Higher Education Industry - General Staff - Award

Coverage under this award is about the kind of staff role and the higher education setting. It is not the default answer for every worker on a campus.

• Check that the role is general staff in the higher education industry, or in a university union or student union, rather than academic staff.
• The award also reaches on-hire arrangements and group training services for apprentices and trainees in covered settings.
• If another award classification is more appropriate to the work and environment, clause 4.6 says that award may be the better fit.

This award expects detailed appointment paperwork. If you do not capture the role, hours and employment type at the start, later pay and roster disputes are much more likely.

• Employees must be engaged as full-time, part-time or casual, with full-time and part-time employees able to be fixed-term or continuing.
• The instrument of appointment must state the type of employment and key terms. For non-casual staff that includes classification, salary and hours.
• For part-time employees it must specify the agreed regular pattern of work.
• For fixed-term employees, it must also state the relevant term details and, where applicable, probation terms.

Category-based rostering is one of the main compliance issues under this award. Ordinary hours and notice rules are not the same across the workforce.

• Ordinary hours depend on the staff category. Most categories work the standard ordinary hours figure, but PACCT staff have a different ordinary hours figure under clause 15.1.
• The spread of hours also depends on category, so building services, catering and retail, security, children's services and PACCT staff should not all share the same roster template.
• Shiftworkers have extra rules, including advance roster notice and a specific consequence for employer-initiated short notice changes.
• Ordinary shift hours can be rostered on weekends and public holidays, but the relevant penalty or overtime rules still need to be applied.

Classify by HEW level and by the Schedule A definitions, not by an informal title like admin assistant or technician alone.

• Minimum rates are set by HEW level, and the rate table distinguishes PACCT staff from staff other than PACCT staff.
• Schedule A begins with classification concepts such as supervision, qualifications and experience, then applies those concepts across HEW levels.
• Even at lower levels, the classification system focuses on training, work experience, responsibility and supervision, not just the department in which the employee works.

General staff payroll under this award is not just about the base rate. Allowance coding and superannuation setup both matter.

• Allowances are payable in addition to ordinary pay and need to be treated separately in payroll.
• Superannuation obligations sit alongside the award and relevant legislation, so onboarding and payroll setup both matter.
• A higher education payroll review should check classification, allowances and superannuation together.

Fixed-term rules are institution specific in part, so they should be checked rather than assumed from another university's practice.

• The fixed-term employment restriction in clause 11.2 only applies to the employers identified in Schedule D.
• That means fixed-term rules should be checked against the particular institution rather than assumed to operate identically everywhere.

PR799280, PR799288, PR799445

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

Affected: 17 - Minimum rates, Schedule B - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule C - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule G - Supported Wage System