Legal Services Award [MA000116] pay rates, allowances, and overtime

Author

The Rippling Team

Published

25 June 2024

Updated

26 December 2025

Read time

8 MIN

In this article

The Legal Services Award outlines the pay rules for employees working in private law firms and legal practices. It covers things like minimum pay rates, overtime, allowances, penalty rates, superannuation, and leave.

There’s a lot packed into it. And if you get even one piece wrong, it can turn into underpayments, disputes, or complex back pay calculations.

To help, we've put together this easy-to-understand Legal Services Award pay guide. It explains the main rules so you can pay your team correctly, understand where extra costs kick in, and stay compliant without wading through the award itself.

Legal Services Award pay guide

Getting pay right is really important. Especially now, when wage theft laws carry serious penalties.

The Legal Award outlines minimum weekly and hourly pay rates for legal support staff, based on their role and classification level. These rates are above the national minimum wage and change as employees move up classifications.

If you employ casual staff, you also need to factor in the 25% casual loading on top of the base rate.

Pay rates don’t stay still either. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) updates award wages through its annual wage review. So, yesterday’s numbers can quickly become outdated. Using payroll software that updates award rates automatically is one of the easiest ways to avoid mistakes and keep pay compliant.

Legal Services Award minimum pay rates

Category	Description	Rates	Example
Adult employees	Employees aged 21 and over	Level 1 (legal clerical and administrative employee): $1,024.40/week ($26.96/hour) Level 2 (legal clerical and administrative employee): $1,068.40/week ($28.12/hour) Level 3 (legal clerical and administrative employee): $1,128.50/week ($29.70/hour) Level 4 (legal clerical and administrative employee): $1,185.10/week ($31.19/hour) Level 5 (legal clerical and administrative employee): $1,233.20/week ($32.45/hour) Level 5 (law graduate): $1,233.20/week ($32.45/hour) Level 5 (law clerk): $1,307.10/week ($34.40/hour)	You must pay a 25-year-old full-time legal administrative assistant classified as a Level 2 employee under the award at least $1,068.40 per week or $28.12 per hour.
Junior employees	Employees aged under 21	Under 16: 45% of adult employee rate 16 years: 50% of adult employee rate 17 years: 60% of adult employee rate 18 years: 70% of adult employee rate 19 years: 80% of adult employee rate 20 years: 90% of adult employee rate	A 17-year-old yard hand (Level 2) under the Miscellaneous Award earns $568.77 per week or $14.94 per hour (57.8% of the adult rate for that level).
Higher duties	If you require an employee to perform duties that fall within a higher classification (Levels 2–5) for one full day or more	You must pay the employee at least the higher classification rate for the day or days they perform those duties	If a Level 1 legal receptionist performs Level 3 duties for more than one day, you need to pay the Level 3 rate of $1,128.50 per week or $29.70/hour.
Supported wage system	Employees with a disability eligible for a supported wage	Where an employee is covered by a supported wage arrangement, the minimum amount payable is determined by the assessed capacity and the relevant award pay rates set out in the Miscellaneous Award. This applies to supported wage systems across industries, including legal services.	An employee with a disability assessed at 70% capacity earns 70% of the relevant minimum rate for their classification.
National training wage	Employees undertaking a registered traineeship	Trainee pay rates are determined under Schedule E of the Miscellaneous Award, which applies across industries. Rates depend on the trainee’s qualification level, year of training, schooling background, and time out of school.	A first-year trainee completing a Certificate III in Business (Legal Administration) who finished Year 12 and left school less than a year ago is classified under Wage Level A, Year 1. They earn at least $648.10 per week (or $17.06 per hour) according to the 1 July 2025 Fair Work pay guide.

Automate the hiring, payment, and management of Legal Award employees with Rippling.

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Legal Services Award allowances

The Legal Services Award includes allowances to cover extra costs employees may run into when doing their job. Paying these allowances isn't optional. If the situation applies, you must pay the allowance and show it separately on the employee’s payslip.

Here are some of the most relevant allowances under the Legal Award:

Meal allowance (overtime): If an employee works one hour or more of overtime and can’t reasonably get a meal, you must pay them $19.93. If overtime exceeds four hours, you must pay them an extra $15.89 on top of the $19.93.
Uniform allowance: If you need employees to wear a special uniform or clothing, you must pay them $3.65 per week. This is unless you supply and launder it.
Vehicle allowance: If an employee uses their own vehicle for work, you must pay them $0.98 per kilometre for a car or $0.33 per kilometre for a motorcycle.
Transport allowance (overtime): If overtime finishes when reasonable transport home isn’t available, you must reimburse the full cost of transport. This is unless you provide the transport.
Living away from home allowance: If you need an employee to work away from their usual workplace and stay overnight, you must cover fares, board, and lodging. You must also pay travel time at ordinary rates (up to eight hours in 24 hours).

Legal Services Award superannuation

Superannuation obligations mainly come from federal superannuation laws and the National Employment Standards (NES). The Legal Award doesn’t replace those rules. It does reinforce them, though, and states which funds your employees can use.

Here are the most important bits to know:

How much to pay

You must pay super at the current superannuation guarantee (SG) rate, which is 12% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings (OTE). For now, you must pay super at least quarterly to avoid penalties. But from 1 July 2026, payday super will require you to pay super with each pay run.

Who gets super

You must pay super for employees aged 18 and older. For employees under 18, you only pay super if they work more than 30 hours in a week.

Fund choice and stapled funds

New employees generally have the right to choose their super fund. If they don’t choose one, you must check with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for a stapled fund and pay contributions into it if one exists.

Default and award-nominated funds

If an employee doesn’t choose a fund and doesn’t have a stapled fund, you can pay super into an award-nominated fund that can accept new members. The Legal Services Award lists funds. For example, LegalSuper, AustralianSuper, Tasplan, CareSuper, Statewide Super, and the Law Employees Superannuation Fund.

Defined benefit members

If an employee belongs to a defined benefit fund or scheme, you can continue contributing to that fund. This is as long as it meets superannuation law requirements.

Voluntary employee contributions

Employees can authorise extra super contributions from their post-tax wages in writing. Once deducted, you must send the contributions to the fund within 28 days after the end of the month.

Legal Award overtime and penalty rates

Under the Legal Services Award, extra pay can apply in two different ways:

Overtime applies when employees work outside ordinary hours or beyond weekly limits.
Shift penalties apply to ordinary hours worked on early morning, afternoon, night, or weekend shifts.

Which rates apply depends on how the employee works, not just how many hours they do. Overtime applies when an employee works:

outside ordinary hours on any day or shift, or
in excess of an average of 38 hours per week.

For part-time employees, overtime also applies when they work outside their agreed written pattern of hours.

Overtime rates for day workers and non-continuous shiftworkers

Hours of overtime worked per day	Full-time and part-time employees	Casual employees
Monday to Saturday—first 3 hours	150% of minimum hourly rate	175% of minimum hourly rate
Monday to Saturday—after 3 hours	200% of minimum hourly rate	225% of minimum hourly rate
Saturday after 12.00 PM and Sunday	200% of minimum hourly rate	225% of minimum hourly rate
Public holiday—all day	250% of minimum hourly rate	275% of minimum hourly rate

Important notes:

Overtime worked immediately before or after a part-day public holiday, as part of one continuous shift, counts toward the public holiday minimum payment.
Casual overtime rates already include the casual loading.

Overtime rates for day workers and non-continuous shiftworkers

For continuous shiftworkers, you pay overtime at flat rates:

Full-time and part-time: 200% of the minimum hourly rate
Casual: 225% of the minimum hourly rate

These rates apply when an employee works overtime outside their rostered ordinary hours or on a rostered day off.

Calculating overtime

When calculating overtime:

You work out the hourly rate by dividing the weekly rate by 38. This is true, even if the employee worked more than 38 hours.
Any part of an hour up to 30 minutes counts as 30 minutes.
Any part of an hour over 30 minutes counts as one full hour.
Each day stands alone when calculating overtime.

Example

Emma is a full-time Level 3 legal administrative assistant. Her minimum weekly rate is $1,128.50, which means her ordinary hourly rate is:

$1,128.50 ÷ 38 = $29.70 per hour

On Tuesday, Emma works:

10 hours and 20 minutes in total
Her ordinary hours for the day are 7.6 hours

That means she works 2 hours and 40 minutes of overtime on that day.

Here’s how the award requires you to calculate it:

The hourly rate is still based on the weekly rate ÷ 38 ($29.70), even though Emma worked more than 38 hours that week.
The 2 hours and 40 minutes of overtime is rounded:
- the first 2 hours count as 2 hours
- the remaining 40 minutes counts as 1 full hour (because it’s more than 30 minutes)
Therefore, you pay Emma for 3 hours of overtime, instead of 2 hours and 40 minutes.

3 × $29.70 × 1.5 = $133.65

Because each day stands alone, you calculate Tuesday’s overtime separately from any overtime worked on other days that week.

This rounding and day-by-day approach is why overtime under the Legal Services Award can add up faster than expected if hours regularly run long.

Rest breaks during overtime

Situation	Entitlement	Pay rate
After each 4 hours of overtime (if work continues)	20-minute paid rest break	Paid at overtime rate
Overtime on Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, or rostered day off	First 20-minute overtime rest break	Paid at overtime rate
Overtime worked immediately after ordinary hours and exceeds 1.5 hours	20-minute paid rest break before overtime starts	Paid at overtime rate

Note: You and your employees can vary these arrangements, as long as the employees aren't paid less overall.

Rest period after overtime

Where reasonably practicable, employees must have 10 consecutive hours off between finishing overtime and starting work the next day.

If you can't provide them with that break:

You must release them from duty until they’ve had the full rest period.
There must be no loss of pay for ordinary hours they miss.
If you direct them to keep working, you must pay them at 200% until you release them.

By agreement, you can reduce the 10-hour break to no less than eight hours. For shiftworkers, eight hours applies instead of 10 in specific roster-change situations.

Time off instead of payment for overtime

You and your employees can agree in writing for them to take overtime they work as time off instead of getting paid for it. The main rules here are:

Each instance of overtime must have a separate agreement.
Time off must be equal to the overtime hours they work.
They must take the time off within six months of working the overtime.
The employee can request payment instead at any time.
If they don't take the time off within six months, you must pay it out.
Agreements can be made by email or other electronic means.
You must keep records and mustn't pressure employees into agreeing to time off instead of payment.

Call-back and standing by

Call-back

You need to pay employees you recall to work after they leave the workplace for a minimum of four hours:
- day workers and non-continuous shiftworkers:
  - 150% for the first three hours
  - 200% after that
- continuous shiftworkers:
  - 200% for the full period
Multiple call-backs attract separate minimum payments.

Standing by

Where you require an employee to regularly stand by outside ordinary hours, you must pay them at their ordinary rate for the time spent standing by.

Shift penalties (ordinary hours only)

Shift penalties apply to ordinary hours worked on shifts, not overtime. These rates sit alongside the overtime rules above.

Shift type	Full-time and part-time employees	Casual employees
Early morning shift	110% of minimum hourly rate	135% of minimum hourly rate
Afternoon or night shift	115% of minimum hourly rate	140% of minimum hourly rate
Non-continuous afternoon or night (first 3 hours)	150% of minimum hourly rate	175% of minimum hourly rate
Non-continuous afternoon or night (after 3 hours)	200% of minimum hourly rate	225% of minimum hourly rate
Permanent night shift	130% of minimum hourly rate	155% of minimum hourly rate

Weekend and public holiday shifts attract additional rates under the award. These rates aren't cumulative with shift penalties. Only one set of penalties applies at a time.

Summary

One thing that often trips people up with the Legal Services Award is how it deals with penalty rates. Unlike many other modern awards, penalties don’t sit in one place.

Day workers get penalty rates through overtime.
Shiftworkers get penalty rates through shift penalties on ordinary hours.
Both can still receive overtime penalties when work falls outside their ordinary arrangements.

Payment of wages under the Legal Award

You must pay employees in line with the Fair Work Act, the NES, and the Legal Award. The award sets specific rules around how and when you must pay wages:

How you must pay wages

Pay frequency: You must pay employees fortnightly, unless you agree on a different cycle.
Payment method: You must pay wages by cash, cheque, or EFT into the employee’s nominated account.
Deductions: Deductions must be authorised by law, the award, or agreed to in writing by the employee and for their benefit.
Payslips: Payslips are mandatory, and any allowances must be shown separately.

Payment on termination

When employment ends, you must pay the employee within seven days of their final day. This includes outstanding wages and any other entitlements under the award and the NES.

The FWC can order delays in limited cases (for example, where redundancy pay is under review). State and territory long service leave rules may also require immediate payout.

Pay your Legal Award employees correctly, and on time, every time, with Rippling.

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Legal Services Award leave

Most leave entitlements come from the NES. The award builds on the rules in a few areas, particularly around leave loading and shutdowns.

Annual leave

Entitlement: Full-time employees receive four weeks of paid annual leave each year. Part-time employees receive the same entitlement on a pro-rata basis. Casual employees don’t get annual leave because their 25% casual loading already compensates for it.
Leave loading: When an employee takes annual leave, you must pay an extra 17.5% leave loading. If the employee’s ordinary pay is higher because of over-award payments, you must calculate the loading on that higher rate.
Leave in advance: You and the employee can agree in writing for them to take annual leave before they accrue it. If the employee leaves before earning it back, you can deduct the excess amount from their final pay, as permitted by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Cashing out annual leave: Employees can cash out up to two weeks of annual leave in a 12-month period. This is as long as they keep at least four weeks accrued. The agreement must be in writing. And you must pay the employee at least what they would've earned if they had taken the leave.
Excessive leave accruals: More than eight weeks of accrued leave is considered excessive under the NES. You should try to agree on a plan to reduce it. If you can't reach an agreement, you can direct the employee to take leave. This is as long as they keep at least six weeks accrued and you don't require them to take more than four weeks in a 12-month period.
Shutdowns: If you shut down for a period (for example over Christmas), you can require employees to take paid annual leave. You must give at least 28 days’ written notice, though. If an employee doesn’t have enough leave, you can agree in writing for them to take unpaid leave or leave in advance.
Termination: When employment ends, you must pay out any unused annual leave. This includes the 17.5% leave loading.

Other types of leave

Personal/carer’s leave: Full-time employees get 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave per year. Part-time employees receive this on a pro-rata basis. Casual employees don’t get paid leave. But they can take up to two days of unpaid carer’s leave per occasion.
Compassionate leave: Employees can take two days of compassionate leave per occasion. An occasion may include when a close family or household member dies or suffers a life-threatening illness or injury. You pay full-time and part-time employees for these days, but not casuals.
Parental leave: Full-time, part-time, and regular casual employees with 12 months’ service can take up to 12 months of unpaid parental leave. They can also request an extra 12 months.
Community service leave: Employees can take leave for jury duty or emergency service activities. You need to pay full-time and part-time employees for up to 10 days of jury duty, but not casuals. You don't need to pay any employees for other community service leave.
Family and domestic violence leave: All employees, including casuals, have a right to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year.

Public holidays

Entitlement: Full-time and part-time employees have a right to a paid day off on a public holiday. This is assuming the day falls on a day they'd normally work. You only pay casual employees if they actually work on the public holiday.
Penalty rates for working on a public holiday: As discussed earlier, if an employee works on a public holiday:
- You must pay full-time and part-time employees 250% of the minimum hourly rate.
- You need to pay casual employees 275% of the minimum hourly rate (which already includes the casual loading).
Minimum payments can apply in specific situations, such as call-backs or rostered days off, depending on how they perform the work.
Substituting public holidays: You and the employee can agree in writing to substitute another day (or part-day) for a public holiday.
Requests to work: You can ask an employee to work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable. The employee can refuse if their refusal is also reasonable.
Recognised public holidays: Public holidays include national days like New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. There are also additional state or territory public holidays.

7 tips for complying with Legal Services Award pay rules

01
Get classifications right before you touch payroll
Most pay issues in the legal services industry start with misclassification. Use HR software with a built-in HRIS to lock in roles and levels early so pay flows from the correct classification.
02
Keep overtime and shift penalties clearly separated
This award handles penalties differently for day workers and shiftworkers. A payroll system built for Australia's modern awards helps apply the right rates without relying on manual guesswork.
03
Don’t let part-time patterns drift
If part-timers regularly work outside their written pattern, overtime can apply. A good scheduling tool can help keep rosters aligned with agreed hours so costly problems don’t creep in and surprise you.
04
Be careful with annualised wages
Annualised salaries only work if you track hours and review them properly. Solid time and attendance software that records start and finish times makes those annual checks far easier to manage.
05
Treat allowances as pay items, not admin extras
Meal, uniform, vehicle, and transport allowances are award entitlements. You need to pay, record, and show them correctly.
06
Plan public holidays and late work in advance
Legal deadlines don’t stop for public holidays. Knowing when penalty rates and minimum payments apply helps you avoid unexpected payroll blowouts.
07
Train managers on award basics, not just payroll staff
Most mistakes happen at the roster and approval stage. A good learning management system (LMS) can help keep managers' understanding of overtime triggers, part-time patterns, and penalty rules in check before issues reach payroll.

Legal Award pay nuances that often trip employers up

The Legal Services Award has a few pay rules that don’t work the same way as most other awards. They're easy to miss if you’re not looking for them.

Nuance	What it means	Why it matters
Penalty rates are split between overtime and shift penalties	Day workers receive penalty rates through overtime, while shiftworkers receive penalty rates on ordinary hours worked as shifts. Both can still receive overtime when work falls outside ordinary arrangements.	Many awards bundle penalties into one system. Under the Legal Services Award, using the wrong ‘bucket’ leads to missed or misapplied penalties.
Part-time patterns act as a hard overtime trigger	For part-time employees, working outside the agreed written pattern can trigger overtime. This is true even if their total weekly hours seem reasonable.	Employers often treat part-time staff like flexible full-timers and unintentionally create overtime liabilities.
Annualised wages have stricter compliance hooks	Salaries can absorb overtime and penalties only up to defined outer limits. And only if you track and review start/finish times and unpaid breaks annually.	Legal practices frequently rely on salaries, but poor record-keeping or skipped comparisons can result in significant back-pay exposure.

Nuance

What it means

Why it matters

Penalty rates are split between overtime and shift penalties

Day workers receive penalty rates through overtime, while shiftworkers receive penalty rates on ordinary hours worked as shifts.

Both can still receive overtime when work falls outside ordinary arrangements.

Many awards bundle penalties into one system. Under the Legal Services Award, using the wrong ‘bucket’ leads to missed or misapplied penalties.

Part-time patterns act as a hard overtime trigger

For part-time employees, working outside the agreed written pattern can trigger overtime. This is true even if their total weekly hours seem reasonable.

Employers often treat part-time staff like flexible full-timers and unintentionally create overtime liabilities.

Annualised wages have stricter compliance hooks

Salaries can absorb overtime and penalties only up to defined outer limits. And only if you track and review start/finish times and unpaid breaks annually.

Legal practices frequently rely on salaries, but poor record-keeping or skipped comparisons can result in significant back-pay exposure.

Put Legal Services Award pay on autopilot with Rippling

Pay under the Legal Services Award can unravel rather quickly if you rely on manual checks. The rules change depending on whether someone is a day worker or a shiftworker, whether overtime applies, and whether a salary is meant to absorb penalties. Small mistakes can add up.

Rippling's all-in-one workforce management software helps keep things aligned by connecting HR records, time tracking, rosters, and payroll in one place. When someone’s hours change, they move onto shiftwork, or work overtime, the same information flows through to pay without needing to be re-entered.

The platform also takes care of award details that are easy to miss. For instance, annual leave loading, allowances, super, and final pay when someone leaves. Award updates apply automatically, so you’ll never have to manually update rates each year.

Instead of fixing issues after the fact, you can review the pay run, approve it, and know the Legal Services Award rules are being applied consistently in the background.

FAQs

Who does the legal award cover?

The Legal Award covers employees working in legal support services in private law firms and legal practices. This includes roles like legal secretaries, receptionists, law clerks, paralegals, and administrative staff who support legal work.

The award doesn't cover qualified lawyers admitted to practise, such as solicitors or barristers.

Do salaries remove the need to pay overtime and penalties?

Not automatically. An annualised wage can absorb overtime and penalties, but only up to the outer limits set in the agreement. You still need to track hours, keep records, and run annual comparisons to make sure the employee is better off overall.

How do I know which classification level an employee falls under?

Start with the duties they perform, rather than their job title. The Legal Services Award classifications are task-based. So, if someone regularly takes on higher-level work, their classification (and pay) may need to change.

Does the Legal Services Award apply to community legal centres?

Sometimes. The Legal Services Award can apply to community legal centres if the organisation is a private, non-profit entity, and the employee is performing legal support or administrative work covered by the award.

However, some community legal centres may come under a different modern award. For example, the Social, Community, Home Care, and Disability Services Award. It typically comes down to the nature of the organisation and the employee’s role. It’s important to check coverage carefully before setting pay rates.

See how Rippling helps with Legal Award leave, superannuation, and more.

See Rippling

Disclaimer

Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting and legal advisers before engaging in any related activities or transactions.