Award register

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Professional Diving Industry (Industrial) Award

This award is for industrial diving operations, not recreational diving. The main pressure points are the coverage line between the two diving awards, the Schedule A classification, whether the operation is inshore or offshore, and whether higher duties or allowance triggers were actually met.

Consolidated through
1 July 2026
Source checked
1 August 2026
Official source
Current award

01Who this award covers

This award is for the professional industrial diving industry. The practical starting point is to confirm that the business is providing underwater services to industry, not recreational diving, and that the employee fits a Schedule A classification.

Businesses and work usually covered

  • Underwater services to industry
  • Offshore exploration and development diving
  • Related shipboard services
  • On-hire labour supplied into the professional industrial diving industry

When another award or arrangement may apply

  • Work covered by the Professional Diving Industry (Recreational) Award 2020
  • Employees excluded from award coverage by the Act
  • Employees covered by a modern enterprise award or enterprise instrument
  • Employees covered by a State reference public sector modern award or transitional award

02Roles and classifications

The award contains classification levels that connect an employee's duties, skills and responsibility to a minimum rate. Common role descriptions include:

  • Diver
  • Diver's Attendant
  • Diving Superintendent
  • Diving Supervisor
  • Hyperbaric Welder
  • Life Support Technician
  • Operator (ADS Operations)
  • Senior Operator (OMB Operations)
  • Supervisor (ADS Operations)
  • Systems Maintenance Technician

A familiar job title is only a starting point. Match the employee's real duties against the classification definitions and keep a written record of the level selected.

03Rules employers need to check

Settle coverage before payroll starts

cl clause 4, Schedule A

Coverage is the first legal issue under this award. The label diver is not enough by itself to decide the position, especially where work overlaps with another diving award.

  • Confirm the work is industrial diving, not recreational diving.
  • Match the employee to a Schedule A classification before setting pay.
  • If the employer is touched by more than one award, apply the classification that is most appropriate to the work and the working environment.

Use the right engagement model

cl clause 8, clause 9, clause 10

The award has strict engagement settings. You should decide at the outset whether the work is inshore or offshore and whether the employee is full-time or casual.

  • Employees under this award are either full-time or casual.
  • A full-time employee works an average of 38 ordinary hours per week.
  • Inshore divers must be employed by the week, while offshore divers are weekly for the first 4 weeks and then on a calendar month basis.
  • Casual employees have a loading and an 8 hour minimum payment, subject to the special inshore attendance rule in clause 10.4.

Build inshore rosters around the award span

cl clause 25, clause 26

Inshore rostering has a defined ordinary span and a short meal break trigger. Those rules need to be built into the roster rather than fixed after the event.

  • For inshore divers, ordinary hours are worked between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday.
  • The spread can only be altered by up to one hour by mutual agreement.
  • An inshore diver must not work more than 3 hours without an unpaid meal break fixed by agreement.

Track higher duties and payroll records carefully

cl clause 27, clause 28

Classification changes during the job and clean payroll records matter under this award. A flat day rate can hide compliance errors quickly.

  • Higher duties need to be recorded day by day because the award changes the rate when a higher classification is performed.
  • The payment of wages clause also requires allowances to be separately identifiable in payroll records and payslips.
  • On termination, clause 28.4 requires award and NES amounts to be paid within the award timeframe.

Apply allowances by trigger, not assumption

cl clause 29, Schedule C

Allowance compliance depends on what work was actually done and under what conditions. Good dive records are essential under this award.

  • The award has specific allowance triggers for diving allowance, non-destructive testing work and hyperbaric welding work.
  • The diving allowance only applies once the threshold depth or equivalent pressure condition is met, or when decompression is necessary.
  • Practice or training dives do not attract the diving allowance.
  • A diving supervisor can also receive an allowance linked to the average diving allowance earned by divers under their control.

Check the award against other legal instruments

cl clause 3, clause 4.6, clause 4.7

The award is not the whole legal answer. Coverage can shift once the NES, enterprise instruments and competing awards are considered.

  • The NES continues to operate alongside the award.
  • Enterprise instruments and public sector exclusions can displace coverage.
  • Where the employer operates across more than one award setting, you still have to identify the most appropriate classification and environment.

04Pay rates, penalties and allowances

The safest way to check a current rate is to start with the employee's classification, employment type and working pattern, then use Fair Work's current pay guide or Pay and Conditions Tool. Rates can change after an Annual Wage Review or an award variation.

Open the official pay guideFair Work OmbudsmanCalculate pay and conditionsFair Work Pay and Conditions Tool

05Common workplace examples

On-hire team sent to an industrial inspection job

A marine contractor supplies a diver and a diver's attendant to perform underwater inspection work for an industrial client. The coverage question turns on industrial diving work, the Schedule A classifications and any competing award that may be more appropriate to the actual work and environment.

Diver steps into a supervisory role

A diver is directed to supervise the operation for part of a day and to carry the coordination and recordkeeping responsibilities of the higher role. Clause 27.2 should be checked so the day is not paid at the ordinary diver rate by default.

Casual inshore diver turned away at the start of the day

A casual inshore diver attends at the usual starting time but is told not to start. Clause 10.4 creates a specific payment consequence for that situation, so the attendance should not simply be ignored in payroll.

06Recent changes to this award

PR799388, PR799543

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

Affected: 27 - Minimum rates, 29 - Allowances, 32 - Minimum rates, 34 - Allowances, Schedule B - Summary of Rates of Pay, Schedule C - Summary of Monetary Allowances

07What to do next

  1. 01Map each diving role against Schedule A before the employee starts, especially if a diver also supervises, welds or maintains equipment.
  2. 02Use separate roster and payroll settings for inshore and offshore work so ordinary hours and allowance rules are not mixed together.
  3. 03Keep a daily record of depth or pressure, decompression status, training versus operational dives, supervision duties and any higher duties.
  4. 04If a casual inshore diver is required to attend and then not started, process the special attendance payment immediately instead of treating the shift as unpaid.
  5. 05Show each allowance separately on payroll records and payslips.
  6. 06Review whether any enterprise instrument or another award affects the position before you rely on this award alone.

08Common questions

Does this award cover every commercial diver?

No. The coverage clause separates industrial diving from recreational diving. If more than one award might apply, clause 4.7 says the employee is covered by the classification that is most appropriate to the work performed and the environment in which it is normally performed.

Can a casual industrial diver be booked for a very short job?

Not usually. A casual employee has an 8 hour minimum payment, except that a casual inshore diver who is required to attend at the usual starting time and is not required to start work has a separate 4 hour payment rule plus fares and travelling time under clause 10.4.

What happens if a diver steps into a higher role for part of a job?

Yes. If an employee performs the duties of a higher paid classification for a day or part day, clause 27.2 applies the higher rate for that day and for an equivalent day in the off duty period.

Do the same rules apply to inshore and offshore operations?

No. The award has separate inshore and offshore parts for hours, minimum rates and allowances, so you should not assume one payroll setup covers both kinds of operations.

Do I only need to look at this award?

No. The NES still applies, and enterprise instruments or another award can change the coverage outcome. That should be checked before you treat this award as the only source of entitlements.

Official sources and related help

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Modern award coverage and classification depend on the facts. Check the current official award and get advice for your business before relying on this page.

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