Apprentice Wages 2026-27 by Award and Year
An apprentice is paid a percentage of a trade rate that rises each year of the apprenticeship, set by the award that covers the employer. This page reads the ten awards whose apprentice rates it can check against the figures the award prints, and says which awards it leaves out and why.
The short answer
A first year apprentice under 21 who has not finished Year 12 is paid $14.73 an hour, or $559.55 a week full-time, under five of the ten awards on this page, and up to $16.56 under the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers award. Finishing Year 12 lifts the first year to between $16.20 and $18.11 an hour. An adult apprentice, 21 or older at the start, is paid at least $23.56 an hour in the first year. After tax, $559.55 a week leaves about $526.03.
First year, under 21
$14.73
An hour, no Year 12, five awards
First year, Year 12
$16.20
An hour, eight awards
First year, adult
$23.56
An hour, 21 or over, eight awards
Take-home a week
$526.03
On $559.55, before the tax offset
Every figure is a legal minimum from 1 July 2026, read from the award text, not an average of what apprentices are paid. An employer can pay more, and an enterprise agreement can set a higher rate again.
First year apprentice wage, award by award.
The first year of each scale under the ten awards, with what a full-time week leaves after income tax and the Medicare levy. Every one of them starts from the same trade rate, $1,119.10 a week or $29.45 an hour, under a different name in each: Electrical worker grade 5 in the Electrical Contracting award, Level R6 in the Vehicle Repair award and Plumbing and mechanical services tradesperson Level 1 in the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers award, for instance. The differences below come from the percentage, from Year 12, and in the Electrical Contracting and Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers awards from allowances built into the rate.
| Award and trade | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical ContractingElectrical and communications trades, MA000025 | $16.39$622.72 a week$573.41 a week after tax | $17.97$682.76 a week$619.19 a week after tax | $25.87$982.95 a week$850.71 a week after tax |
| Vehicle RepairAutomotive trades, MA000089 | $14.73$559.55 a week$526.03 a week after tax | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after tax | $23.56$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax |
| Plumbing and Fire SprinklersPlumbing and mechanical services, MA000036 | $16.56$629.23 a week$578.29 a week after tax | $18.11$688.01 a week$623.55 a week after tax | $27.53$1,046.31 a week$893.80 a week after tax |
| Hair and BeautyHairdressing, MA000005 | $14.73$559.55 a week$526.03 a week after tax | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after tax | $23.56*$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax |
| Hair and BeautyBeauty therapy, MA000005 | $14.73$559.55 a week$526.03 a week after tax | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after tax | $23.56*$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax |
| HospitalityCooking and other trades except waiting, MA000009 | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after taxOne rate, Year 12 or not | $23.56$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax | |
| RestaurantCooking, MA000119 | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after taxOne rate, Year 12 or not | $23.56$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax | |
| ManufacturingTrades under the award, MA000010 | $14.73$559.55 a week$526.03 a week after tax | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after tax | $23.56$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax |
| General RetailTrades under the award, MA000004 | $14.73$559.55 a week$526.03 a week after tax | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after tax | $23.56$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax |
| Gardening and LandscapingGardening and landscaping, MA000101 | $14.73$559.55 a week$526.03 a week after tax | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after tax | $23.56$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax |
| ClubsCooking, and maintenance and horticulture, MA000058 | $16.20$615.51 a week$568.00 a week after taxOne rate, Year 12 or not | $23.56$895.28 a week$791.10 a week after tax | |
Hourly figures are the weekly rate over 38 ordinary hours. After-tax figures are an estimate for an Australian resident for tax purposes, full-time all year, with no study loan and no Medicare levy surcharge, worked out with the same Wage Calculator used across this site. They are what a payslip withholds against. The low income tax offset is applied at tax time instead: on $559.55 a week it is worth $700 for the year, lifting the week to about $539.49. Superannuation is paid on top by the employer. A figure marked * is worked out from the award’s rule because the award prints none; every other figure matches one the source prints.
Apprentice wages by year, award by award.
Each scale runs four years, or four stages where the award lets an apprentice move up on competency as well as time. The percentage shown is of the award’s trade rate, except under the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers award, where it is of an aggregate of the trade rate and allowances. Adult rates follow each award’s own rule, set out above its table.
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025): electrical and communications trades
1 July 2026 · PR799306
Trade rate: Electrical worker grade 5, $1,119.10 a week (clause 16.2). Junior scale in clause 16.4(a)(ii), adult in clause 16.4(b)(v). Each figure is the weekly all-purpose rate clause 16.4 sets: the percentage of the Electrical worker grade 5 rate, the full tool allowance of $22.31 a week, and the same percentage of the industry allowance ($41.41) and the electrician’s licence allowance ($40.29). In the first year that is $559.55 plus $22.31, $20.71 and $20.15. An adult apprentice gets 80% of the two shared allowances in the first year and 87% after, so the first adult year is $895.28 plus $22.31, $33.13 and $32.23. The award prints the hourly figures in Schedule B.4. The weekly figures are not printed in the award and match the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide published 7 August 2026. Travel and fares allowances are paid on top. The whole electrical scale, allowance by allowance, is on Apprentice Electrician Wages.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year50% of the trade rate | $16.39$622.72 a week | $17.97$682.76 a week | $25.87$982.95 a week |
| 2nd year60% of the trade rate | $19.55$742.79 a week | $21.13$802.84 a week | $28.90$1,098.29 a week |
| 3rd year70% of the trade rate | $22.71$862.87 a week | $22.71$862.87 a week | $28.90$1,098.29 a week |
| 4th year82% of the trade rate | $26.50$1,006.97 a week | $26.50$1,006.97 a week | $28.90$1,098.29 a week |
Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 (MA000089): automotive trades
1 July 2026 · PR799369
Trade rate: Level R6, tradesperson or equivalent Level I, $1,119.10 a week (clause 16.2). Junior scale in clause 16.9, adult in clause 16.10. Clause 16.9 prints the weekly junior rates and 16.10 the adult ones, and Schedule B.5 and B.6 print the hourly. An apprentice required to supply their own tools is paid a tool allowance by year under clause 19.6(b), which is not included here. The adult scale continues past the fourth stage at the Level R6 rate. Stage by stage, with the tool allowance and take-home pay, it is set out on Apprentice Mechanic Wages.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 or 1st year50% of the trade rate | $14.73$559.55 a week | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week |
| Stage 2 or 2nd year60% of the trade rate | $17.67$671.46 a week | $19.14$727.42 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| Stage 3 or 3rd year75% of the trade rate | $22.09$839.33 a week | $22.09$839.33 a week | $26.44$1,004.90 a week |
| Stage 4 or 4th year88% of the trade rate | $25.92$984.81 a week | $25.92$984.81 a week | $27.08$1,029.10 a week |
Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 (MA000036): plumbing and mechanical services
1 July 2026 · PR799317
Trade rate: Plumbing and mechanical services tradesperson Level 1, $1,119.10 a week (clause 18.1). Junior scale in clause 18.2(c), adult in clause 18.3(b). Clause 18.2(c) takes the percentage of an aggregate of $1,175.63 a week, the trade rate plus the plumbing trade allowance ($33.57) and the tool allowance ($22.96), then adds the full industry allowance of $41.41. An adult apprentice is paid at least the National Minimum Wage plus that industry allowance (clause 18.3(b)(iii)). Schedule E prints the hourly figures, and the weekly ones match the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide published 11 August 2026. Fire sprinkler apprentices, on their own scale, are not shown. Every year of the plumbing scale, the allowances inside it and take-home pay are on Apprentice Plumber Wages.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year50% of the aggregate | $16.56$629.23 a week | $18.11$688.01 a week | $27.53$1,046.31 a week |
| 2nd year60% of the aggregate | $19.65$746.79 a week | $21.20$805.57 a week | $27.53$1,046.31 a week |
| 3rd year70% of the aggregate | $22.75$864.35 a week | $22.75$864.35 a week | $27.53$1,046.31 a week |
| 4th year90% of the aggregate | $28.93$1,099.48 a week | $28.93$1,099.48 a week | $28.93$1,099.48 a week |
Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 (MA000005): hairdressing
1 July 2026 · PR799286
Trade rate: Hair and beauty employee level 3, $1,119.10 a week (clause 17.1). Junior scale in clause 18.1, adult in clause 18.4. Clause 18 prints weekly and hourly junior rates for hairdressing and beauty therapy apprentices, and Schedule B.5 prints the hourly again. The two trades differ only in the third year: hairdressing pays 77% where beauty therapy pays 80%. The award prints no adult apprentice figure, so the adult rates marked * are worked out from clause 18.4: the higher of 80% of the standard rate and the first year rate, then the higher of the lowest adult rate and the rate for the year. Pre-apprentice scales in clause 18.3 are not shown. Both scales, the adult rates and take-home pay are set out year by year on Apprentice Hairdresser Wages, and what a qualified hairdresser is paid at each level is on Hairdresser Pay Rate. The adult classification rates are on Hair and Beauty Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year50% of the trade rate | $14.73$559.55 a week | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56*$895.28 a week |
| 2nd year60% of the trade rate | $17.67$671.46 a week | $19.14$727.42 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week |
| 3rd year77% of the trade rate | $22.68$861.71 a week | $22.68$861.71 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week |
| 4th year (if applicable)90% of the trade rate | $26.51$1,007.19 a week | $26.51$1,007.19 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week |
Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 (MA000005): beauty therapy
1 July 2026 · PR799286
Trade rate: Hair and beauty employee level 3, $1,119.10 a week (clause 17.1). Junior scale in clause 18.2, adult in clause 18.4. Clause 18 prints weekly and hourly junior rates for hairdressing and beauty therapy apprentices, and Schedule B.5 prints the hourly again. The two trades differ only in the third year: beauty therapy pays 80% where hairdressing pays 77%. The award prints no adult apprentice figure, so the adult rates marked * are worked out from clause 18.4: the higher of 80% of the standard rate and the first year rate, then the higher of the lowest adult rate and the rate for the year. Pre-apprentice scales in clause 18.3 are not shown. The adult classification rates are on Hair and Beauty Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year50% of the trade rate | $14.73$559.55 a week | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56*$895.28 a week |
| 2nd year60% of the trade rate | $17.67$671.46 a week | $19.14$727.42 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week |
| 3rd year80% of the trade rate | $23.56$895.28 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week |
| 4th year (if applicable)90% of the trade rate | $26.51$1,007.19 a week | $26.51$1,007.19 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week |
Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009): cooking and other trades except waiting
1 July 2026 · PR799290
Trade rate: Level 4, $1,119.10 a week (clause 18.1). Junior scale in clause 19.1, adult in clause 19.5. The award prints the weekly and hourly junior rates in clause 19.1 and the hourly again in Schedule B, adult rates included. An apprentice who reaches the award’s standard of proficiency is paid the full standard weekly rate for part or all of the fourth year, which this table does not show. The waiting apprenticeship, paid in six-month stages, is not shown. For a cooking apprentice the Level 4 trade rate is cook grade 3, the first trade-qualified grade on Chef Pay Rate. Which of the hospitality, restaurant and clubs awards covers a cooking apprentice, and fourth year proficiency pay, are on Apprentice Chef Wages. The adult classification rates are on Hospitality Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|
| 1st year55% of the trade rate | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week |
| 2nd year65% of the trade rate | $19.14$727.42 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| 3rd year80% of the trade rate | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| 4th year95% of the trade rate | $27.98$1,063.15 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119): cooking
1 July 2026 · PR799399
Trade rate: Level 4, $1,119.10 a week (clause 18.1). Junior scale in clause 18.3, adult in clause 18.5. The award prints the weekly and hourly junior rates in clause 18.3 and the hourly again in Schedule B, adult rates included. An apprentice who reaches the award’s standard of proficiency is paid the full standard weekly rate for part or all of the fourth year, which this table does not show. The adult classification rates are on Restaurant Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|
| 1st year55% of the trade rate | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week |
| 2nd year65% of the trade rate | $19.14$727.42 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| 3rd year80% of the trade rate | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| 4th year95% of the trade rate | $27.98$1,063.15 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (MA000010): trades under the award
1 July 2026 · PR799291
Trade rate: C10 / V5, $1,119.10 a week (clause 20.1). Junior scale in clause 21.6, adult in clause 21.6. Clause 21.6 prints every weekly and hourly figure. Stages are reached by competency or time under clause 21.7. A Higher or Advanced Engineering Tradesperson apprentice is paid on a higher base in Stage 4 under clause 21.2, not shown, and a tool allowance paid for all purposes applies at the apprentice’s percentage unless the employer supplies the tools. The adult classification rates are on Manufacturing Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 150% of the trade rate | $14.73$559.55 a week | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week |
| Stage 260% of the trade rate | $17.67$671.46 a week | $19.14$727.42 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| Stage 375% of the trade rate | $22.09$839.33 a week | $22.09$839.33 a week | $26.44$1,004.90 a week |
| Stage 488% of the trade rate | $25.92$984.81 a week | $27.08$1,029.10 a week | $27.08$1,029.10 a week |
General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004): trades under the award
1 July 2026 · PR799285
Trade rate: Retail Employee Level 4, $1,119.10 a week (clause 17.1). Junior scale in clause 17.3(b), adult in clause 17.4. Clause 17.3 sets percentages only, and Schedule B.4 and B.5 print the hourly figures. A three-year apprenticeship uses the same percentages for its three years. The adult classification rates are on Retail Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year50% of the trade rate | $14.73$559.55 a week | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week |
| 2nd year60% of the trade rate | $17.67$671.46 a week | $19.14$727.42 a week | $27.81$1,056.80 a week |
| 3rd year80% of the trade rate | $23.56$895.28 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week | $27.81$1,056.80 a week |
| 4th year90% of the trade rate | $26.51$1,007.19 a week | $26.51$1,007.19 a week | $27.81$1,056.80 a week |
Gardening and Landscaping Services Award 2020 (MA000101): gardening and landscaping
1 July 2026 · PR799381
Trade rate: Level 4, $1,119.10 a week (clause 15.1). Junior scale in clause 15.3(b), adult in clause 15.4. Clause 15.3 sets percentages of the Level 4 rate and Schedule B.5 prints the hourly figures. Clause 15.4 fixes the adult rate for each year outright, and Schedule B.6.1 prints it. Every year with take-home pay, and when a club or building award applies instead, is on Apprentice Landscaper Wages. The adult classification rates are on Gardening and Landscaping Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21, no Year 12 | Under 21, Year 12 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year50% of the trade rate | $14.73$559.55 a week | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week |
| 2nd year60% of the trade rate | $17.67$671.46 a week | $19.14$727.42 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| 3rd year75% of the trade rate | $22.09$839.33 a week | $22.09$839.33 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| 4th year95% of the trade rate | $27.98$1,063.15 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2020 (MA000058): cooking, and maintenance and horticulture
1 July 2026 · PR799338
Trade rate: Level 4, $1,119.10 a week (clause 18.3). Junior scale in clause 18.5(a), adult in clause 18.5(e). Cooking and maintenance and horticulture apprentices share one percentage scale in clause 18.5(a), and Schedule B.6 prints its hourly figures for both. The waiting apprenticeship and fourth-year proficiency pay are not shown. The adult classification rates are on Clubs Award Pay Rates.
| Year | Under 21 | Adult, 21 or over |
|---|---|---|
| First55% of the trade rate | $16.20$615.51 a week | $23.56$895.28 a week |
| Second65% of the trade rate | $19.14$727.42 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| Third80% of the trade rate | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week |
| Fourth95% of the trade rate | $27.98$1,063.15 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
Adult apprentice wages.
An adult apprentice is one who is 21 or older when the apprenticeship starts. The Hair and Beauty, Hospitality, Restaurant, General Retail and Clubs awards pay an adult apprentice the higher of 80% of the trade rate and the junior first-year rate in the first year, then the higher of the award’s lowest adult classification rate and the junior rate for the year. The Electrical Contracting, Vehicle Repair, Manufacturing and Gardening and Landscaping awards name each year’s adult rate outright instead. The Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers award pays the higher of the National Minimum Wage plus its industry allowance and the junior rate for the year. Whichever rule applies, an adult apprentice out-earns a junior one in each of the first three years, and under the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers, Hospitality, Restaurant, Manufacturing, Gardening and Landscaping and Clubs awards the adult rate and the higher junior rate are the same in the fourth.
Every award here also protects an employee who becomes an adult apprentice with the employer they already work for: they keep the rate they were on. Most attach a service condition, six months full-time or twelve months part-time or regular casual, and the manufacturing, vehicle and plumbing awards attach none.
| Award | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical ContractingYear 1: 80% of Electrical worker grade 5, plus allowances. Year 2: the Electrical worker grade 1 rate, plus allowances. | $25.87$982.95 a week | $28.90$1,098.29 a week | $28.90$1,098.29 a week | $28.90$1,098.29 a week |
| Vehicle RepairYear 1: 80% of the Level R6 rate. Year 2: the Level R1 rate. | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $26.44$1,004.90 a week | $27.08$1,029.10 a week |
| Plumbing and Fire SprinklersYear 1: the National Minimum Wage plus the full industry allowance. Year 2: the National Minimum Wage plus the full industry allowance. | $27.53$1,046.31 a week | $27.53$1,046.31 a week | $27.53$1,046.31 a week | $28.93$1,099.48 a week |
| Hair and BeautyYear 1: 80% of the standard rate (level 3). Year 2: the lowest adult rate, Hair and beauty employee level 1. | $23.56*$895.28 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week | $27.81*$1,056.80 a week |
| HospitalityYear 1: 80% of the standard weekly rate (Level 4). Year 2: the lowest adult rate, Introductory level. | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
| RestaurantYear 1: 80% of the standard weekly rate (Level 4). Year 2: the lowest adult rate, Introductory Level. | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
| ManufacturingYear 1: 80% of the C10/V5 trades rate. Year 2: the C14/V1 rate. | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $26.44$1,004.90 a week | $27.08$1,029.10 a week |
| General RetailYear 1: 80% of the standard weekly rate (Level 4). Year 2: the lowest adult rate, Retail Employee Level 1. | $23.56$895.28 a week | $27.81$1,056.80 a week | $27.81$1,056.80 a week | $27.81$1,056.80 a week |
| Gardening and LandscapingYear 1: 80% of the Level 4 rate. Year 2: the Introductory Level rate. | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
| ClubsYear 1: 80% of the standard rate (Level 4). Year 2: the lowest adult rate, Introductory. | $23.56$895.28 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $25.74$978.10 a week | $27.98$1,063.15 a week |
How an apprentice’s pay moves up.
An employee is only paid apprentice rates under a formal training contract registered with the state or territory training authority. Without one, the employee is paid the adult or junior rate for the work. Pay rises with each year of the apprenticeship, or with each stage where the award and the training contract allow competency-based progression, which can come sooner than twelve months.
Year 12 matters under seven of the ten awards, for apprentices under 21 who started on or after 1 January 2014. Under the Electrical Contracting, Vehicle Repair, Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers, Hair and Beauty, General Retail and Gardening and Landscaping awards the Year 12 scale is higher in the first two years and the two meet from the third. Under the Manufacturing award the Year 12 scale is higher in the first, second and fourth years. The Hospitality, Restaurant and Clubs awards pay one junior scale regardless.
Time at training counts as time worked under every award on this page, and the employer reimburses course fees and prescribed textbooks. A school-based apprentice is paid the hourly apprentice rate for all hours, including off-the-job training, which for a full-time student is counted as 25% of the hours worked on the job each week. School-based apprentices move up the scale 12 months for every two years of employment, unless the award provides for competency-based progression.
A first year apprentice is paid below the National Minimum Wage of $26.44 an hour, lawfully, because the award sets the minimum for an employee it covers.
Which awards this page covers, and which it leaves out.
Covered: the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025), the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 (MA000089), the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 (MA000036), the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 (MA000005), the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009), the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119), the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (MA000010), the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004), the Gardening and Landscaping Services Award 2020 (MA000101) and the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2020 (MA000058). For each one, every junior rate was checked against a dollar figure the award prints, in its rates clause, its rates summary schedule or both, and a single cent of difference stops the data being rebuilt. Across 120 rates, 196 figures printed in the awards were matched, and 48 more in the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides for the Electrical Contracting and Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers awards, which print the weekly figures those awards leave out.
Left out: the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020), which covers carpenters, bricklayers, tilers, painters and most other building trades. Clause 19.7 pays an apprentice a percentage of the trade rate plus a tool allowance and an industry allowance, both counted for all purposes. The tool allowance runs from $9.89 to $41.22 a week depending on the trade, and the industry allowance is $67.15 for general building and construction, civil construction, and metal and engineering construction and $53.72 for residential building and construction. So one year of a building apprenticeship maps to several different minimums, and the award prints none of them for a derived figure to be checked against. This site does not publish a number it cannot check.
Also left out for now: the Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018, clauses 14.4 to 14.6), the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 (MA000027, clauses 16.4 to 16.7) and the Children's Services Award 2010 (MA000120, clauses 14.4 and 14.5). Each sets apprentice percentages, for cooking and gardening apprentices in aged care, cooking, dental technician and gardening apprentices in health, and apprentices in children’s services, without printing a dollar figure a worked-out rate could be checked against. The children’s services award also bars paying an apprentice less than an unapprenticed junior of the same age, which ties the rate to age as well as year.
For any award not here, the Fair Work Ombudsman pay calculator works out apprentice rates, and the award itself is the final word.
Where these figures come from.
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799306, PR799463
- Retrieved
- 19 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 36
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library, with weekly figures matched to the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide published 7 August 2026.
Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 (MA000089)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799369, PR799524
- Retrieved
- 19 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 24
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library.
Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 (MA000036)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 16 September 2026
- Determinations
- PR814392, PR814410
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 36
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library, with weekly figures matched to the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide published 11 August 2026.
Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 (MA000005)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799286, PR799444
- Retrieved
- 9 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 48
- Rates worked out, not printed
- 8
Read from the Fair Work award library.
Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799290, PR799447
- Retrieved
- 6 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 16
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library.
Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799399, PR799554
- Retrieved
- 9 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 16
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library.
Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (MA000010)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799291, PR799448
- Retrieved
- 9 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 24
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library.
General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799285, PR799443
- Retrieved
- 6 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 12
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library.
Gardening and Landscaping Services Award 2020 (MA000101)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799381, PR799536
- Retrieved
- 9 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 16
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library.
Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2020 (MA000058)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799338, PR799494
- Retrieved
- 9 September 2026
- Printed figures matched
- 16
- Rates worked out, not printed
- None
Read from the Fair Work award library.
Nothing on this page is copied from another pay site. Rates change from the first full pay period on or after the effective date, so a payslip covering the changeover can lawfully carry the older rate for part of the period.
What this page does not cover.
Building and other excluded awards
Carpentry, bricklaying and the other trades under the Building and Construction awards are not published, for the reasons set out above. Nor are the apprentice scales in the Aged Care, Health Professionals and Children's Services awards.
Casual apprentices
None of these awards prints a casual apprentice rate, and this page publishes none.
Apprentices who started before 2014
Several of these awards keep older scales for apprentices who started before 1 January 2014. Those are not shown.
Penalty rates, overtime and most allowances
Weekend, public holiday, shift and overtime rates, and every allowance other than the electrical ones built into that award’s rates, are paid on top and not shown.
Trainees and pre-apprentices
Traineeships are paid under the National Training Wage schedule of the Miscellaneous Award, and pre-apprentice scales are award-specific. Neither is here.
Enterprise agreements and above-award pay
An enterprise agreement can set higher apprentice rates, and many employers pay above the award. These are minimums only.
Apprentice Wages questions, answered.
How much does a first year apprentice earn in Australia?
Under the ten awards on this page, a first year apprentice under 21 who has not finished Year 12 is paid between $14.73 and $16.56 an hour, or $559.55 to $629.23 a week for a 38-hour week. The $14.73 figure is the most common: five of the ten awards start there. With Year 12 finished, the first-year range is $16.20 to $18.11 an hour. An adult apprentice, 21 or older at the start, is paid $23.56 to $27.53 an hour in the first year. These are award minimums from 1 July 2026, and an employer can pay more.
What is the adult apprentice wage in 2026-27?
$23.56 an hour in the first year under eight of the ten awards on this page, which is $895.28 a week, and $27.53 an hour under the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers award. From the second year five of these awards pay an adult apprentice at least their lowest adult classification rate, four name a rate for each year, and the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers award pays the National Minimum Wage plus its industry allowance until the junior rate passes it, so the adult rate stays well above the junior one until the final year. An adult apprentice is one who is 21 or older when the apprenticeship starts. Someone who was already working for the same employer before signing the training contract keeps the rate they were on, under every award here, and most of these awards attach a service condition of six months full-time or twelve months part-time or regular casual.
How much does a first year apprentice electrician earn?
$16.39 an hour, or $622.72 a week, for a first year apprentice under 21 who has not finished Year 12, under the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 (MA000025). With Year 12 it is $17.97 an hour, and an adult apprentice is paid $25.87. Those figures already include the allowances clause 16.4 pays to every electrical apprentice for all purposes: the full $22.31 tool allowance and a share of the industry allowance and the electrician's licence allowance. By the fourth year the rate is $26.50 an hour. Every year of the scale, what each allowance adds and take-home pay are on Apprentice Electrician Wages. The award prints the hourly figures, and the weekly ones match the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide.
How much does an apprentice mechanic earn?
$14.73 an hour in the first year for an apprentice under 21 without Year 12, under the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 (MA000089), rising to $25.92 in the fourth. With Year 12 the first year is $16.20. An adult apprentice mechanic is paid $23.56 an hour in the first year and $27.08 in the fourth. A tool allowance is paid on top where the employer requires the apprentice to supply their own tools, and it is not included in these figures. Every stage, that allowance and take-home pay are on Apprentice Mechanic Wages.
Does finishing Year 12 increase an apprentice wage?
Under seven of the ten awards on this page, yes, for apprentices under 21 who started on or after 1 January 2014. The first year rises from 50% to 55% under each of them, which is $14.73 against $16.20 an hour where the percentage is of a trade rate of $1,119.10 a week. The two scales meet by the third year, except under the Manufacturing award, where Year 12 lifts the fourth year as well. The Hospitality, Restaurant and Clubs awards pay one scale whether or not Year 12 was finished.
Can an apprentice be paid less than the National Minimum Wage?
Yes, when an award sets the apprentice's rate. The National Minimum Wage is $26.44 an hour, and a first year apprentice under these awards is paid as little as $14.73. That is lawful because the award, not the national minimum, sets the minimum for an employee it covers, and every award here sets its apprentice rates as a percentage of a trade rate, in some cases with allowances built in. An apprentice who is not covered by any award is pointed by the minimum wage order to clause 15.2 of the Miscellaneous Award 2020 instead, which this site has not extracted.
Are apprentices paid for time at TAFE?
Yes. Every award on this page counts the time an apprentice spends at training or assessment under the training contract as time worked, paid at the apprentice's rate, and requires the employer to reimburse course fees and prescribed textbooks. A school-based apprentice who is a full-time student is paid for off-the-job training time equal to 25% of the hours worked on the job each week, and moves up the scale 12 months for every two years of employment unless the award provides for competency-based progression.
Why is there no apprentice carpenter rate on this page?
Because the building award builds allowances into the apprentice rate, so one year of apprenticeship does not map to one figure. The Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020) pays an apprentice a percentage of the trade rate plus a tool allowance of $9.89 to $41.22 a week depending on the trade and an industry allowance that differs for residential work, all counted for all purposes, and it prints no apprentice figure a worked-out rate could be checked against. The Fair Work Ombudsman pay calculator gives it. Plumbing apprentices under the Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 are covered here, and every year of that scale is on Apprentice Plumber Wages.