Hair and Beauty Award Rates for 2026: Pay by Level, Penalty Rates and Apprentice Wages

Who the award covers

The Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 [MA000005] covers businesses that cut, colour and style hair, shave and trim beards, and do waxing, eyebrow and eyelash tinting, laser and other hair removal, manicures, pedicures and nail enhancements, make-up, facials, and body and beauty treatments. That takes in most hair salons, barbers, beauty salons and nail salons.

Hair and beauty award rates by level from 1 July 2026

These minimums apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Hourly rates are for part-time and casual staff before any loading; the weekly figure is for full-time staff.

• Level 1, receptionist or salon assistant: $27.81 an hour ($1,056.80 a week).
• Level 2, make-up artist or nail technician with a Certificate II, or an unqualified beautician: $28.45 ($1,081.00).
• Level 3, hairdresser or beautician with a Certificate III: $29.45 ($1,119.10).
• Level 4, beauty therapist with a Certificate IV: $30.00 ($1,139.90).
• Level 5, hairdresser with a Certificate IV, or a trichologist: $30.89 ($1,174.00).
• Level 6, beauty therapist with a Diploma: $32.00 ($1,215.90).

Casual rates for each level

Casuals get a 25% loading for ordinary hours between 7am and 9pm, Monday to Friday, so a qualified Level 3 hairdresser on casual hours earns at least $36.81 an hour on a weekday. Each shift must be at least 3 hours long. The rates for every level come from Schedule B of the award, read on 30 September 2026.

Nail technician and beauty therapist pay rates

Schedule A of the award, read on 30 September 2026, grades beauty and nail staff by qualification, and names nail technicians only at Level 2, with a Certificate II in Nail Technology or equivalent. From 1 July 2026:

• Nail technician with a Certificate II in Nail Technology: Level 2, $28.45 an hour, or $35.56 for a casual on a weekday.
• Beautician with a Certificate III in Beauty Services: Level 3, $29.45, or $36.81 casual.
• Beauty therapist with a Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy: Level 4, $30.00, or $37.50 casual.
• Beauty therapist with a Diploma in Beauty Therapy: Level 6, $32.00, or $40.00 casual.

On a Sunday, a nail technician on full-time or part-time hours earns $56.90 an hour between 10am and 5pm, and a casual nail technician earns $64.01 at any time of day.

Saturday, Sunday and public holiday rates

Full-time and part-time staff, for ordinary hours:

• Saturday, 7am to 6pm: 133%, or $39.17 an hour at Level 3.
• Sunday, 10am to 5pm: 200%, or $58.90 at Level 3.
• Public holidays: 250%, or $73.63 at Level 3.
• A rostered day off worked by agreement: 200%, with a minimum of 4 hours paid.

Casuals, including their loading:

• Monday to Friday before 7am or after 9pm, and Saturday before 7am or after 6pm: 150%.
• Saturday, 7am to 6pm: 158%, or $46.53 an hour at Level 3.
• Sunday, any time: 225%, or $66.26 at Level 3.
• Public holidays: 250%, or $73.63 at Level 3.

Ordinary hours for full-time and part-time staff run from 7am to 9pm on weekdays, 7am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday. For work outside those hours, check the award's overtime clause.

Junior and apprentice rates

A junior employee, meaning under 18, gets 50% of the adult rate for their level if under 17, and 75% at 17. From 18 the full adult rate applies.

Apprentice hairdressers are paid a percentage of the Level 3 rate, higher for an apprentice who has finished Year 12:

• 1st year: $14.73 an hour, or $16.20 with Year 12.
• 2nd year: $17.67, or $19.14 with Year 12.
• 3rd year: $22.68, with or without Year 12.
• 4th year, where the apprenticeship has one: $26.51.

Beauty therapy apprentices get the same rates in their first two years and in a fourth year, and $23.56 an hour in their third. Apprentices who started at 21 or older, and pre-apprentices, have their own rates in the award.

Rostering and breaks

• Part-time staff need a written agreement setting out their regular hours, days, start and finish times and breaks, with a minimum of 3 consecutive hours a day. Changes must be agreed in writing before they happen, and hours beyond the agreement are overtime.
• A full-time employee works no more than 9 ordinary hours in a day, with some exceptions the award allows, such as one day a week of up to 10.5 hours.
• After 5 hours of work, full-time, part-time and casual staff get an unpaid meal break of 45 to 60 minutes, which can be cut to 30 minutes by agreement.
• Paid 10-minute rest breaks: two a shift for full-time staff, one before and one after the meal break. Part-time staff get one on a shift of 4 hours or more but under 7, and part-time and casual staff get two on a shift of 7 hours or more.
• Staff need at least 12 hours off between finishing work one day and starting the next.

What Sunday and public holiday rates mean for your bookings

A permanent stylist on a Sunday costs twice their weekday rate, and a casual on a public holiday two and a half times, so an empty chair on those days is the most expensive gap in your week. Salons usually cover it with deposits, card-on-file no-show fees and reminders. Gaplessly takes deposits and no-show fees on appointments, and sends email reminders on every plan.

Where these figures come from

Every figure here comes from the Fair Work Commission's published text of the Hair and Beauty Industry Award, which includes all changes up to 1 July 2026, read on 30 September 2026. Rates change every year after the Annual Wage Review, usually from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. Before you set anyone's pay, check the current award, or the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guides and Pay and Conditions Tool, which also cover allowances and overtime. This is general information, not legal or payroll advice.