Petbarn & Greencross Vets Pay Rates 2026: Store, Vet Nurse & Junior Pay
What Petbarn & Greencross Vets workers should be paid in 2026 — the General Retail Industry Award floor by classification and age, casual loading, penalties, and where the Petbarn & Greencross Vets enterprise agreements sit.
Small Business & Compliance Writer · Former small business owner · Cert IV in Small Business Management
Who covers Petbarn & Greencross Vets workers — award or agreement?
Greencross is the group behind Petbarn, City Farmers and the Greencross Vets clinic network — which makes it both a specialty retailer and one of the largest employers of veterinary nurses in the country. Petbarn stores run on casual and part-time retail staff and grooming teams; the clinics employ vets, vet nurses and receptionists.
Two awards set the floor: the General Retail Industry Award 2020 for store roles, and the Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020 for clinic staff. Both ladders are below. Veterinarians themselves are generally award-free, so their pay is a matter of contract.
The federal awards relevant to Petbarn & Greencross Vets roles:
- General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)
- Animal Care and Veterinary Services Award 2020 (MA000118)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Greencross Pty Limited declared 6,938 employees across 3 reporting entities — 35.3% casual and 78.5% women, with 1,243 in management roles. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).
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 Petbarn & Greencross Vets have an enterprise agreement?
As at 6 September 2026, our corpus of 14,141 federally registered enterprise agreements holds no current agreement for Petbarn & Greencross Vets. 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 Petbarn & Greencross Vets, it beats the award figures above.
Common retail pay issues at Petbarn & Greencross Vets
The patterns worth checking on a Petbarn & Greencross Vets 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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Ran Kirkwood Landscaping in Bendigo for eight years before moving into trade supply operations. Writes about Modern Award compliance, employer obligations, and contractor classification from an operator's perspective. Cert IV in Small Business Management (La Trobe TAFE Bendigo, 2014). Based in Kangaroo Flat, Victoria.