The legal minimum and the real market, side by side. Sourced, dated, no email wall. Award minimums are national; market bands are national averages.
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The legal floor
The market
Minimums are the law, not the market. Floors are permanent full-time rates; casual loading (25%) is on top. Trade floors include standard allowances. Sources: Fair Work pay guides (effective 1 July 2026) and SEEK salary pages (refreshed 1 July 2026). Full tables in our Pay and Rates Guide.
Earning under the market line?
TEXT ME ABOUT WORKEach page carries that role's full award ladder, the licences it needs, and what the market pays.
The award minimum is the lowest lawful rate for that classification. The market band is what roles are actually advertised and filled at. Paying the minimum is legal, and it is rarely competitive.
Award floors come from the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides, effective the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Market bands are the national ranges published on SEEK salary pages, refreshed 1 July 2026. Every figure on the page carries its date.
No. Modern award minimums are national, which is why this page has no state selector. Market pay does move by state and by site, which is why the market figures are ranges rather than single numbers.
The floors shown are permanent full-time rates. Casual loading of 25 per cent sits on top of the award rate where an employee is engaged as a casual.
Trade floors here are all-purpose rates that include the standard allowances named in the classification, such as industry, tool and licence allowances. Quoting the bare base rate understates the legal floor.
Coverage follows the work actually performed and the industry the employer operates in, not the job title. Our award finder shows the award most commonly applied to each role, with a link to the official Fair Work source.