Overview of the Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award [MA000017]

If you’ve got workers in textiles, clothing, footwear or anything close to it, this award probably applies to you. It also covers a few jobs you might not expect. For instance, warehousing staff who handle garments, or store workers in wholesale businesses linked to the trade. The Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award in Australia sets the rules for pay, hours, rosters, leave, and more, for these kinds of employees.

To stay on the right side of the Fair Work Commission and keep your employees happy, it's important to understand this award. Getting it wrong isn’t just a paperwork issue. Something as simple as a missed rate change or wrong roster can trigger back pay, penalties, and audits. It’s just not worth the risk.

In this article, we share the key elements of the Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award. You’ll find plain-English info on pay rates, hours, types of employment, allowances, super, and leave. You'll also learn what to watch out for when rostering staff or managing casuals.

Note: The information you'll find in this article is up-to-date as of 01/04/2025. Award conditions and rates change all the time. So, please make sure you refer to the latest version of the Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award for the most current information.

Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award coverage

This award covers a wide range of hands-on workers in the clothing, footwear, and textile industry. If someone cuts fabric, sews garments, packs shoes, or presses uniforms, they probably fall under this award. Same goes for workers in dry cleaning, laundry services, dyeing, and finishing. Or even those who make buttons, zippers, bags, or belts.

The Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award can also cover warehouse and store workers. But only if they work for a business that’s clearly part of the textile, clothing, or footwear supply chain. If the business sells a broader mix of products or isn’t tied directly to that supply chain, a different award (like the Storage Services and Wholesale Award) probably applies. It all depends on what the business does at its core.

Here are some examples of employees who fall under this award:

• A machinist sewing shirts in a small workshop

• A packer boxing shoes in a warehouse attached to a footwear company

• A store worker unloading fabric deliveries for a wholesaler that only sells textiles

• A dry cleaner handling uniforms and wedding dresses

• A receptionist working at a garment dyeing facility

• A cutter in a fashion production studio

And here are some examples of employees who don't fall under this award:

• Retail assistants selling shoes or clothes in a shop

• Warehouse workers in a third-party logistics company (unless that company only stores or ships clothing-related products)

• Admin staff at a general-purpose warehouse

• Staff who work in industries that just work with clothing or uniforms (like hospitals or cleaning companies) but aren't involved in manufacturing them.

Employment types under the Textiles Award

There are three main types of employment under the Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award. These are full-time, part-time, and casual. Shiftwork can also apply. But it’s more of a condition than a separate employment type. Each type has its own rules, and it’s important that you, or your HR team, get them right from the start.

Full-time employees

Full-time are permanent staff and have a right to the full range of leave and benefits. They work an average of 38 hours a week. If they work more than 38 hours in a week, that usually counts as overtime.

Part-time employees

Part-timers are also permanent staff with the same entitlements as full-time employees, but on a pro-rata basis. They work regular hours, though they equate to less than 38 hours per week. Before they start, you need a written agreement that spells out:

• how many hours they’ll work each week

• which days they’ll work

• their start and finish times

If you don’t lock this in, Fair Work may treat the employee as full-time by default. That can cause all sorts of issues if there's ever a dispute.

Any extra hours beyond the ones you agreed on? Those need to be in writing as well. And if you want to change their regular work pattern, you have to consult them and confirm the change properly. You can't swap things around without notice and agreement.

Casual employees

Casual workers aren't permanent employees and don’t have locked-in hours. You can offer shifts when you need them, and they can choose whether to take them.

They don’t get annual leave, sick leave, or paid public holidays. But they do get overtime, super, and most other award entitlements. Casual employees also get a 25% loading on top of their base rate.

If they work regular hours for at least 6 out of 12 months, they can ask to become a permanent (part-time or full-time) employee. You don’t have to say yes. But you must follow the proper steps and respond to their request, in writing, within 21 days. You can only say no if you’ve got solid business reasons.

What constitutes shiftwork?

Under the Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award, a shiftworker is someone who works afternoon shifts, night shifts, or rotating shifts, as part of a roster that falls outside standard daytime hours. In this award:

• Afternoon shift finishes after 6:00 pm, but before midnight

• Night shift finishes after midnight but before 7:00 am (or 8:00 am in the textile industry)

If an employee works one of these shifts as part of their regular roster, they have a right to shift penalties.

A permanent night shiftworker is someone who:

• Only works night shifts during their employment, or

• Stays on night shift for more than 4 weeks, or

• Works night shift without rotating off for at least one-third of the shift cycle

If the employee only works day shifts (7:00 am to 7:00 pm), they’re not a shiftworker under this award.

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Textile and Clothing Award ordinary hours and rostering

In this section, we cover the rostering rules for day workers. For instance, when you can schedule them, how many hours they can work, and the breaks they have a right to. Shiftworkers have different conditions, which we cover in more detail in the penalty rates and overtime section.

Standard weekly hours

As mentioned, full-time employees work an average of 38 ordinary hours per week. You can structure those 38 hours in a few ways:

• 38 hours over 5 days

• 38 hours over 6 days

• An average of 38 hours over a 4-week cycle

If you choose the averaging option, you need to give the employee at least one rostered day off (RDO) during each 4-week cycle. And you can’t just pick a day off at random. You need to plan and roster it in advance.

The minimum engagement for both part-time and casual employees is 3 hours per shift.

Spread of hours

For day workers, the standard spread of ordinary hours is:

• Monday to Friday

• Between 7:00am and 7:00pm

• For up to 8 hours per day

If you stay within that window, you typically pay ordinary time. You can make some changes to start and finish times. You must make the same change to both times, though. So, if you shift the start time to one hour earlier, the finish time must also be one hour earlier. For example:

• Start shifts up to 1 hour earlier (from 6:00am with finish at 6:00pm)

• Finish up to 1 hour later (until 8:00pm with start at 8:00am)

However, to do this, you need to:

• Get agreement from the majority of employees, or

• Give at least 7 days' notice to those the change will affect

You don’t need to do both. Just one or the other.

You can also have full-time employees work for 10 hours a day instead of 8 hours a day (while still averaging 38 hours per week). But to do that, you must go through the consultation process and get majority agreement (clause 7.4). You can’t use the 7 days’ notice option for that.

If you go outside those new agreed hours, for example, starting before 6:00am, finishing after 8:00pm, or working more than 10 hours in a day, you need to pay overtime. No exceptions. You also can’t use this flexibility for part-time or casual employees. Their ordinary hours are capped at 8 per day. So, if they go over 8 hours, you must pay overtime. This is true, even if you’ve got an agreement in place.

Breaks

There are two types of breaks under this award: meal breaks and rest breaks.

Meal breaks (day workers)

• You have to give a 30–60 minute unpaid meal break each shift

• Employees need to take it within their first 5 hours of work

• If someone works past 5 hours without a break, you have to pay a penalty until they stop for a meal

• You can only stretch it to 6 hours if most employees agree

Meal breaks for shiftworkers (textile industry only)

If you run two or three eight-hour shifts a day, you can give each shiftworker a 20-minute paid crib break. This replaces the usual unpaid meal break. They stay on the job and take the break when there’s an opening. You count it as time worked.

If they work continuous 7-day shifts, you must give them a 20-minute paid meal break during each shift. They still stay on site, and you count the break as time worked.

Rest breaks

• All employees get two paid 10-minute rest breaks

• One goes before the meal break, the other after

• You can’t put them at the start or end of the shift

Overtime breaks

• If someone works more than 1.5 hours of overtime, you have to allow a 30-minute meal break

• You also have to either provide a meal or pay a meal allowance

• If overtime goes on longer, they get another break (or another unit of meal  allowance) for every 4 hours

Breaks between shifts

• Workers must get 10 hours off between shifts

• If they don’t, you either:

  • Let them leave and pay them as if they were working, or

  • Keep them working and pay double time until they get a proper break

• For shift workers, this break drops to 8 hours in a few specific cases (e.g. covering a no-show or changing rosters)

Other rostering rules you need to follow

Under the Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award, you need to give employees their roster at least 7 days in advance. That includes:

• The days they’re working

• Their start and finish times

• Their breaks (including meal breaks)

If you want to change the roster later, you must:

• Give 7 days’ notice, or

• Get the employee to agree to a shorter notice period

You can’t go shorter than 48 hours, even with agreement.

If you want to make a permanent change to someone’s regular pattern of hours, you need to:

• Let them know about the proposed change

• Give them a chance to respond

• Seriously consider their feedback before locking anything in

You can’t just make big changes and hope for the best. The award treats proper consultation as non-negotiable.

Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award pay rates

Pay under the Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award depends on the job. Different rates apply based on the employee’s skill level, classification, and role. Most workers fall into one of these groups:

• General employees (Skill Levels 1–5)

• Wool and basil workers

• Store workers

• Warehouse workers

• Forklift and tow motor drivers

• Juniors

• Apprentices or adult apprentices

Here are a few examples of minimum hourly rates as of 1 July 2024 (for full-time employees):

• Skill Level 1: $24.10

• Skill Level 3: $25.80

• Storeworker Grade 2: $25.80

• Warehouse Grade 4: $27.16

• Forklift driver: $25.80

As mentioned, casuals get 25% extra on top of the minimum hourly rate.

Juniors and apprentices get a percentage of the adult rate, based on their age or year of training. Some roles, like stacker or forklift operator, have small adjustments up or down, too.

If you're managing pay manually, keeping track of all this can become seriously overwhelming. Payroll software with built-in award interpretation can do the heavy lifting. It can make sure the right rates are applied, every time.

Payment by Results (PBR)

Under the Textiles, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award, employers can use a system called Payment by Results (PBR). This involves you paying workers by output. For example, by how much they produce instead of just time on the clock. PBR is quite common in textile manufacturing and it can apply to individuals or groups.

The goal is obviously to reward output. But the system has to be fair. So, there are some pretty strict rules when running a PBR system:

• You still have to pay the base award rate for the person’s classification.

• On top of that, you calculate a 'minute rate' based on the job.

• When someone beats the standard time for a task, they earn bonus pay.

Also, you can’t set targets that only the fastest workers can reach. The award says your time standards need to be realistic. The average worker should be able to earn at least 20% more than their base rate. If that doesn’t happen, your PBR setup probably isn’t compliant.

And if you want to change how your PBR system works, you need to consult employees properly. This generally includes putting it in writing, and following the rules in clause 7.4 of the award.

Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award overtime and penalties

In this section, we explain when you need to pay overtime and penalty rates, how much to pay, and who gets what, including casuals, day workers, and shiftworkers. Shiftworkers have their own set of rules. So, we've included their overtime and penalty rates information separately, within this section.

Overtime

Overtime kicks in when someone:

• Works more than their ordinary hours. For full-timers, this is anything over 38 hours a week (unless in an averaging arrangement over a longer period). For part-timers and casuals, this is anything over 8 hours in a day.

• Works outside the spread of hours (7:00 am to 7:00 pm for day workers)

Overtime rates for full-time and part-time employees are:

• First 3 hours of overtime: 150% of hourly rate

• After that: 200% of hourly rate

Overtime rates for casual employees are:

• First 3 hours: 175% of hourly rate

• After that: 225% of hourly rate

Instead of getting paid overtime, employees can take time off. But only if you both agree in writing. You can’t pressure someone to take time off instead of pay. Here's how it works:

• 1 hour of overtime at 150% = 1.5 hours off

• They need to take the time off within 6 months

• If they don’t, you pay it out at the original overtime rate

• If they ask for the money instead, you have to pay it in the next pay cycle

Weekend and public holiday work

• Saturday: 150% of hourly rate for the first 3 hours, then 200%

• Sunday: 200% of hourly rate for the whole shift

• Public holidays: 250% of hourly rate for at least 3 hours (even if they work less)

Overtime and penalties for shiftworkers

Shiftworkers have their own set of rules under the award — especially in the textile industry. Here's how the penalties and overtime work.

Overtime for shiftworkers

If a shiftworker (not on continuous shifts) works overtime and they're full-time or part-time, they get:

• First 3 hours: 150% of hourly rate

• After that: 200% of hourly rate

If they're a casual shiftworker, they get:

• First 3 hours: 175% of hourly rate

• After that: 225% of hourly rate

7-day continuous shiftworkers get 200% for all overtime, no matter how many hours they work.

Shift penalties

If someone works an afternoon or night shift, they get extra pay on top of their base hourly rate:

• Afternoon or night shift: +15%

• Permanent night shift: +30%

In the textile industry, you pay these as set amounts per shift rather than percentages. As of 1 July 2024, the set amounts are:

• Afternoon or night shift: $28.48 per shift

• Permanent night shift: $56.95 per shift

All shiftworkers, including casuals, get this loading on top of their usual rate.

Weekends and public holiday penalties

• If the majority of a shift falls on a Saturday: 150% of their hourly rate

• If the majority of a shift falls on a Sunday: pay 200% of their hourly rate

• If the majority of a shift falls on a public holiday: pay 200% of their hourly rate

Note, you don't need to apply extra shift loading on top of that. They get the higher weekend/holiday rate instead. You can also make shiftworkers finish a shift that runs into a public holiday without paying public holiday rates. The shift just has to start before midnight.

Textiles, Clothing, and Footwear Award allowances

This award includes a long list of allowances. Some are quite common and some are very specific. Some are for extra responsibilities (like leading a team). Others are for out-of-pocket costs (like buying tools or meals when working overtime). And some are simply for unpleasant work (like cleaning wool pits or sorting dirty rags).

If the conditions for the payment of the allowance apply, you have to pay it. There's no getting around it. Below, you can find some of the main types of allowances under the Textiles, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award:

First aid and leading hand allowances

If someone’s trained in first aid and you appoint them as the go-to person, you’ll need to pay:

• $18.37 per week for workplaces with up to 50 employees

• $23.12 per week for 51 or more

If you officially make someone leading hand, they earn extra based on how many people they’re in charge of:

• 3–10 employees: $40.88 per week

• 11–20 employees: $61.94 per week

• 21+ employees: $78.45 per week

Meal allowance

If someone works overtime for more than an hour after their usual finish time (or after 6pm, whichever comes later), they have a right to a meal. If you don’t provide one, you have to pay a $16.02 meal allowance.

Tool and protective gear allowances

If you expect someone to bring their own tools or gear, you need to cover the cost. Tools or gear can include stuff like gloves or protective creams for handling chemicals. It also includes any safety clothing you legally need them to wear.

Textile industry-specific allowances

This award gets pretty niche in some areas, especially for textile industry work. Here are a few examples:

• Instructor (training others) allowance: $27.36 per week

• Change of shift allowance: $28.90 per occasion (if you change a shift with less than 2 working days’ notice)

• Blending rabbit or goat hair: $29.94 per week

As well as these allowances, there are allowances for working in a dye house, bleach house, or waste room. There are also allowances for working with dust, soda ash, wool waste, or unwashed rags.

Clothing industry-specific allowances

In the clothing industry, there are separate allowances for:

• Being head of a table or bench: up to $27.87 per week

• Lack of proper dining or rest facilities: $6.71 per day

Payment of wages

The Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award states that you need to pay employees weekly. And you must make sure you pay them no later than Thursday of each week. That means wages for the week must hit their account, or be handed to them in cash, by Thursday at the latest.

If someone leaves your business, you’ve got 7 days from their last working day to pay out everything you owe them. This can include:

• Wages for their last week

• Accrued leave entitlements

• Any other amounts owed under the award or the National Employment Standards (NES)

You can’t delay final pay unless the Fair Work Commission allows it. And you can only make deductions if the award or Fair Work Act says it’s okay to do so.

Rippling automatically flags local, regional, and national infractions—and recommends a plan of action for each one.

See Rippling

Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award superannuation

Like most modern awards, this one follows the national superannuation laws. But there are a few extra details you need to know about:

Employer super obligations

You must make super contributions that meet the Super Guarantee (SG) requirements. That means you need to contribute at least 11.5% (as of 1 July 2024) of an employee’s ordinary time earnings to a compliant super fund. The award stipulates that you must do this every month, no later than 28 days after the end of each month.

If you miss the deadline, you may be stung by the ATO's superannuation guarantee charge. And it’s not tax-deductible.

Even if someone’s away on paid leave or off work because of a work-related injury or illness (up to 52 weeks), you still need to keep paying their super. This is if the employee still works for you and is receiving workers' comp or income from you directly.

What fund do you pay into?

Employees can choose their own super fund. But if they don’t, you must:

1. Check with the ATO to see if they have a stapled super fund, and

2. If they don’t have one, contribute to a default fund listed in the Award, such as:

• AustralianSuper

• Sunsuper

• Any other eligible fund you were already using before 12 Sept 2008 (as long as it offers a MySuper product)

• A fund the employee is a defined benefit member of

Just make sure the fund can accept new members.

Voluntary employee contributions

Employees can ask you, in writing, to deduct extra money from their after-tax pay to top up their super. If they do, you must forward those contributions to the same fund you’re paying SG into, and do it by the 28th of the following month.

Employees can also change the amount, but they need to give you three months’ notice in writing.

Leave entitlements under the Textile Industry Award

Most employees covered by this award have a right to paid annual leave, public holiday pay, and other types of leave like personal or carer’s leave. Here’s what you need to know.

Annual leave

Full-time employees get 4 weeks of annual leave each year. If they’re a shiftworker, that goes up to 5 weeks. Part-time staff get the same entitlement, but on a pro-rata basis (based on the hours they work). Leave builds up over time and it carries over if it’s not used.

When someone takes annual leave, they also get annual leave loading. This is 17.5% on top of their base rate. If they’re a shiftworker and usually earn more through shift penalties and get the higher amount (but not both).

If someone’s sitting on too much leave (over 8 weeks, or 10 for shiftworkers), you can initiate a chat about reducing it. If you can’t come to an agreement, you can direct them to take leave, but only under strict conditions:

• they’ll still have at least 6 weeks of leave left afterwards

• they take the leave in blocks of at least one week

• you give between 8 and 52 weeks’ notice

• you’re not overriding any leave plans already agreed to

If you close the business for a break (like over Christmas), you can require employees to take leave during that time. You just need to make sure you give at least 3 months' notice. You can only give less than 3 months’ notice if the majority of employees agree to the shorter notice period.

You can also agree to let staff take leave in advance. And you can cash out up to 2 weeks of leave each year, as long as they keep at least 4 weeks in the bank. Any agreements about leave in advance or cashing out must be in writing.

Public holidays

As mentioned, if someone works on a public holiday, you need to pay them 250% of their base rate. They’re guaranteed at least 3 hours’ pay, even if they work for less than that. If Christmas Day falls on a weekend and they still work it, they get extra. This includes penalty rates plus a loading, on top of the official substitute day off.

You and your employee can also agree to swap a public holiday for another day that suits better.

If a full-time shiftworker’s rostered day off falls on a public holiday (and it’s not a Saturday or Sunday), they still have a right to a benefit. You can either give them:

• 7.6 hours' pay at their base rate,

• an extra day of annual leave, or

• a different day off during the week.

Other types of leave

Other types of leave come under the NES, not the award. But they still apply.

• Personal/carer’s leave: Full-time and part-time employees get 10 paid days per year (pro-rata for part-timers). Casuals don’t get paid leave, but they have a right to 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave per occasion.

• Compassionate leave: All employees, including casuals, get 2 days of compassionate leave per occasion. It’s paid for full-time and part-time staff, and unpaid for casuals.

• Parental leave: All employees (including regular casuals) can take unpaid parental leave. However, they need to have worked with you for at least 12 months.

• Community service leave: All employees, including casuals, can take unpaid leave for community service like jury duty or emergency response work. Full-time and part-time employees get make-up pay for the first 10 days of jury service, but casuals don’t.

• Long service leave: The Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award doesn't cover this. You’ll need to check the specific rules for your state or territory. Note, most states include casuals in their long service leave laws.

Simplify the Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award compliance with Rippling

Trying to keep up with the Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award by hand? It’s a recipe for mistakes. You’ve got different pay rates, different rules for full-time, part-time, and casual staff, plus shift penalties, overtime, and allowances to factor in. One wrong step and you’re looking at back pay or a Fair Work drama.

Rippling makes it a whole lot easier. It's an all-in-one workforce management platform that ties together HR, Payroll, IT, and Spend in one system. It takes care of everything from pay to time tracking, rostering and more... all in one place! Set the right classification for each role, and Rippling looks after the rest, automatically applying the correct rules for overtime, allowances, and leave.

No more second-guessing penalty rates or fixing payroll errors after the fact. The hours your team works flow straight into payroll, with the right rates applied, every time.

This means less admin, fewer errors, and no more guesswork.

Textiles Award FAQs

Does the award apply to screen printers or dyehouses that don’t make clothes, just fabric?

Yes. If your business dyes, prints, coats, or finishes fabric or textiles, your employees are likely to fall under the Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Award. This is true, whether you turn the textiles into garments or not.

Is my bookkeeper covered under the Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award?

No. Admin staff like bookkeepers, finance officers, or general office managers don't fall under this award unless their work is directly connected to textile manufacturing processes. For example, someone sewing samples in a fashion studio typically falls under this award. But the in-house accountant managing payroll for that same studio isn't. They’d likely fall under the Clerks – Private Sector Award instead.

How often do pay rates in the Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries Award change?

Most of the time, minimum pay rates change once a year. This is usually from 1 July after the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review. But that’s not the only thing that can shift.

Other entitlements, like allowances, penalties, and loadings, can also go up at different times. To stay on top of everything, it’s smart to:

• Check the Fair Work website mid-year

• Review pay guides and allowance summaries each July

• Keep an eye out for award updates and decisions throughout the year

• Use HR software that automatically applies updated award rates and rules

Using last year’s rates can land you in hot water. Even if it’s unintentional. So, staying on top of things can save a lot of stress.