Apprentice pay under the Building and Construction Award

Crane and cement truck

Read about the payment rules for apprentices covered by the Building and Construction Award.

Find information on other entitlements for apprentices at Apprentices under the Building and Construction Award.

On this page:

Important: Electricians, plumbers and other trades

This page has information on the Building and Construction Award.

Electricians, plumbers, landscapers and other labourers may be covered by another award.

For pay and entitlement information, follow our steps to check pay and award rules.

Pay

An employee can only be paid an apprentice rate if they have a valid apprenticeship contract with their registered training organisation (RTO).

The ordinary pay rate for an apprentice includes the minimum base rate and base rate allowances (all-purpose allowances).

The minimum base rate for an apprentice is a percentage of the full-time Level 3 (CW/ECW 3) pay rate. The percentage:

  • is based on their apprenticeship stage
  • increases as the apprentice progresses.

Apprentices get the full rate of the following base rate allowances:

  • tools and protective or other clothing or equipment allowance
  • industry allowance
  • underground allowance, if it applies.

The Building and Construction Award has special rules on the minimum wage for:

School-based apprentices pay

School-based apprentices get the same minimum rate as other apprentices for their time worked, plus an additional 25%.

The additional 25% is paid on time worked, including hours worked during school holidays. This loading compensates for time spent in off-the-job training (trade school). This means that a school-based apprentice won’t get paid for the actual time spent in off-the-job training.

Example: Payment for off the job training

Leon is a school-based apprentice currently in year 12.

As part of his apprenticeship, Leon does one day a week (8 hours) with his employer on-the-job.

Leon is paid 10 hours each week. This includes 8 hours worked, and 2 hours (25% of the 8 hours) that compensates for time spent in off-the-job training.

When attending off-the-job training, he won’t get paid for the actual time in training like other apprentices. This is because the 25% loading already covers this.

Adult apprentices pay

An adult apprentice is 21 years or older at the time they sign their contract of training. They usually get a higher rate of pay than other apprentices.

An employee who is 21 years or older and worked for the employer before signing up to an apprenticeship can’t be paid a reduced minimum wage. Learn more about these rules in our Library article Adult apprentice pay in the Building and Construction Award.

Example: Turning 21 during an apprenticeship

Minh turns 21 on 30 July.

He signs an apprenticeship contract on 24 July, before his 21st birthday.

Minh is not an adult apprentice as he was 20 years old when he signed his training contract.

When Minh turns 21, he remains as an apprentice and not an adult apprentice. This is because he was already an apprentice before he turned 21.

Wage progression

There are 2 ways an apprentice can progress through the pay points of an apprenticeship:

The method of progression can change from year to year.

Time-based wage progression

An employee gets time-based wage rises after they have completed their 12 months at the current apprenticeship level.

An apprentice under the Building and Construction Award is entitled to progress to the next year of the apprenticeship once they have worked the required time, regardless of their progress through the training credits.

Competency-based wage progression

Competency-based wage progression allows an apprentice to move up a pay point quicker if they have achieved the competencies for the apprenticeship stage. This means that they can move to the next stage before completing 12 months.

If competencies aren’t met, time-based wage progression will still apply.

Example: Competency-based progression

Anna is currently 8 months into her second year of a painting apprenticeship.

Anna has been doing high quality work on-site that has been noticed by her employer, Liam.

Liam tells Anna that the quality of her work is what he would expect of a third year.

Anna chats to Liam about advancing in her apprenticeship. They agree that she can approach her RTO about advancing her progression.

The RTO then organises for Anna to complete the assessments to allow her to progress to third year, which she passes.

Anna starts the 3rd year of her apprenticeship early because she has met the competencies of second year.

Allowances

Apprentices in the building and construction industry get the same type of allowances as other employees, if they’re entitled to it.

Apprentices get the full allowance rate except for the following allowances, which are paid as a percentage, depending on their year of apprenticeship:

  • lift allowance
  • fare and travel pattern allowance
  • distant work.

For more information about allowances, see Allowances in the Building and Construction Award.

Training costs

An employer must cover the apprentice’s training costs. This includes textbooks and any fees charged by the RTO.

An employer must reimburse an apprentice if the training costs were paid by them within:

  • 6 months of commencement of the apprenticeship or stage of the apprenticeship, or
  • 3 months of the commencement of training provided by the RTO.

An employer can pay the costs of any fees or textbooks directly to the RTO.

There are specific rules that apply to apprentices that fail a unit or leave the business. For more information, read our Library article Apprentice training costs – specific issues with payment.

Overtime and shiftwork

Apprentices can work overtime and shiftwork in certain circumstances.

Overtime and shiftwork pay is calculated on their ordinary hourly rate. This rate includes their base rate allowances, such as industry allowance.

Our Pay and Conditions Tool can help calculate pay rates and penalties in the Building and Construction Award.

Apprentices can’t work alone on overtime or during shiftwork.

These hours can’t prevent an apprentice from attending their scheduled off-the-job training, unless in an emergency.

Apprentices under the age of 18 can’t be made to work overtime or shiftwork unless they choose to.

Example: Apprentice and overtime

Jakob is 17 years old and he’s completing the second year of his bricklaying apprenticeship.

One Friday, Jakob’s boss, Alf, asks Jakob to work overtime on Saturday by himself.

Before Jakob agrees, he uses our Pay and Conditions Tool to check his overtime pay rate.

While Jakob is looking at our website, he discovers that apprentices aren’t allowed to work overtime alone.

Jakob shows his boss this information and they agree that Jakob can’t work overtime alone.

Leave

Apprentices get the same leave entitlements, including sick leave and annual leave, as other employees.

Apprentices generally don’t get long service leave. Their time working as an apprentice will count as service if they:

  • were employed immediately before their apprenticeship, or
  • continue to be employed after their apprenticeship ends.

Making up for lost time

Apprentices are required to work an additional day for each day of absence during a year of their apprenticeship. They can’t start the next stage of their apprenticeship until they’ve worked the additional days.

An apprentice doesn’t have to make up time if the absence is during a period of:

  • paid leave, for example, annual leave or sick and carer’s leave, or
  • temporary shutdown, including end-of-year holidays.
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How to use this information

Follow our tips to help find apprentice pay rates and other entitlements:

Find out if the Building and Construction Award applies

Most employers and employees (including apprentices) in this industry are covered by an award or enterprise agreement.

First check if an enterprise agreement applies by following our steps on Finding an agreement.

If there’s no enterprise agreement, an award will most likely apply such as the Building and Construction Award. To understand who this award covers, go to About the Building and Construction Award.

Not sure if the Building and Construction Award is the right award? Learn about other common awards in this industry at Working in building and construction.

Award coverage by occupation or industry can also be searched by using our Pay and Conditions Tool.

Check which award classification applies

To work out the minimum pay rate under an award, find out the classification level that applies.

An employee’s classification will depend on the:

  • type of duties the employee performs
  • level of experience or qualifications needed to work at that level.

Work out which classification level applies under the award by:

Calculate apprentice pay rates and allowances

Check pay rates, overtime and allowances under an award using our Pay and Conditions Tool.

We have a pay guide for each award, which contains all the relevant pay rates, penalty rates and allowances. Download by searching for the award at Pay guides.

Find tailored information for your industry

Use our industry filters to find tailored information about the different award entitlements and conditions for employees, including apprentices.

Go to the pages below and select the ‘building, construction and on-site trades’ industry from the drop-down menu:

Search our library

We answer common questions about apprentices in the building and construction industry in our Library. This includes articles about:

Look up other articles in our Library.

Keep your own records

Sometimes it’s hard to keep paper records on-site. Our Record My Hours app makes it quick and easy for employees to record and track the hours they work.

The app can:

  • add rosters to a calendar
  • send notification reminders about upcoming shifts
  • take and upload photos of information that belongs to an employee, like their pay slips.

It's free and available in 18 languages. Download it here: Record My Hours app.

Fix a workplace problem

If there’s an issue with pay, an employee or employer should speak to the other person in the first instance. This is often the simplest and most effective way to resolve issues.

We recommend:

If a small business employer has a workplace problem, they may be able to access free and tailored written advice from our Employer Advisory Service. Find out more: Employer Advisory Service.

Tools and resources

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