Building & Construction Award [MA000020] 2025: Pay Rates & Rights

Building and Construction Award [MA000020] is the key industrial award setting minimum pay and conditions for on-site construction workers in Australia. This comprehensive 2025 guide explains who is covered, what the current pay rates are, and which worker rights and entitlements are protected under this award. Staying compliant with the Award is crucial – not only to pay your staff correctly, but also to avoid legal penalties. Let’s break down the essentials in a clear, conversational way.

What Is the Building and Construction Award (MA000020)?

The Building and Construction Award (officially the Building and Construction General On-Site Award 2020) is an Australian workplace law instrument that outlines minimum wages, overtime, allowances, hours, leave and other conditions for construction industry employees. Despite the “2020” in its name, this modern award is updated regularly – 2025 pay rates and conditions reflect recent Fair Work Commission decisions. If you employ tradespeople, labourers, or apprentices on construction sites, this Award likely applies to you.

Who Is Covered by the Building and Construction Award?

The Award covers a broad range of on-site building and civil construction work and roles. Covered employees include carpenters, bricklayers, electricians (on construction sites), plumbers, painters, scaffolders, plant operators, general labourers, and apprentices in these trades. It spans sectors such as:

• General building construction – e.g. constructing or renovating houses, offices, apartments, etc.
• Civil construction – e.g. building roads, bridges, dams, tunnels, and infrastructure projects.
• Metal and engineering construction – e.g. on-site fabrication or installation of structural steel, mechanical plant, lifts, etc..
  

In practice, if work is performed on a construction site (as opposed to a factory or office) and isn’t covered by a more specific award (like the Electrical or Plumbing Awards), the Building & Construction Award likely covers it. Even labour hire workers placed in construction roles are covered under this Award.

Who is not covered? Some related industries have their own awards, so this Award doesn’t cover employees under those. For example, there are separate awards for mining, manufacturing, joinery, electrical trades, plumbing, and so on. Always double-check if another award better fits your business – but generally, on-site construction roles fall under MA000020.

2025 Minimum Pay Rates Under the Building & Construction Award

One of the most important aspects for employers is knowing the current pay rates. The Award sets minimum base rates according to classification levels (generally CW1 through CW9 for construction workers). These rates were increased by 3.5% from 1 July 2025 as part of the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review. Below is a summary of the minimum weekly and hourly pay for each level as of 2025:

Weekly hire – full time & part time for General building & construction (Residential work)

*All above rates are minimums – many experienced trades and commercial construction projects pay higher. These base rates exclude extra allowances or overtime. For full rates including Saturday, Sunday, overtime rates and allowances, please refer to: Pay Guide – Building and Construction General On-site Award [MA000020] 

Worker Rights and Entitlements Under the Award

Beyond pay, the Building and Construction Award defines several important rights for workers:

• Hours of work and breaks: The standard work week is 38 hours. The Award often allows a rostered day off (RDO) system, where workers work slightly longer days (e.g. 8.5 hours) and accumulate a paid day off every month – common in construction. Workers are entitled to rest breaks (e.g. a paid crib break if working overtime continuously) and must not work excessive hours without agreement. Meal breaks are mandated (and there are even different meal break conditions depending on sectors).
  
• Overtime and penalties: As noted, workers have the right to higher pay for overtime, weekends, and nights. If an employee works through their meal break, they must be paid double time for that period – a deterrent against denying breaks. Also, apprentices under 18 cannot be made to work overtime or shift work unless they choose to, ensuring younger workers aren’t exploited.
• Allowances and reimbursements: The Award ensures workers aren’t left out-of-pocket for work-related expenses. For example, if they have to travel between job sites or start at a distant site, a travel allowance or fares reimbursement is required. If workers supply their own tools in some trades, a tool allowance is payable. There are also allowances for inclement weather stand-downs, heights, confined spaces, first aid duties, and more. These allowances are an Award-guaranteed right – not optional bonuses.
• Leave entitlements: While leave (annual leave, personal leave, etc.) is primarily covered by the National Employment Standards, the Award may have specific provisions. If a construction worker is laid off, they can be entitled to severance pay according to a special scale (e.g. 8 weeks’ pay after 4+ years service, etc. in addition to normal redundancy). Also, any time spent in off-site training (for apprentices) counts as time worked and must be paid.
• Inclement weather protections: Work on construction sites can be halted by heavy rain or extreme conditions. The Award has inclement weather provisions requiring that if employees can’t work due to bad weather, they still get paid (up to a certain number of hours) rather than being immediately stood down without pay. This is a right that protects workers’ income when Mother Nature intervenes.
• Apprentice progression: For trainees and apprentices, the Award spells out how they move to higher pay levels as they gain experience or qualifications. (We’ll cover apprentice wages more in a later section, but it’s worth noting here as a right: apprentices must be advanced in pay once they meet the criteria – whether time-based or competency-based – employers can’t arbitrarily hold them at a low pay level if they’ve earned progression.)

In summary, the Award provides a comprehensive safety net of wages and conditions so that construction workers have fair pay and safe, reasonable working conditions. Employers should familiarize themselves with these rules – they are legal obligations, not just guidelines.

Ensuring Compliance and Using the Pay Guide

For 2025, it’s vital for businesses to stay up-to-date. The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes an official “Building and Construction Award pay guide” which is a handy summary of all current rates (minimum wages for each classification, overtime rates, allowances, apprentice rates, etc.). This can be downloaded for free from Fair Work’s website and is updated at every Annual Wage Review. If you’re unsure about the correct pay for a particular role (say, a construction foreman or a dogman on site), refer to this guide or use the online Pay and Conditions Tool.

How Workstem Simplifies Building and Construction Award Compliance

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FAQs About the Building & Construction Industry Award

Q1: What is the Building and Construction Award?

A1: It’s Modern Award MA000020, setting minimum pay rates and conditions for on-site construction workers in Australia.

Q2: Who is covered by MA000020?

A2: Tradespeople, labourers, apprentices and other on-site workers in building, civil and metal/engineering construction.

Q3: What are the 2025 pay rates?

A3: Hourly rates range from about $25–$33 per hour depending on skill level, with a 3.5% increase effective since 1 July 2025.

Q4: What worker rights does the Award include?

A4: It guarantees hours, breaks, overtime/penalty rates, allowances (travel, industry, tools) and industry-specific redundancy pay.

Q5: Where can I get the official pay guide?

A5: Download the free “Building and Construction Award pay guide” PDF from the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Read More：

Building and Construction General On-site Award Guide [MA000020]

Building and Construction Award

How to Avoid Fair Work Penalties for Unpaid Wages in Construction