Broadcasting, Recorded Entertainment and Cinemas Award

The award only becomes usable once you have placed the business and the employee into the correct sector and checked the stated exclusions.

• Work out which part of the industry you are really in. The award stretches from television and recorded entertainment to cinemas, and the operative rules can differ by sector.
• Do not rely on job titles alone. There are explicit exclusions for some other awards and for metropolitan television news editors.
• Clause 8.2 says cinema employees have separate types of employment rules, and clause 12 creates a distinct cadetship framework for journalists.
• Clause 4.4 removes Part 2, Part 6 and most of Part 9 for certain fixed term journalists if the clause conditions are met.

Engagement paperwork matters because this award ties overtime, minimum payments and even pay frequency to the chosen employment type.

• At engagement, the employer must tell the employee in writing whether they are full-time, part-time or casual.
• Part-time employees must have a written regular pattern of work, a minimum 4 consecutive hours on any day or shift, and overtime for hours worked beyond the agreed pattern.
• Television journalist hours can be altered by 7 days' written notice if total ordinary hours do not change.
• Casuals must be told their classification level and rate of pay, get a 25% loading, have a 4 hour minimum payment for attendance, and can be paid at the end of each engagement unless weekly or fortnightly payment is agreed.

Television broadcasting roster compliance is one of the biggest operational traps in this award because notice, days off and accrued day off treatment all interact.

• For television broadcasting employees, ordinary hours average 38 per week and can operate through different 28 day cycle models.
• Under clause 29.3, a 28 day roster can include 9 days off, made up of 8 clear days off and one accrued day off.
• Rosters must state start and finish times and be posted at least 7 clear days before they begin.
• If an employee gets less than 7 days' notice of a roster change, the first affected shift outside the rostered shift can trigger overtime treatment under clause 29.6(b)(ii).

Allowance handling needs a sector aware payroll setup, especially where staff travel, work late, or perform specialist duties.

• Allowances must be paid when the award conditions are met and recorded separately on payslips and pay records.
• The award includes first aid and Indigenous language allowances, as well as vehicle and working late or early style expense rules.
• Other allowance clauses sit in the specialist parts of the award, so payroll cannot assume clause 15 is the whole picture for every sector.

Some of the most common employment status issues are dealt with through the NES, even though the award still affects roster and pay outcomes.

• Requests for flexible working arrangements are dealt with through the NES.
• Casual conversion is also routed through the NES rather than a separate award formula.
• Disputes can still be dealt with under the award dispute clause and the Act.

The award lets television broadcasting rosters flex, but only within a structured days off and roster notice system that needs active management.

• Employees in the television broadcasting roster models must still receive the minimum days off structure the clause requires.
• Banked accrued days off need to be managed and paid out on termination if untaken.
• Roster changes inside the notice window can trigger overtime consequences, so changes should be recorded and checked carefully.

PR799280, PR799371, PR799526

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

Affected: 4 - Coverage, 13 - Classifications and minimum rates, 15 - Allowances, 34 - Allowances, 46 - Allowances, 52 - Allowances, 62 - Allowances, 66 - Allowances, 74 - Allowances, 83 - Allowances, Schedule H - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule I - Supported Wage System