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Compliance 1 min read Published 27 May 2026

The award-rates cheat sheet every operator should have on the wall

Penalty rates, junior rates, public holiday rates — one A4 page per location, updated every July.

The Restaurant Industry Award is the single most-misapplied piece of compliance in Australian hospitality. Half the wage variances we see in audits come from managers using last year’s penalty schedule.

The page

Print one A4 per venue with: Saturday rate, Sunday rate, public holiday rate, evening loading start time, junior rates by age, and the casual loading. Pin it inside the office door. Update the page every July when the Fair Work Commission’s annual review takes effect.

Why this matters

An underpayment finding can backdate up to six years. A wage refund of $40K is not unusual for a single mid-size venue. The cheat sheet costs nothing.