Seagoing Industry Award

Before using this award, check whether the vessel is truly operating in the seagoing industry or whether another maritime award covers the operation instead.

• Coverage turns on vessel operations in the seagoing industry, meaning cargo, passenger or research vessels that proceed to sea outside bays, harbours or rivers.
• Several other maritime awards are carved out, including dredging, offshore oil and gas, marine towage, stevedoring and enclosed water operations.
• If more than one award could apply, the correct one is the award whose classification best fits the work and environment.

Seagoing work does not run on a standard weekday pattern. The award builds ordinary hours around vessel operations and port requirements.

• Clause 12 supplements the NES on maximum weekly hours.
• For NES purposes, weekly hours may be averaged over up to 52 weeks.
• Ordinary hours for operational and maintenance work are 8 hours per day each day of the week, and employees may be required to work beyond those hours to meet the vessel's requirements.
• In port, cargo duties or gear turns are worked in shifts of not more than 12 hours unless impractical because of crew shortages.

Rest hour compliance is a core rostering obligation in the seagoing award, not an optional safety overlay to be checked later.

• The employer must comply with Marine Order 28 minimum rest requirements referred to in the award.
• The minimum rest for a seafarer is 10 hours in any 24 hours and 77 hours in any 7 days.
• Rest can be split into 2 periods, but one period must be at least 6 hours and the interval between consecutive periods of rest must not exceed 14 hours.
• Employees who go to sea may be engaged on a swing cycle, and employees travelling overseas to join a vessel must be given adequate rest before starting duties.

Seagoing payroll often turns on vessel and cargo circumstances, especially tanker duty and port cargo work that triggers separate allowance treatment.

• The award requires wage related allowances to be paid when the circumstances arise.
• Tanker duty attracts a separate tanker allowance for each day of duty on a tanker, and that payment includes travelling allowance instead of another such allowance.
• Manual cargo handling, securing or lashing in port is dealt with separately, with different treatment depending on when the work is performed and whether watches are being kept.

Hosted crew arrangements still need full award analysis. The fact that the worker is supplied by another employer does not change the underlying vessel based coverage test.

• On hire labour and group training arrangements can still be covered when the hosted work is genuine seagoing work within the award boundary.
• A labour model does not avoid the award's hours, rest and allowance rules.

Leave and public holiday administration in seagoing work should be tested against the award rather than copied from a shore payroll template.

• The award contains separate annual leave and public holiday clauses for this industry.
• Shore based assumptions about holiday administration do not necessarily translate to vessel operations, so these clauses should be checked against the actual roster and duty pattern.

PR799402, PR799557

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

Affected: 14 - Classifications and minimum rates, 16 - Allowances - wage-related, 17 - Allowances - expense-related, Schedule A - Vessels Granted a Temporary Licence, Schedule B - Summary of Monetary Allowances