Forklift Driver Salary and Pay Rates 2026-27
No single award covers forklift work. The award that applies is the one for the employer's industry: road transport and distribution, storage and wholesale, retail, vehicle repair or manufacturing. Each names forklift work in its own words, and the minimum runs from $27.08 to $28.45 an hour for an ordinary forklift.
The employer’s industry decides the award, not the machine
A forklift driver in a transport or distribution business is covered by the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (clause 4.2), in a wholesale warehouse by the Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 (clause 4.2), at a retail establishment by the General Retail Industry Award 2020, in a vehicle repair, service or retail business by the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 (clause 4.1), and in manufacturing by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020. The storage award does not apply where the employer is covered by the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (clause 4.3(b)). Where an employer is covered by more than one award, the classification most appropriate to the work and where it is done applies (clause 4.7 of both).
The short answer
A forklift driver is paid at least $27.08 to $28.45 an hour for ordinary forklift work, depending on the award. The Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 names it most directly: “Driver of a fork-lift up to and including 5 tonnes lifting capacity” is Transport Worker Grade 3, $27.83 an hour or $1,057.60 a week, and the grade rises with capacity to $29.00 an hour over 34 tonnes. A “Fork-lift operator” in a wholesale business is $27.97 an hour, and a “forklift operator” in retail $28.45. A casual at grade 3 is paid $34.79 an hour, including the 25% loading.
Fork-lift up to 5 tonnes
$27.83
Transport Worker Grade 3, an hour
Fork-lift over 34 tonnes
$29.00
Transport Worker Grade 6, an hour
Casual, fork-lift up to 5 tonnes
$34.79
Includes the 25% loading
Take-home a year
$46,877
$1,803 a fortnight, at grade 3
These are legal minimums set by a modern award, not a market average. This site does not publish average or advertised salaries, because the number that matters on a payslip is the floor an employer cannot go below. Many employers pay more, and an enterprise agreement can set a higher rate again.
Forklift driver rates, award by award.
Every row is a classification whose award text names forklift work or licensed materials handling, with the clause under it. All are adult base rates for a 38 hour week, printed in each award’s own rates clause and schedule, with the casual rate the schedule prints. Overtime and weekend rates sit on top of these, and the Overtime Calculator adds time and a half and double time to any base rate.
Road Transport and Distribution Award, MA000038, fork-lift grades
1 July 2026 · PR799318
Schedule B grades a fork-lift driver by lifting capacity. The wording under each grade is the award’s own.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport Worker Grade 3Schedule B: driver of a fork-lift up to and including 5 tonnes lifting capacity | $1,057.60 | $27.83 | $34.79 | $46,877 |
| Transport Worker Grade 4Schedule B: driver of fork-lift with a lifting capacity in excess of 5 tonnes and up to and including 10 tonnes | $1,076.20 | $28.32 | $35.40 | $47,534 |
| Transport Worker Grade 5Schedule B: driver of a fork-lift with a lifting capacity in excess of 10 tonnes and up to 34 tonnes | $1,089.60 | $28.67 | $35.84 | $48,008 |
| Transport Worker Grade 6Schedule B: driver of a forklift with a lifting capacity over 34 tonnes | $1,102.00 | $29.00 | $36.25 | $48,447 |
Road Transport and Distribution Award, MA000038, distribution facility
1 July 2026 · PR799318
Inside a distribution facility the award classifies warehouse work by level instead. Licensed operation of materials handling equipment is a level 2 task.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distribution facility employee level 1A.1: storing, packing and retrieving goods; no licensed equipment listed | $1,057.60 | $27.83 | $34.79 | $46,877 |
| Distribution facility employee level 2A.2.1(e)(i): licensed operation of all appropriate materials handling equipment | $1,076.20 | $28.32 | $35.40 | $47,534 |
Storage Services and Wholesale Award, MA000084
1 July 2026 · PR799364
Storeworker grades for warehousing and the wholesale levels for a wholesale establishment.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storeworker grade 1, on commencementA.1.2(f)(vii): use of non-licensed material handling equipment | $1,029.10 | $27.08 | $33.85 | $45,869 |
| Storeworker grade 2A.2.2(e)(i): licensed operation of all appropriate materials handling equipment | $1,062.80 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $47,061 |
| Wholesale employee level 2A.6.2(a): indicative job title "Fork-lift operator" | $1,062.80 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $47,061 |
General Retail Industry Award, MA000004
1 July 2026 · PR799285
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Employee Level 2A.2.2(a): indicative job title "forklift operator" | $1,081.00 | $28.45 | $35.56 | $47,704 |
Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award, MA000089
1 July 2026 · PR799369
Clause 16.3 sets a forklift driver rate by capacity, and both capacities are paid the same.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forklift driver, lifting capacity up to 4,500 kgClause 16.3. Casual figure is Monday to Friday, 6.00 am to 6.00 pm (Schedule B.2.1) | $1,062.80 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $47,061 |
| Forklift driver, lifting capacity in excess of 4,500 kgClause 16.3. Casual figure is Monday to Friday, 6.00 am to 6.00 pm (Schedule B.2.1) | $1,062.80 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $47,061 |
Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award, MA000010
1 July 2026 · PR799291
Forklift work appears among the indicative tasks of two levels.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C12 / V3A.5.3: operation of mobile equipment including fork-lifts | $1,029.10 | $27.08 | $33.85 | $45,869 |
| C11 / V4A.5.4: licensed and certified for fork-lift operations to a level higher than C12 | $1,062.90 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $47,064 |
Hourly figures are the weekly rate over 38 ordinary hours. Take-home is an estimate for a single Australian resident for tax purposes with no study loan debt and no Medicare levy surcharge, worked out 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.
Which award covers a forklift driver.
Modern awards are written for industries, so the same forklift job can sit under five different awards. The Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038) covers road transport and the receiving, handling or storing of goods in a distribution facility (clause 4.2(b)). The Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 (MA000084) covers receiving, handling, storing, packing, dispatch and wholesale sale of goods (clause 4.2), except where the employer is covered by the road transport award (clause 4.3(b)). A forklift operator at a retail establishment is covered by the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004). The Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 (MA000089) covers an employer whose business is principally vehicle repair, service or retail (clause 4.1), and manufacturing is covered by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (MA000010).
Inside the road transport award there are two routes to a forklift rate. Schedule B places fork-lift drivers on the transport worker grades by lifting capacity, from grade 3 to grade 6, and Schedule A places “licensed operation of all appropriate materials handling equipment” at Distribution facility employee level 2, which is paid the grade 4 rate. Which one applies depends on whether the work is transport work or distribution facility work, and this page shows both rather than choosing. The road transport grades also cover driving, set out on Truck Driver Pay Rates.
The storage award's full storeworker and wholesale scales are on Warehouse Award Pay Rates, retail levels on Retail Award Pay Rates, the vehicle repair driver rates on Vehicle Repair Award Pay Rates and the C-levels on Manufacturing Award Pay Rates.
Other awards can cover forklift work in their own industries, and an enterprise agreement displaces the award rate where one applies. Neither is published here.
Every classification in this award, including the ones this page leaves out, is listed on the Road Transport Award Pay Rates page.
What $27.83 an hour leaves on a payslip.
A full-time week at the Transport Worker Grade 3 rate is $1,057.60 before tax. The ATO weekly withholding schedule for 2026-27 takes $156.00 from it when the tax-free threshold is claimed, so $901.60 reaches your account. Paid fortnightly, it is $1,803.20.
| 38 hours a week | Gross a week | Tax withheld | Take-home a week | Take-home a fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time$27.83 an hour | $1,057.60 | $156.00 | $901.60 | $1,803.20 |
| Casual, same hours$34.79 an hour | $1,322.02 | $242.00 | $1,080.02 | $2,160.04 |
Withholding is the payslip figure, not the year’s tax: the schedule rounds each pay to the dollar and leaves offsets to the tax return, which is why it differs a little from the take-home a year above. Super is paid on top. For a different number of hours, the Weekly Pay Calculator opens with $27.83 and 38 hours filled in, and the Overtime Calculator adds hours at time and a half and double time to the same rate, before any award-specific overtime rules.
Where these figures come from.
Provenance
Verified- Award
- Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799318, PR799475
- Retrieved
- 9 September 2026
- Ordinary hours
- 38 a week
- Also from
- Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 (MA000084)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799364, PR799519
- Retrieved
- 9 September 2026
- Also from
- General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799285, PR799443
- Retrieved
- 6 September 2026
- Also from
- 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
- Also from
- Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 (MA000089)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799369
- Retrieved
- 19 September 2026
Every rate above was read from the award text at the Fair Work award library and 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 figure for part of the period.
The road transport, storage, retail and manufacturing figures were read from each award by this site’s extractor and cross-checked against the award’s own rates schedule. The vehicle repair figures were read from clause 16.3 and Schedule B of MA000089 and matched to the cent. Retrieved dates are shown against each award above.
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.
Enterprise agreements
A distribution centre or warehouse may pay under a registered agreement, which sets its own rates. None is published here.
Penalty rates, shift and overtime
Weekend, public holiday, shift and overtime rates are set by each award and are not in these tables.
Allowances
Leading hand, first aid and other allowances each award sets are not added to any rate here.
Junior rates
Each award sets its own junior percentages. They are on the award pages, not here.
Awards not shown
Forklift work in other industries can fall under another award. This page publishes the five above only.
Market or advertised pay
This page publishes award minimums. It is not an average, a median, or what a given employer offers.
Forklift Driver Salary questions, answered.
How much does a forklift driver earn in Australia?
At least $27.08 to $28.45 an hour for ordinary forklift work, depending on the award that covers the employer, which is $53,513 to $56,212 a year full-time before tax. Under the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020, the award with a scale set by lifting capacity, a driver of a fork-lift up to 5 tonnes is Transport Worker Grade 3, $27.83 an hour or $1,057.60 a week, rising to $29.00 at Transport Worker Grade 6 for a fork-lift over 34 tonnes. Those are legal minimums for a 38 hour week. Many employers pay more, and an enterprise agreement can set a higher rate again.
What is the hourly rate for a forklift operator?
$27.97 an hour in a wholesale business, where the Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 lists "Fork-lift operator" as an indicative Wholesale employee level 2 title, and $28.45 an hour in retail, where the General Retail Industry Award 2020 lists "forklift operator" at Retail Employee Level 2. In a road transport or distribution business it is $27.83 at grade 3 for a fork-lift up to 5 tonnes, and in a vehicle repair, service or retail business clause 16.3 of the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 sets $27.97 whatever the lifting capacity. Each is the weekly rate over 38 ordinary hours.
What is the casual rate for a forklift driver?
A casual is paid the hourly rate plus a 25% loading. At Transport Worker Grade 3 that is $34.79 an hour, and as a Wholesale employee level 2 it is $34.96. Under the Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 the casual rate depends on the time of day: $34.96 Monday to Friday between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm. Each award prints these figures in its own schedule, so none is worked out here.
Does a bigger forklift pay more?
Only under the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020. Its Schedule B moves the driver up a grade as lifting capacity rises: grade 3 up to 5 tonnes, $27.83 an hour; grade 4 over 5 and up to 10 tonnes, $28.32; grade 5 over 10 and up to 34 tonnes, $28.67; grade 6 over 34 tonnes, $29.00. The Vehicle Repair, Services and Retail Award 2020 names two capacities, up to and over 4,500 kg, and pays both $27.97. The storage, retail and manufacturing awards do not grade by capacity at all.
Does a forklift licence change the award rate?
In the storage and manufacturing awards it can. The Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 puts "use of non-licensed material handling equipment" at Storeworker grade 1, $27.08 an hour on commencement, and "licensed operation of all appropriate materials handling equipment" at grade 2, $27.97. The Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 puts licensed operation at Distribution facility employee level 2, $28.32. In manufacturing, operating mobile equipment including fork-lifts is an indicative task at C12, $27.08, and being licensed and certified for fork-lift operations to a level higher than C12 is one at C11, $27.97.
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