What a production worker 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
$26.44
The classification we quote is described in the ladder below. Award, Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award MA000010. Effective 1 July 2026.
Market band
$70,000 to $75,000
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 production worker.
| Classification | Hourly minimum | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| C14 engineering/manufacturing employee level I | $25.74 | |
| C13 level II | $26.44 | |
| C12 level III | $27.08 | |
| C11 level IV | $27.97 |
C13 is the common entry rung and it currently sits at exactly the national minimum wage, which is a useful fact: it means a production worker on C13 is on the lowest lawful wage in the country, and there is only one rung below them. C14 is the floor of the whole award.
The floor is the law and the market is what roles actually close at. On this role the distance between them is $17,755 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. This is one of the few roles on this site with no ticket, licence or qualification gate at entry, which is precisely what makes it the entry point into manufacturing.
There is no official rating, and that is a more interesting answer than it sounds. Not assessed. The Occupation Shortage List covers skill levels 1 to 4, and assembler and production labouring occupations sit at skill level 5, so they fall outside the assessment entirely. That is different from being rated as not in shortage Source, checked 27 July 2026.
No entry qualification means a wide pool and high turnover, and the real cost sits in training and in the ramp-up before someone is productive rather than in finding them.
The job is usually a line or a cell with a takt time, a quality check and a set of standard work instructions. It is repetitive by design, and the honest version of the advertisement says so. Physical demands are real: standing for a full shift, repetitive movement, and in food or cold chain sites a controlled temperature environment. Sites that run to a schedule expect people on the line at the start of shift rather than walking in the gate, which sounds minor and is the most common cause of early friction. Progression usually runs through quality checking or machine operation rather than upward within the line itself.
Pitching at C13 because it is lawful and wondering why nobody stays. It is the national minimum wage, and the roles competing for the same people are frequently paying above it. The second is not describing the physical demands honestly, which produces first week departures. The third is treating the induction as a formality on a site where the safety requirements are real.
C14 is the floor of the Manufacturing Award. C13, the common entry classification, currently sits at exactly the national minimum wage.
The Occupation Shortage List assesses skill levels 1 to 4. Production and assembly labouring sits at skill level 5, so it is not assessed at all, which is not the same as being found not in shortage.
No licence or qualification is required to start. Site specific induction and machine sign off are usually required.
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.