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Pay & Wages

Macpac Pay Rates 2026: Store, Casual & Junior Pay

3 min read

What Macpac workers should be paid in 2026 — the General Retail Industry Award floor by classification and age, casual loading, penalties, and where the Macpac enterprise agreements sit.

Prepared with AI assistance and checked against primary sources. How we work

FairWork Mate is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Macpac. This guide sets out award minimums and is general information, not a statement about the pay practices of Macpac.

Who covers Macpac workers — award or agreement?

Macpac is an outdoor and camping equipment and apparel retailer, originally founded in New Zealand and now part of a wider Australian retail group, with stores selling hiking, climbing and camping gear alongside its own outdoor clothing range. Store teams are mostly casual and part-time sales assistants with product knowledge in outdoor equipment, plus a distribution and online fulfilment operation.

Store pay is set by the General Retail Industry Award 2020. Our corpus holds no current Macpac enterprise agreement, so the award tables below — including the junior percentages — are what should be on the payslip.

The federal awards relevant to Macpac roles:

  • General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)

Retail award floor — adults (21 and over)

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

ClassificationPermanentCasual (incl. 25%)
Retail Employee Level 1 (sales assistant, register, replenishment)$27.81/hr$34.76/hr
Retail Employee Level 2 (forklift, higher-skill work)$28.45/hr$35.56/hr
Retail Employee Level 3 (2IC, opening/closing, keyholder)$28.89/hr$36.11/hr
Retail Employee Level 4 (department or store management stream)$29.45/hr$36.81/hr

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.

Junior rates (under 21)

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.

Weekend and penalty rates

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.

Does Macpac have an enterprise agreement?

As at 25 September 2026, our corpus of 14,141 federally registered enterprise agreements holds no current agreement for Macpac. That usually means one of three things: the employer pays on the award (or on individual contracts above it), the agreement covering you is registered under a different entity name (check the employer name on your payslip and search our agreements database), or — for state public-sector employers — pay is set by a state award or agreement outside the federal register. If you have a copy of an agreement that names Macpac, it beats the award figures above.

Retail pay issues worth checking on any payslip

General award-compliance issues that come up across the retail sector. This is a checklist for your own payslip, not a finding about Macpac:

  • 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.

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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General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.

About the FairWork Mate Editorial Team

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.