Aluminium Industry Award

This award needs a serious coverage review before it is applied. The industry definition is wide, but the exclusion list is equally important.

• Coverage is broad, but not unlimited. It includes production, ancillary power, wharf materials handling, on-site plant maintenance and supplementary labour at the aluminium location.
• It also has a detailed exclusion list covering clerical and administrative staff, managerial and professional staff, paraprofessional technical staff, head office staff and some service functions.
• Shutdown contractor placement alone is not enough to bring a contractor into the industry under the note to clause 4.2(d).
• Where more than one award may apply, clause 4.6 sends the employee to the classification most appropriate to the work and environment.

Written engagement terms are a core control under this award. Status and classification both have to be documented, and part-time documentation is especially detailed.

• At engagement, employees must be told in writing whether they are full-time, part-time or casual.
• The employer must also advise the classification level in writing.
• Part-time employees need a written agreement covering hours, days, start and finish times and the classification applying to the work.
• The employer must retain that agreement and give a copy to the employee.

Minimum engagements and extra-hour triggers are clear under this award. If the business uses short call-ins or informal extensions, payroll should be checked closely.

• Part-time employees must usually be engaged for at least 3 consecutive hours on a shift.
• Additional part-time hours beyond the written agreement are overtime.
• Casual employees receive a 25 percent loading for ordinary hours only.
• Casual employees must usually be paid for a minimum of 3 hours on each attendance.

Rosters under this award are technical and should be built from the award backwards. Overtime depends on the rostered ordinary hours, not just total weekly hours.

• Non-shiftworkers can work ordinary hours between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm Monday to Sunday unless the span is changed by agreement.
• Time worked outside the ordinary hours of a shift or outside the ordinary span is overtime, and employees must be advised in writing which rostered hours are ordinary and which are overtime.
• Unless otherwise agreed, the maximum duration of any shift is 12 hours.
• Default roster limits include an average of no more than 44 rostered hours per week, no more than 7 consecutive shifts, no more than 12 shifts in 14 days and no more than 4 consecutive shifts where shift length exceeds 10 hours.
• New rosters and roster changes usually require 2 weeks notice unless the majority agreement mechanism in clause 14.5(c) is used.

Classification under this award is skills-based and site-specific. Schedule A should be used as a production and maintenance competency framework, not just a wage table.

• The schedule grades move from entry and basic work into intermediate and competent work based on training, plant knowledge, discretion, maintenance skill and responsibility.
• Grade 1 focuses on induction, basic process tasks, simple tagging and manual duties under direct supervision.
• Higher grades can include broader process monitoring, trade skill application, advanced quality control, higher-level isolation and tagging, and responsibility for the work of others.
• Classification is based on capability and process responsibility, not just time served.

Allowance handling matters in aluminium operations because the award combines an all-purpose disability payment with more task-specific allowances.

• The extract shows an all-purpose work conditions and disability allowance, plus first aid, leading hand and overtime meal allowances.
• Because the disability allowance is all-purpose, it affects more than a flat reimbursement item and should be handled carefully in payroll.
• Allowance coding should distinguish all-purpose items from expense reimbursements.

PR799280, PR799340, PR799496

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

Affected: 16 - Minimum rates, 18 - Allowances, 21 - Penalty rates, Schedule B - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule C - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule E - Supported Wage System