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Horticulture Award Pay Rates 2026-27

All pay rates under the Horticulture Award (MA000028) for 2026-27, including base rates, casual rates, penalty rates, and break rules.

Last verified: 19 July 2026

Horticulture Award

MA000028 · Horticulture

Common roles: Farm hand, Fruit picker, Packer, Orchard worker, Nursery hand

$25.74

Base rate/hr

$32.18

Casual rate/hr

Classification Pay Rates — Horticulture Award

LevelBase Rate/hrCasual Rate/hrWeekly (38hrs)Annual
Level 1$25.74$32.18$978.12$50,862.24
Level 2$26.44$33.05$1,004.72$52,245.44
Level 3$26.84$33.55$1,019.92$53,035.84
Level 4$27.81$34.76$1,056.78$54,952.56
Level 5$29.45$36.81$1,119.10$58,193.20

Penalty Rates — Horticulture Award

Public holiday

$51.48/hr

2x base

Afternoon shift - Monday to Friday

$29.60/hr

1.15x base

Night shift - Monday to Friday

$29.60/hr

1.15x base

Rates shown for Level 1 ($25.74/hr base).View full penalty rate table →

Calculate Your Exact Rate

Select your classification level and penalty type below.

Compare with Related Awards

AwardBase RateCasual RateSundayPublic Holiday
Horticulture Award$25.74/hr$32.18/hr$51.48/hr
Hospitality Award$26.44/hr$33.05/hr$39.66/hr$59.49/hr
Retail Award$27.81/hr$34.76/hr$41.71/hr$69.52/hr
Clerks Award$26.97/hr$33.71/hr$53.94/hr$67.43/hr
Building Award$26.67/hr$33.34/hr$53.34/hr$66.68/hr

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Horticulture Award pay rate for 2026-27?

Under the Horticulture Award (MA000028), the Level 1 base rate is $25.74/hr from 1 July 2026. The casual rate (including 25% loading) is $32.18/hr. Higher classification levels receive progressively higher rates.

What is the Sunday rate under the Horticulture Award?

The Horticulture Award does not specify a separate Sunday penalty rate. Check the award for specific provisions.

What is the public holiday rate under the Horticulture Award?

Public holiday work under the Horticulture Award is paid at 2x the base rate. For Level 1, that's $51.48/hr.

Who is covered by the Horticulture Award?

The Horticulture Award covers employees in the horticulture industry. Common job titles include Farm hand, Fruit picker, Packer, Orchard worker, Nursery hand, Irrigation operator.

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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.

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