How penalty rates and allowances work under the Live Performance Award.

This article is for informational purposes and general commentary only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship.

Most people working in live performance are covered by a modern award, and for the sector that award is the Live Performance Award 2020. It sets the minimum rates of pay, the loadings for unsocial hours, and the allowances an employer must pay for things like travel, meals and equipment. A producer who ignores it risks an underpayment claim. A performer or crew member who does not understand it can be short-changed without knowing.

This note explains how penalty rates and allowances work under the award. It covers who the award applies to, why performers, musicians and crew are paid differently, how weekend, evening and public holiday work is loaded, how the casual loading and minimum engagements work, and the main allowances. The exact dollar figures change every year, so the aim here is to explain the structure and show you where the current numbers live.

What is the Live Performance Award and who does it cover?

The Live Performance Award 2020, code MA000081, is a modern award made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and administered by the Fair Work Ombudsman. It covers employers and employees in the live performance industry, which includes theatre, music, dance, opera, comedy and similar work presented to a live audience. It sets minimum terms for employees in the sector. It does not apply to genuine independent contractors, which is why the line between employee and contractor matters so much in the arts.

The award is a floor, not a ceiling. An employer can pay above it, and an enterprise agreement or a contract can offer more. What an employer cannot do is pay below the award for award-covered work. The award also sits on top of the National Employment Standards, the legislated minimum entitlements that apply to all employees. The award cannot reduce those standards.

Why performers, musicians and crew are paid differently.

The award does not use one pay structure for everyone. It treats three main groups separately, and each has its own rates, its own overtime, and its own penalty provisions. The three groups are performers and company dancers, musicians, and production and support staff, which covers technical and backstage crew.

Performers and company dancers are often paid a weekly rate that is built around performances and rehearsals, rather than a simple hourly wage. Musicians have their own minimum hourly and call rates. Production and support staff are paid more like other hourly employees, with ordinary hours and overtime. The first step in reading a pay slip is to work out which group the person falls into, because the rate and the loadings follow from that.

How does the award load weekend, evening and public holiday work?

Live performance happens at night and on weekends, so the award builds extra pay for unsocial hours into each group's rules. Ordinary full-time hours are 38 a week. Work outside the agreed span of ordinary hours, or beyond the daily or weekly limit, attracts overtime. Weekend and evening work can attract penalty rates. The exact multipliers sit in the overtime and penalty clauses for each group, so the right figure depends on whether the person is a performer, a musician or a crew member, and on when the work was done.

Because the loadings differ by group and change at the annual wage review, the safe approach is to read the overtime and penalty clause for the relevant group alongside the current pay guide, rather than assume a single figure applies across the board. The structure is consistent though. Ordinary hours are paid at the base rate, additional and unsocial hours are loaded, and public holidays carry the highest loading.

What are the public holiday rates?

Public holidays carry the clearest loadings in the award. For performers and company dancers, work on Good Friday, Christmas Day and Labour Day is paid at an extra 25 per cent of the weekly rate on top of the weekly rate. Work on other public holidays is paid at an extra 16.7 per cent on top. Travel on a public holiday is paid at 8.3 per cent of the weekly rate. A casual performer is paid 200 per cent of the performance rate for each performance, or 200 per cent of the hourly rate for rehearsals, with a minimum payment as for four hours.

For musicians, full-time and part-time employees are paid 200 per cent of the minimum hourly rate for public holiday work, and casuals are paid 225 per cent. For production and support staff, full-time and part-time employees are paid 200 per cent with a minimum payment as for four hours, and casuals are paid 225 per cent with the same four-hour minimum. The 225 per cent casual figure is the 200 per cent public holiday rate with the 25 per cent casual loading added.

How do the casual loading and minimum engagements work?

Casual employees under the award are paid a 25 per cent loading on top of the base rate. The loading is paid instead of entitlements that casuals do not receive, such as paid annual leave and paid personal leave. The loading is built into the casual rates in the pay guide, so a casual rate already includes it.

The award also sets minimum engagements for casual and short call work, so a performer or crew member who is called in is paid for a minimum number of hours even if the actual work is shorter. The public holiday rules above show this in action, with a minimum payment as for four hours for casual performers and for production staff. Minimum engagements stop an employer from paying someone for one hour when they have been required to turn up, prepare and travel.

What allowances does the award pay on top of the rate?

On top of wages and loadings, the award requires a set of allowances. These cover costs the employee takes on because of the work. The main categories are travel and transport, including a per-kilometre rate when an employee uses their own vehicle and a payment for late-night transport home after a performance; meals, through a meal allowance for each meal period and higher weekly amounts on longer engagements; accommodation and incidentals when an employee is required to stay away from home; a laundry or clothing payment where the employee launders or provides their own costume or clothing; and the cost of transporting and insuring instruments and luggage for musicians and touring staff.

Allowances are separate from the hourly or weekly rate, and an employer who pays the correct wage can still be underpaying if the allowances are left off. They are not optional extras. They are part of the minimum the award requires. When a production is touring, the travel, accommodation and incidentals allowances often add up to a large part of what a worker is owed.

Where do you find the current dollar figures?

The percentages in this note, such as the public holiday loadings and the casual loading, are set by the award and are stable. The dollar amounts are not. Minimum rates and allowance amounts are reviewed every year in the Annual Wage Review and usually change from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. For that reason you should always check the current figures rather than rely on an old pay slip or a rate you remember.

The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes a pay guide for the Live Performance Award that sets out the current minimum rates, penalty rates and allowance amounts. The award itself, which contains the detailed clauses for each group, is on the Fair Work Commission's modern awards pages. For a specific engagement, read the clause for the right group alongside the current pay guide, and keep a copy of the version that applied when the work was done.

What should you do if you think you have been underpaid?

Start by working out which group you fall into and what the award required for the hours you worked, including penalties and allowances. Keep your rosters, call sheets, pay slips and any messages about hours and travel. Compare what you were paid with the current pay guide for the period. If there is a gap, raise it with the employer in writing first, because many underpayments are errors that are fixed once they are pointed out.

If the employer will not fix it, the Fair Work Ombudsman can help recover unpaid wages, and the union for the sector can assist members. A deliberate underpayment can be more than a civil debt. Since the intentional underpayment offence commenced, an employer who deliberately underpays can face criminal liability. That is covered in our note on wage theft and underpayment in the arts. If a large sum is involved, or the employer disputes that the award applies, get advice early.

Frequently asked.

Who does the Live Performance Award 2020 cover?

It covers employers and employees in the live performance industry, including theatre, music, dance, opera and comedy presented to a live audience. It is a modern award under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), administered by the Fair Work Ombudsman. It does not cover genuine independent contractors, which is why the employee or contractor question matters.

Why are performers, musicians and crew paid differently under the award?

The award treats performers and company dancers, musicians, and production and support staff as three separate groups, each with its own rates, overtime and penalty provisions. Performers and dancers are often paid a weekly rate built around performances and rehearsals, musicians have their own hourly and call rates, and crew are paid more like other hourly employees. The first step is to work out which group applies.

What are the public holiday penalty rates?

For performers and company dancers, Good Friday, Christmas Day and Labour Day attract an extra 25 per cent of the weekly rate on top of the weekly rate, other public holidays an extra 16.7 per cent, and travel on a public holiday 8.3 per cent. For musicians and for production and support staff, full-time and part-time employees are paid 200 per cent and casuals 225 per cent, with four-hour minimums for crew and casual performers.

What is the casual loading under the Live Performance Award?

Casual employees are paid a 25 per cent loading on top of the base rate. It is paid instead of entitlements casuals do not receive, such as paid annual leave and paid personal leave. The loading is built into the casual rates in the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide, so a casual rate already includes it.

What allowances does the award require?

The main allowances cover travel and transport, including a per-kilometre rate for using your own vehicle and late-night transport home, meals, accommodation and incidentals when staying away from home, a laundry or clothing payment for costumes, and the cost of transporting and insuring instruments and luggage. Allowances are separate from the rate, so leaving them off can be an underpayment even where the wage is correct.

Where do I find the current pay rates and allowance amounts?

The percentages in the award, such as the public holiday loadings and the 25 per cent casual loading, are stable, but the dollar amounts change each year, usually from the first full pay period on or after 1 July after the Annual Wage Review. The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes a current pay guide for the Live Performance Award, and the full award clauses are on the Fair Work Commission modern awards pages.

If you are a performer, producer, venue, or independent practitioner and this raises a question about your own situation, Aaron Kernaghan and the team at Brady & Associates Lawyers can give you tailored guidance. Call 0421 717 019 or contact the firm.

This article is for informational purposes and general commentary only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. It reflects the law in Australia as at 2 October 2026, with a focus on Commonwealth law and New South Wales and ACT practice. The law changes and applies differently to every set of facts. Written by Aaron Kernaghan, Brady & Associates Lawyers.

← Back to Entertainment & Arts Law