Table of content
- What is the Road Transport and Distribution Award?
- What are the Road Transport Award rates for 2026/27?
- What is the casual Road Transport Award rate?
- What are the Road Transport Award overtime rates?
- What are the Road Transport Award weekend rates?
- What are the Road Transport Award public holiday rates?
- How are Road Transport Award shift rates calculated?
- Are there different Road Transport Award rates for oil distribution?
- What about distribution facility employees?
- Why is Road Transport payroll difficult to automate manually?
- Road Transport Award FAQs
- Read More
Road Transport Award 2026/27: Complete Pay Guide (MA000038)
The Road Transport and Distribution Award rates for 2026/27 start from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The current adult rate starts at $26.87 per hour for Transport Worker Grade 1 and rises to $31.55 per hour at Grade 10.
The correct pay can depend on the employee’s grade, whether they are casual or permanent, whether they work ordinary hours or overtime, whether they work weekends or public holidays, and whether they are a shiftworker or oil-distribution employee.
This guide summarises what you need to know about the award.
What is the Road Transport and Distribution Award?
The Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038) establishes minimum employment conditions for covered road transport and distribution work in Australia.
It covers roles including different classes of drivers, driver assistants and distribution-facility employees. The award contains separate classification structures for transport workers and distribution facility employees.
Long-distance operations are treated separately under the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award 2020 (MA000039), so employers should confirm coverage before applying MA000038.
What are the Road Transport Award rates for 2026/27?
The current ordinary hourly rates for transport workers are:
| Grade | Ordinary hourly rate | Casual ordinary rate | Minimum Weekly rate |
| Grade 1 | $26.87 | $33.59 | $1,021.00 |
| Grade 2 | $27.51 | $34.39 | $1,045.50 |
| Grade 3 | $27.83 | $34.79 | $1,057.60 |
| Grade 4 | $28.32 | $35.40 | $1,076.20 |
| Grade 5 | $28.67 | $35.84 | $1,089.60 |
| Grade 6 | $29.00 | $36.25 | $1,102.00 |
| Grade 7 | $29.42 | $36.78 | $1,118.00 |
| Grade 8 | $30.28 | $37.85 | $1,150.50 |
| Grade 9 | $30.78 | $38.48 | $1,169.70 |
| Grade 10 | $31.55 | $39.44 | $1,198.80 |
These rates are from the current Schedule C.2.1 of MA000038.
The award’s classification schedule shows, for example, that Grade 2 includes drivers of rigid vehicles not exceeding 4.5 tonnes GVM, while Grade 7 includes drivers of double articulated vehicles up to 53.4 tonnes GCM, including B-Doubles.
That is why employers should classify based on the work performed, not simply the employee’s job title.
What is the casual Road Transport Award rate?
Casual employees receive the applicable casual loading.
For example, a Grade 1 employee receives $33.59 per hour as the ordinary casual rate compared with $26.87 for a full-time or part-time employee.
However, overtime is different.
For overtime, the award states that casual employees receive overtime rates plus 10% of the minimum hourly rate, and the 25% casual loading does not apply while overtime is being worked.
This is one of the easiest Road Transport Award calculations to get wrong.
What are the Road Transport Award overtime rates?
Road Transport Award overtime is 150% for the first two hours and 200% after two hours. Each day’s work is treated separately when calculating overtime.
For a Grade 1 employee with a $26.87 ordinary hourly rate:
First two overtime hours: $40.31 per hour
After two hours: $53.74 per hour
Employers also need to manage the award’s rest-period requirements. Where overtime is necessary, employees should generally have at least 10 consecutive hours off between successive days’ work, subject to the award’s provisions.
What are the Road Transport Award weekend rates?
Ordinary weekend hours are paid at higher rates.
| Work | Rate |
| Ordinary hours | 100% |
| Saturday | 150% |
| Sunday | 200% |
The award also provides a minimum four-hour payment for an employee required to work on a Saturday or Sunday.
At Grade 1, that means:
Saturday: $40.31/hour
Sunday: $53.74/hour
What are the Road Transport Award public holiday rates?
Public holiday calculations are more complicated because the rate changes depending on when the work occurs.
For full-time and part-time employees, ordinary public holiday work is:
Good Friday and Christmas Day: 200%
Other public holidays: 150%
Where work occurs outside the normal range of ordinary working time, the rates increase to 300% for Good Friday and Christmas Day and 250% for other public holidays. A minimum of four hours applies.
For casual employees, public holiday work attracts 300% on Good Friday and Christmas Day or 250% on other public holidays, in addition to the casual loading, subject to the award rules.
How are Road Transport Award shift rates calculated?
Ordinary shiftwork attracts additional loading.
The standard shift rates are:
| Shift | Rate |
| Day | 100% |
| Afternoon shift | 117.5% |
| Night shift | 130% |
Casual employees receive the casual loading in addition to the shift rate.
A Grade 1 worker at $26.87 therefore receives:
Afternoon shift: $31.57/hour
Night shift: $34.93/hour
The award also provides separate treatment for non-continuous afternoon or night shifts and weekend/public-holiday shifts.
Are there different Road Transport Award rates for oil distribution?
Yes. Oil-distribution employees have a separate set of rates and ordinary-hour rules under MA000038.
For this group, ordinary hours are generally 35 hours per week rather than 38, and the award contains a separate rate table. For example, Grade 1 is currently $29.17 per hour. The minimum adult rates for ordinary hours are as following:
| Employee classification | Minimum weekly rate (full-time employee) | Minimum hourly rate |
| $ | $ | |
| Transport Worker Grade 1 | 1021.00 | 29.17 |
| Transport Worker Grade 2 | 1045.50 | 29.87 |
| Transport Worker Grade 3 | 1057.60 | 30.22 |
| Transport Worker Grade 4 | 1076.20 | 30.75 |
| Transport Worker Grade 5 | 1089.60 | 31.13 |
| Transport Worker Grade 6 | 1102.00 | 31.49 |
| Transport Worker Grade 7 | 1118.00 | 31.94 |
| Transport Worker Grade 8 | 1150.50 | 32.87 |
| Transport Worker Grade 9 | 1169.70 | 33.42 |
| Transport Worker Grade 10 | 1198.80 | 34.25 |
What about distribution facility employees?
Distribution facility employees have their own classifications.
The current rates are:
| Classification | Ordinary hourly rate | Minimum weekly rate |
| Distribution facility level 1 | $27.83 | $1,057.60 |
| Distribution facility level 2 | $28.32 | $1,076.20 |
| Distribution facility level 3 | $29.42 | $1,118.00 |
| Distribution facility level 4 | $30.78 | $1,169.70 |
Weekend and public holiday penalties then apply according to the relevant award provisions.
An employer should therefore establish whether the employee is covered as a transport worker or distribution facility employee before calculating the rate.
Why is Road Transport payroll difficult to automate manually?
Transport payroll combines changing shifts with multiple classifications and penalties.
A driver might work ordinary hours one day, overtime the next, then a weekend shift, while a different employee may be classified under a distribution-facility schedule.
A reliable process should therefore connect:
Employee classification → roster → actual hours → overtime/penalty rules → approved timesheet → payroll
Workstem’s award interpretation platform can apply award rules to attendance and timesheet data before the pay run, reducing the need to manually reconstruct calculations in spreadsheets.
See Workstem’s Australian award interpretation software.
Road Transport Award FAQs
Q1: What is the minimum Road Transport Award rate in 2026?
A1: Transport Worker Grade 1 is $26.87 per hour from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Q2: What is the casual Road Transport Award rate?
A2: Grade 1 casual pay is $33.59 per hour, including the applicable casual loading.
Q3: What is the Road Transport overtime rate?
A3: Overtime is 150% for the first two hours and 200% afterwards. Casual overtime has a separate calculation under clause 11.4.
Q4: What is the Saturday penalty under the Road Transport Award?
A4: Ordinary Saturday work is paid at 150% and Sunday work at 200% for the relevant full-time and part-time transport employees.
Q5: Does the Road Transport Award cover long-distance drivers?
A5: Not necessarily. Long-distance operations are covered by the separate Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award, MA000039.
Managing multiple transport grades, shifts and overtime manually? See how Workstem connects attendance, award interpretation and payroll.
