Drakes Supermarkets Pay Rates 2026: Store, Casual & Junior Pay

Drakes is the largest independently owned supermarket group in the country, with stores across South Australia and Queensland and its own distribution centres. Like the majors, its stores run on a large casual and part-time workforce of checkout, night-fill, deli, bakery and produce staff, with department and store managers on salary.

Drakes store pay is built on the General Retail Industry Award 2020, and Drakes has registered enterprise agreements for its stores and warehousing (see below). The award ladder — including the junior percentages that decide what a 15-year-old on checkout should be paid — is the floor any Drakes agreement must beat.

The federal awards relevant to Drakes Supermarkets roles:

• General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)

Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Drake Supermarkets Pty Ltd declared 5,809 employees across 11 reporting entities — 73% casual and 54.3% women, with 949 in management roles. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).

From 1 July 2026 the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004) adult minimums are:

If you're 21 or older and your payslip shows less than Level 1, something is wrong.

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 General Retail Industry Award pays juniors a percentage of the Level 1 adult rate. From 1 July 2026 the junior minimums are:

• Under 16: $12.51/hr
• 16 years: $13.91/hr
• 17 years: $16.69/hr
• 18 years: $19.47/hr
• 19 years: $22.25/hr
• 20 years (first 6 months with the employer): $25.03/hr
• 20 years (after 6 months — full adult rate): $27.81/hr

Your rate must step up from the first full pay period after each birthday. Casual juniors add the 25% loading on top of these figures. An enterprise agreement's junior scale must leave you better off than this ladder overall.

The retail award floor for permanent adult staff outside ordinary spans, at Level 1:

• Saturday: 125% — $34.76/hr
• Sunday: 150% — $41.71/hr
• Public holiday: 225% — $62.57/hr

Casuals are paid 150% of the ordinary rate on Saturday, 175% on Sunday and 250% on public holidays (those percentages already include the casual loading). Overtime for permanents runs at 150% for the first three hours and 200% after. Price a specific roster with our penalty rates calculator.

Enterprise agreements set rates above the award, with their own classification structures and allowances. Current Drakes Supermarkets agreements in our corpus (3 in total):

• Drake Australia Pty Ltd & ETU Union Collective Agreement 2024-2026 — approved December 2024, nominal expiry 30 June 2027.
• Drake Australia Pty Ltd & ETU Union Collective Agreement 2024-2026 — approved December 2024, nominal expiry 30 June 2027.
• Drake Australia Pty Ltd & ETU Union Collective Agreement 2024-2026 — approved December 2024, nominal expiry 30 June 2027.

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.

The patterns worth checking on a Drakes Supermarkets payslip:

• Junior step-ups missed — birthday rises and the 20-year-old six-month step to the full adult rate.
• Level 1 for higher-level work — keyholding, opening/closing, running a department or regularly supervising others is Level 3–4 territory.
• Weekend penalties absorbed — a flat rate covering Saturday and Sunday shifts has to actually beat the penalty mix for your roster.
• Unpaid time — till counts, close-downs, bag checks and stocktake after the doors shut are work time, and short casual shifts must meet the award's three-hour minimum.

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.