Retail Award Pay Rates 2024: Pay Rate Viewer and Classification Guide

Use our Pay Rate Viewer to check current pay rates for all Retail classifications. We also include a brief summary of all Retail Award classifications and highlight key updates for 2024.

Pay Rate Viewer

Employee Classification

Select which classification from the Retail Award the employee is.

Level

Retail Employee Level 1

Retail Employee Level 2

Retail Employee Level 3

Retail Employee Level 4

Retail Employee Level 5

Retail Employee Level 6

Retail Employee Level 7

Retail Employee Level 8

Pay Details

Select the correct characteristics of the individual employee to get the pay rates.

Employment Type

Ensure Fair Pay and Compliance in Your Workplace

Pay Rates

The visible pay rates are the latest minimum rates for the Retail Award.

Rates are sourced from the latest (July 2024) Fair Work Commission Modern Award Pay Database

Retail Award: Quick Classification Guide

The Retail Award (General Retail Industry Award 2020) sets out the minimum legal entitlements for employees in the general retail industry. These entitlements include minimum pay rates, allowances, and conditions of employment. Failure to correctly give employees their minimum entitlements can result in significant penalties for employers, so it is essential that your business gets it right.

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Award Matcher makes it simple for Australian businesses to match employees to award classifications.

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Who is covered by the Retail Award?

If your business operates in any of the following industries, it is likely covered by the Retail Award:

General retail industry
Clothing retail
Food retail
Furniture and household goods retail
Personal and recreational goods retail
Bakery shops
Customer information or assistance at retail complexes
Newspaper delivery by newsagent employees

What are the different classifications?

The General Retail Award has eight classification levels, as shown below.

Retail Employee

Retail employees perform such as stocking shelves, assisting customers and handling sales and payments. As they advance they take on more responsibilities, such as supervising staff, managing departments and performing specialized duties.

Retail Employee Level 1 - Performs basic duties such as restocking items, selling products, processing payments, packing goods and assisting customers. At this level employees may have titles like shop assistant or cashier.
Retail Employee Level 2 - This role is for retail workers with more advanced skills than an entry-level employee. It may involve jobs like operating a forklift.
Retail Employee Level 3 - Tasks such as assisting a section manager, overseeing store security, managing cash and more. Titles for this level can include lead salesperson, machine operator and senior loss prevention officer.
Retail Employee Level 4 - Take on higher-level responsibilities, which may involve managing a small team or section, ordering stock and using trade skills (like being a butcher or baker).
Retail Employee Level 5 - Handle more advanced tasks than at Level 4. This might include being a tradesperson supervising others or a service supervisor managing more than 15 employees.
Retail Employee Level 6 - Undertakes higher level tasks such as managing a department or assisting a store manager. Often guiding junior employees and performing specialized duties such as managing cash reports.
Retail Employee Level 7 - Employees at this level handle advanced tasks in retail. Possible roles include visual merchandising or senior clerical officers. Employees in this role are knowledgable and supervise other staff.
Retail Employee Level 8 - Usually a shop manager or a senior clerical officer. They might hold a diploma and be responsible for guiding others, solving problems and using their experience to contribute to the company’s goals.

Key Changes to Retail 2024 Pay Rates

Updated Hourly Rates for Retail Employees

As of 1 July 2024, the Retail Award pay rates have increased by 3.75%. This means that all employees covered are entitled to a pay rise. You can find the updated pay rates in the pay rate viewer. Make sure to update your payroll systems to reflect these changes, to avoid underpayment.

Updated Allowances in the Retail Award

Allowances have also gone up this year, either by a percentage or a fixed amount, usually based on inflation. See the pay rate viewers allowances section for the current rates (coming soon).

How to Use the Retail 2024 Pay Rates Viewer

Our Retail 2024 Pay Rates Viewer is an essential tool for quickly finding correct and up to date pay rates for your staff.

Select the classification stream: Choose the classification stream relevent to the employee.
Select the Classification Level: Select what level the employee is currently.
Select the employment type: Select what type of employment you are interested in e.g full-time, part-time, casual...
Select the pay point: Select the pay point the employee is on.
View rates: View the up to date pay rates for the employee.

Not sure which classification applies?

If you're unsure which Retail classification applies to your employee, let Award Matcher help. Our tool simplifies the process of finding the right classification and provides evidence of why a specific classification was selected.

All you have to do is upload your job description. Award Matcher then analyses the role against all modern awards and classifications. Once the analysis is complete you will receive a detailed report on how your position matches each classification and which classification is likely to be the best fit.

Find your classification with Award Matcher

Frequently asked questions

Have a different question and can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Where do you source the pay rates?: We get our pay rates from the Fair Work Commission's Modern Award Pay Database. You can also check out the latest info on the Retail Award over at the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) website.
When were the pay rates last updated?: We keep our pay rates up-to-date with changes from the Fair Work Commission. The latest update was on July 1, 2024.
I’m not sure whether my business falls under Retail or another modern award?: This is a common problem because Retail covers a wide range of services. To see if you're covered, check the coverage section of the relevant awards on the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) website. If there's any overlap between awards, the Coverage section usually clarifies which one to use. You can also use our Award Matcher tool to help you figure it out.
Not sure which classification your employee falls under?: No worries! Figuring out the right Retail classification level can be tough. We made our product Award Matcher to help businesses like yours.
My business has a EBA why should i care about award pay rates?: Even with an EBA, you might still need to pay award rates. Awards set the legal minimums, so your employees get whichever is higher—Award or EBA. Just make sure your EBA always meets or beats those standards to stay compliant.
How are the Retail Award pay rates set?: The Fair Work Commission sets and reviews the Retail Award pay rates every year, looking at things like economic conditions, inflation, and what the sector needs.
Can pay rates change during the year?: Yes, while annual reviews are standard, pay rates can also change due to special rulings. Our tool always has the latest rates.
How do I use the pay rate tool?: It’s simple! Just select the stream, level, employment type, and pay point for your employee. The pay rates will show up in the table on the right.