What an administration officer is paid in Australia: the legal minimum under the award, the classification ladder either side of it, and what the market actually pays. Every figure sourced and dated.
Award floor
$29.45
The classification we quote is described in the ladder below. Award, Clerks Private Sector Award MA000002. Effective 1 July 2026.
Market band
$65,000 to $80,000
National advertised range, SEEK, refreshed 1 July 2026. Indicative day rate ~$300.
Every rung of the award, not just the one this role usually sits on. The highlighted row is the classification we quote as the floor for administration officer.
| Classification | Hourly minimum | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 year 1 | $26.97 | |
| Level 1 year 2 | $28.24 | |
| Level 1 year 3 | $29.11 | |
| Level 2 year 1 | $29.45 | |
| Level 2 year 2 | $30.00 | |
| Level 3 | $31.11 | |
| Level 4 | $32.67 | |
| Level 5 | $33.99 |
Year steps exist only at levels 1 and 2. Levels 3, 4 and 5 are single rates, so progression above level 2 comes from the work itself rather than from time served. Level 1 year 1 is the entry rate for someone with no experience.
The floor is the law and the market is what roles actually close at. On this role the distance between them is $6,807 a year at the bottom of the band, which is the number worth knowing before you set an offer. Ordinary hours only: no overtime, no penalty rates, no superannuation.
None. Progression in this award is driven by the complexity and autonomy of the work rather than by any ticket.
No, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates 531111 General Clerk as not in shortage nationally or in any state, on the 2025 list. Being off the shortage list does not mean the role is easy to fill well, it means the national supply of people who can do it is not constrained. Source, checked 27 July 2026.
A large, mobile pool with no entry gate, and a labour market where remote and hybrid arrangements have widened the geographic reach of every vacancy. Employers rarely struggle to find applicants. They struggle to match one to the duties and the systems actually in front of them, which is a different problem and not one the shortage list measures.
The award classifies on duties, so what the person actually does is what sets the level. Level 1 work is routine and supervised. Level 2 involves judgement within established procedures. Level 3 and above brings responsibility for a function, for other people's work, or for money. The software stack matters more than most position descriptions admit: a role that lives in a specific accounting, practice management or property system will take an experienced person weeks to become productive in, and that is worth saying up front. Hybrid arrangements now decide applications more than salary does, and vagueness about how many days in the office reads as a warning sign.
Classifying by title rather than by duties. The award's levels describe what the person actually does, and calling someone an office administrator does not put them on a particular rung. The second is advertising a level 3 job at a level 1 rate, which is lawful only if the duties really are level 1. The third is not mentioning whether the role is genuinely hybrid, which now decides applications more than the salary does.
Levels 1 and 2 carry year steps, so pay rises with time served. Levels 3, 4 and 5 are single rates reached through the complexity of the work rather than through tenure.
No. The award classifies by the duties actually performed, so two people with the same title can sit on different levels.
No. If the employer is covered by an industry award that includes clerical work, that award can apply instead.
Award rates are the adult full-time minimum for the classification named, effective the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, from the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides. Casual loading of 25 per cent sits on top. This award publishes base rates, so allowances are paid on top of the hourly figures shown. Market bands are the national advertised ranges published on SEEK salary pages, refreshed 1 July 2026, quoted as published. Annual conversions use 38 ordinary hours a week over 52 weeks and exclude overtime, penalty rates and superannuation. Award minimums are national, so these figures do not vary by state. Checked 27 July 2026. The award that applies to any individual is decided by the work actually performed and by the employer's industry: see our award finder, or ask the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.