week for a full-time employee, from 1 July 2026. The scale runs to $30.38 an hour at Level 5. A casual starts at $32.18 an hour, which includes the 25% casual loading.
What is the minimum wage for landscaping?
The floor under this award is $25.74 an hour, $978.10 a week full-time, at the Introductory Level. Above it the award sets 5 further levels, to $30.38 an hour at Level 5. Where an award covers the work, its rate is the legal minimum for that classification, and an employer may not lawfully pay below it. An apprentice is paid on the award's separate apprentice scale, set out by year on Apprentice Landscaper Wages.
What are the horticulture award pay rates for 2026?
They are set by a different award and are not published on this page. This award covers gardening, landscaping and grounds maintenance services. Production horticulture, meaning farm, orchard and nursery growing work, is generally covered by the Horticulture Award instead, which carries its own classifications and its own rates. Which award applies is the question to settle first, because the classification decides the rate.
What are the pay rates for the gardening and landscaping services award 2020 classifications?
All 6 of them are in the table above, from $978.10 a week at the Introductory Level to $1,154.30 a week at Level 5, each with its hourly rate, the award's published casual rate and take-home pay after tax. Every figure was read from the award text and checked a second time against Schedule B.
Do these rates include travel time or penalty rates?
No. These are ordinary-hours minimum rates. Overtime, weekend and public holiday work are paid at a higher rate set separately in the award, and any allowance the award sets for travel, vehicles or tools is separate again. None of that is published on this page.
When do the gardening award rates change?
Award rates change from the first full pay period on or after 1 July each year, following the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review. The rates on this page take effect from 1 July 2026 and were read from the award consolidated to 1 July 2026.
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