Hairdresser Pay Rate 2026-27
Salon work is covered by the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020, which sets 6 levels for hairdressing and beauty work in one scale. A hairdresser with a Certificate III is on level 3. Western Australia is the exception worth checking before you read the table.
A Western Australian salon may not be under this award
Modern awards reach employers in the national industrial relations system. Western Australia did not refer its private sector powers to the Commonwealth, so it runs its own system alongside the national one. A Western Australian employer that is not a constitutional corporation, typically a salon run by a sole trader or a partnership rather than an incorporated company, is covered by the state system and by the Hair and Beauty Industry (WA) Award instead of by MA000005.
No Western Australian state rate is published here. Every figure below is the federal award, read from the Fair Work award library. If your salon is in Western Australia, settle which system you are in first. The test is the employer’s legal structure, not the suburb or the size of the salon, and the Fair Work Ombudsman pay calculator answers for the federal award only.
The short answer
A qualified hairdresser, one with a Certificate III in Hairdressing, is paid at least $29.45 an hour at Hair and beauty employee level 3, or $1,119.10 a week full-time for 38 ordinary hours. With a Certificate IV it is level 5, $30.89 an hour. A salon assistant or receptionist is level 1, the floor of the award, at $27.81 an hour. A casual qualified hairdresser is paid $36.81 an hour, including the 25% loading. At level 3 a Saturday pays $39.17 an hour, a Sunday $58.90, which is double time, and a public holiday $73.63. Apprentice and junior rates sit below every figure here. Junior rates are on the award page, and apprentice rates are on the Apprentice Hairdresser Wages page.
Qualified hairdresser
$29.45
Hair and beauty employee level 3, an hour
Certificate IV hairdresser
$30.89
Hair and beauty employee level 5, an hour
Casual, qualified hairdresser
$36.81
Includes the 25% loading
Take-home a year
$49,051
$1,887 a fortnight, at level 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.
Hairdresser rates, level by level.
Adult base rates for all 6 levels of the award’s one classification scale. Every figure was cross-checked against the award’s own rates summary, schedule B, so no casual rate on this page is derived. None of them includes a penalty rate, and none of them is an apprentice or junior figure.
Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020
1 July 2026 · PR799286
The award names these classifications twice over. Its rates clause calls the first one Hair and beauty employee level 1 and its rates summary schedule calls the same row Level 1, which is why two summaries of this award can look like they are describing different tables. All 6 rows were matched across both.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair and beauty employee level 1A.1: receptionist or salon assistant | $1,056.80 | $27.81 | $34.76 | $46,848 |
| Hair and beauty employee level 2A.2: make-up artist, nail technician or unqualified beautician | $1,081.00 | $28.45 | $35.56 | $47,704 |
| Hair and beauty employee level 3A.3: hairdresser with a Certificate III, or beautician | $1,119.10 | $29.45 | $36.81 | $49,051 |
| Hair and beauty employee level 4A.4: beauty therapist with a Certificate IV | $1,139.90 | $30.00 | $37.50 | $49,787 |
| Hair and beauty employee level 5A.5: hairdresser with a Certificate IV, or trichologist | $1,174.00 | $30.89 | $38.61 | $50,993 |
| Hair and beauty employee level 6A.6: beauty therapist with a Diploma | $1,215.90 | $32.00 | $40.00 | $52,474 |
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.
Hairdresser Saturday, Sunday and public holiday rates.
Clause 23 of the award sets the penalty rates and Schedule B prints them in dollars. A full-time or part-time employee is paid 133% of the minimum hourly rate for ordinary hours on a Saturday between 7.00am and 6.00pm, 200% on a Sunday between 10.00am and 5.00pm, and 250% on a public holiday. For a qualified hairdresser at level 3 that is $39.17 an hour on a Saturday, $58.90 on a Sunday and $73.63 on a public holiday.
A casual is paid 158% on a Saturday between 7.00am and 6.00pm, 225% on a Sunday at any time of day and 250% on a public holiday. Each casual percentage is the full-time one plus the 25% loading in points, so the loading is not added a second time. Before 7.00am or after 6.00pm on a Saturday, and before 7.00am or after 9.00pm on a weekday, a casual is paid 150%. For a full-time or part-time employee those times fall outside the span of ordinary hours in clause 14.4, so hours worked then are overtime, which this page does not price.
| Level | Ordinary | Saturday | Sunday | Public holiday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time and part-time · Schedule B.1.1 · 100%, 133%, 200%, 250% | ||||
| Level 1receptionist or salon assistant | $27.81 | $36.99 | $55.62 | $69.53 |
| Level 2make-up artist, nail technician or unqualified beautician | $28.45 | $37.84 | $56.90 | $71.13 |
| Level 3hairdresser with a Certificate III, or beautician | $29.45 | $39.17 | $58.90 | $73.63 |
| Level 4beauty therapist with a Certificate IV | $30.00 | $39.90 | $60.00 | $75.00 |
| Level 5hairdresser with a Certificate IV, or trichologist | $30.89 | $41.08 | $61.78 | $77.23 |
| Level 6beauty therapist with a Diploma | $32.00 | $42.56 | $64.00 | $80.00 |
| Casual · Schedule B.2.1 · 125%, 158%, 225%, 250% | ||||
| Level 1receptionist or salon assistant | $34.76 | $43.94 | $62.57 | $69.53 |
| Level 2make-up artist, nail technician or unqualified beautician | $35.56 | $44.95 | $64.01 | $71.13 |
| Level 3hairdresser with a Certificate III, or beautician | $36.81 | $46.53 | $66.26 | $73.63 |
| Level 4beauty therapist with a Certificate IV | $37.50 | $47.40 | $67.50 | $75.00 |
| Level 5hairdresser with a Certificate IV, or trichologist | $38.61 | $48.81 | $69.50 | $77.23 |
| Level 6beauty therapist with a Diploma | $40.00 | $50.56 | $72.00 | $80.00 |
Every figure is printed in the award and was matched against the hourly rate and the percentage in the same row. A Sunday at 200% is double time. The retail, hospitality and fast food awards pay 125% or 150% on a Sunday, as Penalty Rates sets out.
Which award covers a hairdresser, and where it stops.
The Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 (MA000005) is the national award for the hair and beauty industry: hairdressing and beauty work, and the employees who do it. The award sets one scale for the whole industry rather than separate hairdressing and beauty tables: 6 levels, every one of them named as a hair and beauty employee. A hairdresser and a beauty therapist are classified on the same 6 levels, and those 6 levels are the whole adult scale, so nothing in this award sits above Hair and beauty employee level 6. All 6 are listed on the Hair and Beauty Award Pay Rates page as well.
Which level applies is set by Schedule A of the award, which defines each level by the role and the qualification held. In the award’s own words, each level means:
- Level 1 (A.1): a receptionist or salon assistant.
- Level 2 (A.2): (a) a make-up artist who holds a Certificate II in make-up services (or equivalent); (b) a nail technician who holds a Certificate II in Nail Technology (or equivalent); or (c) an unqualified beautician or cosmetologist.
- Level 3 (A.3): (a) a beautician who holds a Certificate III in Beauty Services (or equivalent); or (b) a hairdresser who holds a Certificate III in Hairdressing (or equivalent).
- Level 4 (A.4): a beauty therapist who holds a Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy (or equivalent).
- Level 5 (A.5): (a) a hairdresser who holds a Certificate IV (or equivalent); or (b) a trichologist who is a hairdresser and holds a Certificate IV in Trichology (or equivalent).
- Level 6 (A.6): a beauty therapist who holds a Diploma in Beauty Therapy (or equivalent).
Hairdressing sits on levels 1, 3 and 5, and make-up, nail and beauty work on levels 2, 4 and 6. A qualified hairdresser with a Certificate III is therefore on level 3, not level 1. Read the level named on your payslip against that list and the work you are actually doing. If your payslip names no level, that is worth asking about, because the level is what sets the rate. What the beauty levels pay, with their weekend rates, is on Beauty Therapist Salary.
The Western Australian boundary in the panel at the top of this page is the largest limit on these figures, because it decides whether this award applies at all rather than which level inside it applies. Western Australia runs its own industrial relations system, and where the employer is not a constitutional corporation the Hair and Beauty Industry (WA) Award applies instead of this one, with its own rates. This page publishes nothing from it, because this site has no verified source for its rates. Everywhere else, modern awards are national instruments and there is no separate state hairdresser rate to look for.
Two other things sit outside the table. The first is the apprentice and junior scales. Both are percentages of an adult rate set in the award. The junior rates are on the award page, and the apprentice scale is on the Apprentice Hairdresser Wages page. The second is what happens when a stylist rents a chair or a booth rather than being employed. The rates in this award are minimum rates for employees, so if you pay rent to a salon and invoice for your own work, the question of whether you are an employee at all comes before the question of which level you are on. This page cannot answer it for you.
From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, the figures above are the floor. Because the increase applies from the first full pay period on or after that date rather than on the date itself, a payslip covering the changeover can lawfully carry the older figure for part of the period, which is the most common reason a July payslip disagrees with a published rate.
Every classification in this award, including the ones this page leaves out, is listed on the Hair and Beauty Award Pay Rates page.
What $29.45 an hour leaves on a payslip.
A full-time week at the Hair and beauty employee level 3 rate is $1,119.10 before tax. The ATO weekly withholding schedule for 2026-27 takes $176.00 from it when the tax-free threshold is claimed, so $943.10 reaches your account. Paid fortnightly, it is $1,886.20.
| 38 hours a week | Gross a week | Tax withheld | Take-home a week | Take-home a fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time$29.45 an hour | $1,119.10 | $176.00 | $943.10 | $1,886.20 |
| Casual, same hours$36.81 an hour | $1,398.78 | $266.00 | $1,132.78 | $2,265.56 |
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 $29.45 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
- 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
- Ordinary hours
- 38 a week
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.
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.
Western Australian state award
A Western Australian salon that is not an incorporated company sits outside the national system and under the Hair and Beauty Industry (WA) Award. This site publishes no figure from it, because it has no verified source for one.
Apprentice rates
An apprentice is paid a percentage of the trade rate that rises each year of the apprenticeship. Those rates are set out by year on the Apprentice Hairdresser Wages page.
Junior rates
An employee under 18 is paid a junior percentage of the adult rate for their level. Those junior rates are on the Hair and Beauty Award Pay Rates page, not in this table.
Overtime and allowances
The Saturday, Sunday and public holiday rates for ordinary hours are on this page. Overtime, the rostered day off rate and the allowances the award sets are not.
Whether a qualification counts
Schedule A matches each level to a role and a qualification, and this page quotes it. Whether a course you completed counts as "or equivalent" turns on your own facts, which this page cannot check.
Chair and booth rental, and market pay
These are minimum rates for employees. A stylist renting a chair is a different question again. This page publishes the award floor only: not an average, not a median, and not what a given salon actually offers.
Hairdresser Pay Rate questions, answered.
How much do hairdressers get paid in Australia?
A qualified hairdresser, one with a Certificate III in Hairdressing, is paid at least $1,119.10 a week for 38 ordinary hours under the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 (MA000005), which is $29.45 an hour at Hair and beauty employee level 3. A hairdresser with a Certificate IV is on level 5, at $1,174.00 a week or $30.89 an hour. The award's floor, $27.81 an hour at level 1, is the rate for a receptionist or salon assistant, not a qualified hairdresser. Those are national minimums and the same figures apply in every state and territory, with one exception worth checking: a Western Australian salon that is not an incorporated company may sit under a state award instead of this one. Apprentice and junior rates are lower than every figure here.
What is the hourly rate for a hairdresser?
$29.45 an hour at Hair and beauty employee level 3, the level Schedule A of the award gives a hairdresser who holds a Certificate III in Hairdressing, and $30.89 an hour at level 5 with a Certificate IV. A salon assistant or receptionist is paid the industry floor, $27.81 an hour at level 1. Each hourly figure is the weekly rate over a 38 hour week and the award publishes it as its own column, so it is not a division this site performed. Weekend and public holiday hours are paid more: at level 3, $39.17 an hour on a Saturday, $58.90 on a Sunday and $73.63 on a public holiday.
What is the casual rate for a hairdresser?
A casual is paid the rate for their level plus a loading of 25 per cent, so $36.81 an hour for a Certificate III hairdresser at Hair and beauty employee level 3, $38.61 an hour at level 5 and $34.76 an hour for a salon assistant at level 1. Casual work is common in salons, and the loading is paid instead of paid leave rather than as a bonus on top of it. The Casual Loading Calculator sets what the loading is worth a week and a year against what it stands in for. On a Saturday between 7.00am and 6.00pm a casual is paid 158% of the minimum hourly rate, on a Sunday 225% and on a public holiday 250%, which is $46.53, $66.26 and $73.63 an hour at level 3. Those percentages already contain the loading, so it is not added again.
Do hairdressers get double time on a Sunday?
Yes. Clause 23.1 of the award pays a full-time or part-time employee 200% of the minimum hourly rate for ordinary hours on a Sunday between 10.00am and 5.00pm, which is double time: $58.90 an hour for a Certificate III hairdresser at level 3. A Saturday between 7.00am and 6.00pm is 133%, $39.17 an hour, and a public holiday 250%, $73.63. A casual is paid 225% on a Sunday at any time of day. Every level is priced in dollars in Schedule B.1.1 of the award, and the Sunday figure is well above the 150% a retail award Sunday pays, as Penalty Rates shows.
Do apprentice and junior hairdressers get these rates?
No. An apprentice is paid a percentage of the award's trade rate that rises with each year of the apprenticeship, on a higher scale for an apprentice who starts as an adult. Every year of the hairdressing and beauty scales is on Apprentice Hairdresser Wages, so do not read a figure on this page as an apprentice minimum. A junior under 18 is paid a percentage of the adult rate for their level, and those junior rates are on the Hair and Beauty Award Pay Rates page.
Is the hairdresser pay rate different in Western Australia?
It can be, and this is the one state where the answer is not simply no. Modern awards are national instruments, so $29.45 an hour at Hair and beauty employee level 3 applies in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and both territories alike. Western Australia did not refer its private sector industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth, so an employer there that is not a constitutional corporation, typically a salon run by a sole trader or a partnership rather than an incorporated company, is covered by the state system and by the Hair and Beauty Industry (WA) Award rather than by this award. This site publishes no Western Australian state rate, because it has no verified primary source for one. The test is the employer's legal structure, not the suburb.
What level is a qualified hairdresser paid at?
Level 3 with a Certificate III, and level 5 with a Certificate IV. Schedule A of the award defines every level by role and qualification. Clause A.3(b) puts "a hairdresser who holds a Certificate III in Hairdressing (or equivalent)" at Hair and beauty employee level 3, $29.45 an hour or $1,119.10 a week. Clause A.5(a) puts "a hairdresser who holds a Certificate IV (or equivalent)" at level 5, $30.89 an hour or $1,174.00 a week. Level 1 is "a receptionist or salon assistant" under clause A.1, so $27.81 an hour is not a qualified hairdresser's rate. Levels 2, 4 and 6 are make-up, nail and beauty therapy classifications, which is why the award is named for both trades. An apprentice hairdresser is paid on the apprentice scale instead, not at any of these levels.
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