You're paying staff in Victoria and you want a number you can put in a contract, a pay run, or a roster — not a lecture on industrial relations. The question is usually one of three: what's the base rate for this person, what loading or penalty sits on top, and is there a Victorian rule that changes the answer the federal system would otherwise give.
The base answer comes from the federal system. Pay rates and most conditions for Victorian employees are set under Modern Awards made by the Fair Work Commission, with the National Employment Standards (NES) sitting underneath as the non-negotiable floor. Victoria referred its industrial relations power to the Commonwealth in 1996, so unlike NSW or Queensland there is no Victorian state award system running in parallel — the award you look up is the federal one.
Victoria does keep a handful of its own statutes that sit alongside the federal award and the NES: the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), the Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme for certain industries, the Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic), and the Child Employment Act 2003 (Vic) for workers under 15. These are the ones that change the figure.
The figures, by employee type
The table below assumes the employee is award-covered and you've already matched them to the right classification level in the relevant award. Pay rates are illustrative — your specific award and classification will produce the actual base rate.
| Employee type | Base rate | Loading on top | Leave entitlements | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time (38 hrs/week) | Award classification rate | None on ordinary hours | 4 weeks annual leave, 10 days personal/carer's leave, NES paid leave | Penalties and overtime when hours fall outside the ordinary span |
| Part-time | Same hourly rate as full-time | None on ordinary hours | Pro-rata on the same NES entitlements | Hours pattern usually agreed in writing at start; varying it without agreement can trigger overtime |
| Casual | Award classification rate | 25% casual loading on every ordinary hour | No paid annual or personal leave — the loading replaces them | Penalty rates apply on top of the loaded rate where the award says so |
| Junior (under 21) | Percentage of the adult rate set in the award | Casual loading if casual | Same NES entitlements scaled to hours | The percentage steps up by age — check the award's junior scale |
| Apprentice/trainee | Award trainee/apprentice rate | Limited; check the award | Same NES entitlements | Training agreement must be current; rates step up with year of training |
| Award-free | At least the National Minimum Wage | 25% if casual and award-free | NES floor still applies | Senior managers and some specialists; verify against duties and earnings, not job title |
A few of these need a closer look because the figure depends on more than the row above can carry.
Casual loading and how it stacks with penalties
The 25% casual loading is paid on top of the minimum hourly rate for each ordinary hour worked. Most awards calculate weekend and public holiday penalties on the base rate (not the loaded rate), then add the loading and the penalty together — but a small number of awards compound them. The General Retail Industry Award 2020 and the Clerks—Private Sector Award 2020 both use the additive method on the minimum hourly rate. Always check the casual penalty clause in the specific award before building the formula into payroll.
Portable long service leave in three Victorian industries
If you operate in community services, contract cleaning, or security, the Victorian Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme applies on top of the federal award. You register the worker, lodge quarterly returns, and pay a levy. The worker accrues a portable entitlement that survives a change of employer within the same covered industry — a structural change from the ordinary state long service leave model where the clock resets when the employer does.
Ordinary state long service leave for everyone else
If you're not in a portable scheme industry, the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic) is the default. The entitlement arises at seven years of continuous service with one employer and is calculated as one-sixtieth of the total continuous service. Continuity is preserved across most parental leave and some other absences; check the Act before assuming a break in service has reset the clock.
A worked calculation: a Saturday retail casual
A 23-year-old casual works a five-hour Saturday shift at a Melbourne shop covered by the General Retail Industry Award 2020. Assume an illustrative minimum hourly rate for the classification of $26.00.
- Start with the base hourly rate: $26.00.
- Add the 25% casual loading: $26.00 + ($26.00 × 0.25) = $32.50.
- Apply the Saturday penalty. For a Level 1 retail casual the Saturday rate is the minimum hourly rate plus loading plus the Saturday penalty calculated on the minimum hourly rate. If the award sets a Saturday penalty of 25%, the calculation is $26.00 + ($26.00 × 0.25) + ($26.00 × 0.25) = $39.00 per hour.
- Multiply by hours worked: $39.00 × 5 = $195.00 for the shift.
- Add any award allowances that apply (e.g. a higher duties or in-charge allowance) on top of the hourly total.
Run the same shift on a public holiday and the penalty multiplier replaces the Saturday rate — the loading still sits on the base, and the penalty still calculates on the base, but the multiplier is much higher (often 225% or more for casuals; check the specific award).
A second scenario worth flagging is the part-time employee who agrees in writing to 25 hours a week and then works two extra hours one Tuesday. Whether those two hours attract overtime, or are simply paid at the ordinary rate, depends on the award. Many awards treat any hour worked outside the agreed pattern by a part-timer as overtime — varying the pattern needs written agreement in advance, or the cheap extra hours become expensive ones.
Edge cases where the standard figure doesn't apply
- Enterprise agreement in force. The agreement displaces the award for the matters it covers, but it must pass the better-off-overall test against the award. Always check the agreement's classifications first and only fall back to the award if no agreement applies.
- Employee is award-free. Managers, professionals, and some specialists may sit outside award coverage. They still get the NES and the National Minimum Wage, but the casual loading and penalty structure of the award do not apply automatically — what you've written into the contract is what governs.
- Annualised salary arrangement. Some awards let you "package" penalties and overtime into an annual figure, but only if you meet the award's record-keeping, notification, and annual reconciliation requirements. Skip the reconciliation and the arrangement falls over — the employee can claim the underlying penalties on top of the salary.
- Children under 15. The Child Employment Act 2003 (Vic) requires a child employment licence from Wage Inspectorate Victoria before a child under 15 starts work, paid or unpaid. Maximum hours during a school term are three a day and 12 a week.
Where an Artificer Legal practitioner helps
A practitioner will usually be called in when the award classification itself is contested — the duties straddle two classifications, the role has drifted from what was originally hired for, or a junior has moved into adult-rated work part-way through a pay period. They'll also help when a portable long service scheme overlaps the ordinary state Act, when an enterprise agreement is being negotiated or a BOOT analysis run against the award, when an annualised salary needs a reconciliation methodology that survives audit, and when an underpayment has surfaced and you need to scope the back-pay window and the disclosure path to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
If you'd like a second set of eyes on a pay structure, a classification call, or a reconciliation result before it goes out the door, Artificer Legal can review the figure against the award text and the Victorian overlays.
The assumption most likely to make you quote the wrong number
The classification, not the job title, is what produces the figure — and duties change faster than position descriptions. A "sales assistant" who has quietly taken on stock ordering, banking, and shift supervision is no longer a Level 1, and paying them at Level 1 is the most common single source of underpayment in retail and hospitality. Re-walk the classification descriptors against actual duties at least once a year, and any time a role meaningfully shifts.
To bring the figures together: Victorian award wages are set under federal Modern Awards and the NES, with the casual loading at 25%, payslips required within one working day of pay day, and ordinary state long service leave starting at seven years of continuous service. The Victorian overlays that change the answer are the Portable Long Service Benefits Scheme for community services, contract cleaning and security, the state public holiday list, and the child employment licensing regime under Wage Inspectorate Victoria. Get the classification right, build the loadings and penalties on the base rate the award specifies, and document the pay structure in the contract — most of the figures fall out of those three decisions.