Airport Employees Award

Coverage turns on airport operations plus the clause 14 classifications. The award itself flags that another occupational award may sometimes be the better fit.

• Use this award where the employer operates an airport and the employee fits one of the airport classifications.
• Do not assume it covers Local Government airport employees if another award already covers them.
• On-hire employees and group training arrangements are expressly dealt with in clause 4.3.
• Where more than one award could apply, use the classification most appropriate to the work and work environment.

Employment type directly affects payroll under this award. Part-time arrangements need agreed hours, and casuals have both a loading rule and a separate minimum engagement rule.

• Part-time employees work regular hours that average less than 38 per week, and the days and hours must be agreed with the employer.
• Casual employees receive the minimum hourly rate plus a 25 percent loading for ordinary time.
• The casual loading does not apply to overtime hours.
• Casual employees must be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time they attend work.

Day worker rosters have a defined span and a daily cap. If the business needs wider operating hours, it should move deliberately into the shiftworker framework rather than stretching day worker rules.

• For day workers, ordinary hours are 38 or an average of 38 per week arranged to suit the airport or department.
• Day worker ordinary hours may be worked Monday to Friday between 6.30 am and 6.30 pm.
• The spread of ordinary hours must not exceed 12 hours on any one day.
• No employee can be required to work more than 10 ordinary hours on any one day.

Shiftwork under this award has its own structure. Meal timing, shift length and formal roster detail all matter at airport sites that operate beyond day worker hours.

• Shiftworker ordinary hours must average 38 per week, inclusive of meal time, and must not exceed 152 hours within 28 consecutive days unless a different averaging arrangement is agreed.
• An employee must not be required to work more than 5 hours without a meal break without overtime payment.
• A shift is usually capped at 10 hours, although up to 12 ordinary hours can be agreed subject to health and safety safeguards and roster design.
• Shift rosters must specify the start and finish times of ordinary working hours.

Allowances and apprentice travel are easy to miss in airport operations because they depend on role type and training arrangements rather than a flat site-wide rule.

• Allowances must be paid when the employee is entitled to them under clause 21.
• The extract specifically shows disability allowances for technical services officers and ground services officers when they work in listed difficult or hazardous conditions.
• Where an apprentice must attend block release training that requires an overnight stay, the employer must pay the excess reasonable travel costs.
• Those costs can include reasonable transport, accommodation and meal expenses above normal work travel costs, but not payment for travelling time itself.

Operational pressure at airports often pushes employers toward shortcuts. This award expects classification discipline and formal roster controls instead.

• Generic site titles are not enough to decide coverage between this award and another occupational award.
• Meal breaks need to be protected in real time for shiftworkers, not fixed after the event.
• Long shifts need the formal agreement and safeguard structure required by the award.

PR799280, PR799329, PR799486

The current consolidated award incorporates these recent variation determinations. Use the consolidated wording when checking any affected clause, schedule, rate or allowance.

Affected: 19 - Minimum rates, 21 - Allowances, 23 - Overtime, Schedule B - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule C - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule E - Supported Wage System, Schedule F - National Training Wage