Pay & Wages
Downer Pay Rates 2026: Trades, Maintenance & Facilities Pay
What Downer workers should be paid in 2026 — the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award floor by classification, casual loading, penalties, and where the Downer enterprise agreements sit.
Who covers Downer workers — award or agreement?
Downer is one of the largest infrastructure services companies in Australia and New Zealand, maintaining roads, rail networks and rolling stock, power and water assets, and defence and social infrastructure. Its workforce ranges from road crews, rail maintainers and linespeople to fleet technicians, project staff and the Spotless facilities business.
Downer bargains project by project and business by business — our corpus holds one of the largest agreement sets of any employer (below). The awards underneath depend on the work: the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020, the Cleaning Services Award 2020, the Rail Industry Award and the Electrical Power Industry Award. The first two are tabled below.
The federal awards relevant to Downer roles:
- Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (MA000010)
- Cleaning Services Award 2020 (MA000022)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Downer Edi Limited declared 17,371 employees across 18 reporting entities — 24.5% casual and 28.1% women, with 1,618 in management roles. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).
Manufacturing award floor (1 July 2026)
The Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (MA000010) C-scale adult minimums are:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| C14 (entry level, first 3 months) | $25.74/hr | $32.17/hr |
| C13 (production employee, basic) | $26.44/hr | $33.05/hr |
| C12 (production employee, Cert I) | $27.08/hr | $33.85/hr |
| C11 (production employee, Cert II) | $27.97/hr | $34.96/hr |
| C10 (tradesperson, Cert III) | $29.45/hr | $36.81/hr |
| C9 (tradesperson, special class) | $30.38/hr | $37.98/hr |
| C8 (advanced tradesperson) | $31.30/hr | $39.13/hr |
| C7 | $32.13/hr | $40.16/hr |
| C6 (advanced technician) | $33.77/hr | $42.21/hr |
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
Cleaning award floor — adults (1 July 2026)
The Cleaning Services Award 2020 (MA000022) adult minimums are:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning Services Employee Level 1 (general cleaning) | $27.08/hr | $33.85/hr |
| Cleaning Services Employee Level 2 (specialised cleaning, machinery, leading hand) | $27.97/hr | $34.96/hr |
| Cleaning Services Employee Level 3 (supervisor, carpet/pressure cleaning) | $29.45/hr | $36.81/hr |
Night, weekend and public holiday shifts attract the award's loadings on top; part-time cleaners must be paid the award minimum for every rostered hour, not a flat 'per site' rate.
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
The Downer enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements set rates above the award, with their own classification structures and allowances. Current Downer agreements in our corpus (66 in total):
- Downer EDI Works Pty Ltd Melbourne Asphalt Enterprise Agreement 2026 — approved August 2026, nominal expiry 30 June 2029.
- Downer EDI Engineering Power Pty Ltd Queensland Maintenance Services and Minor Capital Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved May 2026, nominal expiry 27 May 2029.
- Downer and ETU Electrical Contracting Enterprise Agreement 2025 – 2029 — approved March 2026, nominal expiry 31 March 2029.
- Downer EDI Works Pty Ltd Pavement Preservation Business Enterprise Agreement 2026 — approved March 2026, nominal expiry 17 March 2029.
- Downer Bitumen Production Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved January 2026, nominal expiry 13 January 2029.
- Downer Group New South Wales Defence Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved December 2025, nominal expiry 16 December 2028.
- Downer Utilities Australia Pty Ltd (Gas) Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved October 2025, nominal expiry 22 October 2028.
- Downer Hume ACT / CFMEU Agreement 2024 — approved October 2024, nominal expiry 20 October 2028.
Plus 58 more — search "Downer" in our agreements database.
We don't reproduce agreement dollar figures here — the agreement covering your site, state and stream is the document to read. Find your agreement, then your classification, then your pay point, and compare it with your payslip. The award tables on this page are the floor every one of these agreements must beat.
Infrastructure services pay issues worth checking on any payslip
General award-compliance issues that come up across the infrastructure services sector. This is a checklist for your own payslip, not a finding about Downer:
- Wrong C-level for the skills and qualifications actually used.
- Shift and overtime loadings absorbed into flat rates.
- Unpaid pre-start, PPE and handover time.
- Labour-hire pay gaps against directly employed staff doing the same job.
What to do if your pay looks wrong
Match your payslip to your classification in the agreement (or the award tables above), and price any gap with our back-pay calculator. Raise it in writing with payroll or your manager first — most underpayments are fixed at that step. Unresolved, the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) recovers underpayments at no cost, up to six years back, and your union can run the claim for you. Not sure which instrument covers you? Ask our AI advisor with your role and location.
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FairWork Mate is an independent Australian publisher of workplace-rights information. Our content is prepared with AI assistance and draws on primary sources — the Fair Work Act, modern awards, and Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman material. It is general information, not legal advice.