Petstock Pay Rates 2026: Store, Vet Nurse & Junior Pay
What Petstock workers should be paid in 2026 — the General Retail Industry Award floor by classification and age, casual loading, penalties, and where the Petstock enterprise agreements sit.
Senior Workplace Relations Writer · GradDip Employment Relations, Griffith University
Who covers Petstock workers — award or agreement?
Petstock (also searched as Pet Stock) is a pet supplies retailer majority owned by Woolworths, running stores, grooming salons and in-store vet clinics across Australia. Store teams cover retail sales assistants and groomers, with veterinary and nursing staff employed alongside the retail team in its larger stores.
Retail and grooming roles sit on the General Retail Industry Award 2020, while vets and vet nurses employed in its clinics are covered by the Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020. Our corpus holds no current Petstock enterprise agreement, so the award tables below are what should be on a payslip for retail and grooming staff unless a newer agreement says otherwise.
The federal awards relevant to Petstock roles:
- General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)
- Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020 (MA000118)
Retail award floor — adults (21 and over)
From 1 July 2026 the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004) adult minimums are:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (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.
Animal care and veterinary award floor (1 July 2026)
Vet nurses, animal attendants and clinic receptionists sit on the Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020 (MA000118):
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory level (first 3 months) | $25.74/hr | $32.17/hr |
| Level 1 (animal attendant, receptionist) | $26.44/hr | $33.05/hr |
| Level 2 (trainee vet nurse, experienced attendant) | $28.24/hr | $35.30/hr |
| Level 3 (qualified vet nurse — Cert IV) | $29.45/hr | $36.81/hr |
| Level 4 (experienced vet nurse, practice supervisor) | $32.13/hr | $40.16/hr |
| Level 5 (practice manager) | $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.
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 Petstock have an enterprise agreement?
As at 25 September 2026, our corpus of 14,141 federally registered enterprise agreements holds no current agreement for Petstock. 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 Petstock, it beats the award figures above.
Common retail pay issues at Petstock
The patterns worth checking on a Petstock 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.
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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Official resources
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.
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Nine years in Australian workplace relations — Queensland hospitality HR, then retail ER in Brisbane and Northern NSW. Graduate Diploma in Employment Relations (Griffith University, 2018). Writes about award interpretation, underpayment recovery, and casual conversion. Member of the AHRI since 2019. Based in Paddington, Brisbane.