Retail Assistant Pay Rate 2026-27
Shop and supermarket work is covered by the General Retail Industry Award. Retail Employee Levels 1 to 3 are the assistant-level classifications, and they are the ones published below.
The short answer
A retail assistant is paid $27.81 an hour at Retail Employee Level 1, or $1,056.80 a week full-time. Level 3, the highest of the assistant-level classifications, is $28.89 an hour. A casual at Level 1 is paid $34.76 an hour, including the 25% loading, before any evening or weekend penalty.
Award floor
$27.81
Retail Employee Level 1, an hour
Top assistant level
$28.89
Retail Employee Level 3, an hour
Casual, at the floor
$34.76
Includes the 25% loading
Take-home a year
$46,848
$1,802 a fortnight, at the floor
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.
Retail assistant rates, level by level.
Adult rates for the three classifications a shop assistant is normally engaged on. Employees under 21 are paid a percentage of these figures, which this site does not publish yet.
Retail Employee Levels 1 to 3
1 July 2026 · PR799285
Read from the minimum rates table of the award. Levels 4 to 8 sit above these and are on the award page.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Employee Level 1the entry classification, no formal qualification required | $1,056.80 | $27.81 | $34.76 | $46,848 |
| Retail Employee Level 2work needing more skill or responsibility than level 1 | $1,081.00 | $28.45 | $35.56 | $47,704 |
| Retail Employee Level 3the top of the assistant-level classifications | $1,097.80 | $28.89 | $36.11 | $48,298 |
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 retail assistant.
The General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004) covers employers in the general retail industry and their employees: supermarkets, department stores, clothing and footwear, hardware, newsagencies, pharmacies retailing to the public, and most other shops selling goods to the general public.
It classifies employees as Retail Employee Level 1 through Level 8. Levels 1 to 3 are the assistant-level classifications and are what a sales assistant, checkout operator or shelf filler is normally engaged on. Level 1 is the entry classification and requires no formal qualification. Levels 2 and 3 apply where the work carries more skill or responsibility than general shop duties. Levels 4 to 8 sit above the assistant band and cover trade-qualified employees and employees responsible for supervising other staff or for running a store, which is why they are not published on this page.
Two exclusions catch people out. Fast food outlets are covered by their own award, not this one, so a counter job at a fast food chain is not a retail assistant job for award purposes. Hair and beauty, pharmacy dispensary work and vehicle sales each have their own instruments as well.
Award rates are also only the floor. Several large retailers operate under enterprise agreements that set their own rates and rosters, and where one applies it is that agreement, not the award, that governs the payslip.
Every classification in this award, including the ones this page leaves out, is listed on the Retail Award Pay Rates page.
Where these figures come from.
Provenance
Verified- Award
- General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799285, PR799443
- Retrieved
- 6 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.
Junior rates
Employees under 21 are paid a percentage of the adult rate for their level. Those percentages are not published on this site yet.
Penalty rates
Evening, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday and overtime loadings are set separately in the award and are not in this table.
Levels 4 to 8
Trade-qualified and supervisory retail classifications sit above the assistant band and are published on the award page.
Fast food and other retail-adjacent awards
Fast food, hair and beauty, pharmacy and vehicle sales each have their own award with different rates.
Enterprise agreements
Several large retailers operate under registered agreements that displace the award rate, and those are not published here.
Market or advertised pay
This page publishes the award floor only. It is not an average, a median, or what a given retailer actually offers.
Retail Assistant Pay Rate questions, answered.
What is the hourly rate for a retail assistant in Australia?
Under the General Retail Industry Award, a retail assistant is paid $27.81 an hour at Retail Employee Level 1, which is $1,056.80 a week for 38 ordinary hours. Level 2 is $28.45 an hour and Level 3, the top of the assistant-level classifications, is $28.89 an hour.
What is the casual rate for a shop assistant?
A casual is paid the hourly rate for their level plus a loading of 25 per cent, which the award publishes as its own figure. At Retail Employee Level 1 that is $34.76 an hour, and at Level 3 it is $36.11 an hour. Penalty rates for evenings, weekends and public holidays apply on top and are not included in those figures.
Are retail award rates different in each state?
No. The General Retail Industry Award is a national instrument, so the same minimum rates apply in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and both territories. There are no state-specific retail award rates. What can differ is an enterprise agreement, which is negotiated employer by employer.
Which level should a retail assistant be on?
Level is set by the work, not the job title. Serving customers, operating a register, filling shelves and general shop duties sit at Level 1. Levels 2 and 3 apply where the work carries more skill or responsibility than that, and Levels 4 to 8 cover trade-qualified employees and employees responsible for supervising staff or running a store. If your duties have moved beyond your level, that is a reclassification question and worth raising in writing.
Do these rates apply to a junior retail worker?
No. An employee under 21 is paid a percentage of the adult rate for their level, and the percentage rises with age. Those percentages are set in the award but are not published on this site yet, so do not read an adult rate on this page as the minimum for a junior. Use the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool for a junior figure until they are.
See what your own roster leaves you with.
Enter your hourly rate and hours to work out take-home pay for the shifts you actually work.
Open the pay calculator