HR and employment
Building & Construction General On-Site Award, apprenticeships, Fair Work, leave, terminations.
45 entries
Apprentice Pay Rates Under MA000020 for Residential Construction
How to pay first-year through fourth-year apprentices on residential building sites under the Building and Construction General On-site Award, plus school-based and adult apprentice variations.
Apprentice Wages and Progression Under MA000020
Apprentice minimums are a percentage of the CW3 standard rate, and each stage starts on competency or 12 months, whichever is earlier. Missing a step is the most common apprentice underpayment.
Building and Construction General On-site Award MA000020
MA000020 is the modern award that covers most on-site residential and commercial construction workers in Australia. The award sets classifications from CW1 to CW8, daily fares and travel
Casual vs Permanent Employment in Construction
Since 26 August 2024 section 15A of the Fair Work Act decides who is casual, not the contract label. Daily hire under MA000020 is permanent employment with one day of notice, not casual.
Competency based progression for residential trade apprentices
Competency based progression lets a residential apprentice move to the next pay stage and finish the apprenticeship when assessed competencies are met instead of waiting out fixed time periods.
Discrimination Law on Residential Construction Sites
A residential builders guide to the four federal discrimination Acts, reasonable adjustments, who enforces the law and how it intersects with Fair Work general protections.
Enterprise agreements for residential builders: BOOT, FWC approval and agreement types
How residential builders can make a single-enterprise or multi-enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act. BOOT, bargaining steps, FWC approval and what changed in 2023 and 2024.
Fair Work disputes in residential construction (Australia)
How Fair Work Commission disputes work for residential builders in Australia. Underpayment, unfair dismissal and general protections claims under the Fair Work Act 2009.
Family and Domestic Violence Leave for Residential Builders
How the 10 day paid family and domestic violence leave entitlement applies on a residential build, confidentiality duties and what a compliant policy needs to cover.
Hiring an Apprentice: Employer Obligations
An apprentice counts as one only once the training contract is registered with the state training authority. Housing construction employers can claim up to $5,000 under the Key Apprenticeship Program.
Hiring apprentices for residential builders
Residential builders hire apprentices through a registered Australian Apprenticeship training contract that combines paid on site work with off the job training toward a Certificate III qualification.
Independent Contractor vs Employee: The Australian Tests
How Australian courts and the ATO decide if a worker is a contractor or an employee. Personnel Contracting and the multi-factor analysis explained.
Labour Hire vs Subcontractor in Residential Construction
How residential builders should classify workers between labour hire and subcontractor arrangements, plus the PAYG, super and workers compensation outcomes that follow each choice.
Leave Entitlements for Residential Builders
MA000020 pays the 17.5 per cent annual leave loading on leave cashed out at termination when the NES does not. Parental Leave Pay reached 130 days for children born from 1 July 2026.
Long Service Leave Versus Portable Schemes
A construction worker can sit under a state long service leave Act and a portable scheme at once. Victoria switches the state Act off. New South Wales, Queensland and WA do not.
On-Site Award MA000020: Builder Quick Reference
The Building and Construction General On-Site Award MA000020 sets minimum pay for on-site building work. Award rates rose 4.75 per cent from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
Portable Long Service Leave for Construction Workers
Every state and territory runs a portable long service leave scheme for construction. Two funding models, who registers and how service credits transfer between CoINVEST, QLeave and other schemes.
Portable Long Service Leave in SA, TAS, ACT and NT Compared
SA charges 2 per cent of wages, TAS 2.5 per cent (1.8 if you pay on time), the ACT 2.75 per cent. NT is the odd one out: a 0.1 per cent levy on projects over 1 million dollars.
Pre apprenticeship training pathways into construction
Pre apprenticeship qualifications like Certificate I in Construction and Certificate II in Construction Pathways give school leavers and career changers a structured route into a residential trade apprenticeship.
RDOs and the 36-Hour Week in Construction
MA000020 sets a 38-hour week averaged over a 20 day cycle, not a 36-hour week. Each 8-hour day pays 7.6 hours and accrues 0.4 of an hour towards a rostered day off.
Redundancy in a Small Construction Business
The small business exemption from redundancy pay does not reach on-site builders. MA000020 switches off the NES redundancy Subdivision, so a builder with 3 employees still pays.
Residential builder partnerships with RTOs and group training
Residential builders work with registered training organisations and group training organisations to deliver apprentice off the job training and share employer obligations under state and federal arrangements.
Sham Contracting in Residential Construction
How sections 357 to 359 of the Fair Work Act work, what the 2024 reasonableness test changed and how the Fair Work Ombudsman enforces sham contracting.
Site Allowances and Loadings in Construction
MA000020 carries a dozen allowances. The ones marked for all purposes feed overtime, penalties, leave loading and super. The residential industry allowance is $53.72 a week from 1 July 2026.
Site supervisor licensing and progression from leading hand
Progression from leading hand to licensed site supervisor in Australian residential construction runs through technical qualifications, on site experience and a state issued licence or registration.
Stand Downs and Poor Weather on Construction Sites
Inclement weather is almost never a lawful section 524 stand down. MA000020 clause 24 makes you pay, up to 32 hours in any 4 week period, and move the crew to dry work first.
Subcontractor vs employee: ATO tests for Australian builders
A worker on an ABN is not automatically a contractor. The ATO and Fair Work both apply multi-factor tests looking at control, results, integration, delegation, tools and business risk. Calling a
Supervision on Residential Construction Sites
What leading hand and site supervisor roles legally mean on Australian residential builds, the WHS duty of care, licensing across states and what good supervision looks like.
Termination of Employment in Construction
Notice under the NES runs 1 to 5 weeks, but MA000020 daily hire employees can be finished on one day's notice. Unfair dismissal compensation is capped at $95,050 from 1 July 2026.
Underpayment Remediation in Construction
Intentional underpayment has been a criminal offence since 1 January 2025, carrying up to 10 years imprisonment. Honest mistakes are not caught. Here is how to self-audit and fix it.
Unfair dismissal for residential builders (Australia)
Unfair dismissal rules for Australian residential builders under Part 3-2 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Minimum employment period, the 21 day filing window and the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code.
Union right of entry on residential construction sites in Australia
How union right of entry works on residential construction sites. Fair Work Act Part 3-4 entry notices, WHS entry, permit checks and what builders must and must not do.
Workers Compensation for Interstate Workers: the State of Connection Test
Send a crew over the border and one question decides which scheme covers them: the state of connection. The cascading test, the six month temporary work rule and what a builder must actually hold.
Workplace Bullying on Residential Construction Sites
How Part 6-4B of the Fair Work Act lets a worker apply to the Fair Work Commission for orders to stop bullying, what counts as bullying and how it differs from unfair dismissal.
Long Service Corporation: The NSW Portable Long Service Leave Scheme
NSW funds portable long service leave with a 0.25 per cent levy on projects of $250,000 or more, not employer wage contributions. Workers get 8.67 weeks after 10 years.
CoINVEST: Portable Long Service Leave in Victoria
Victorian builders pay CoINVEST 2.7 per cent of ordinary pay every quarter. There is no project levy. Workers can claim after 7 years and get 13 weeks at 10.
Workers Compensation for Residential Builders in Victoria
WorkSafe Victoria WorkCover insurance requirements for residential builders, how premiums are calculated, what counts as rateable remuneration and the contractor inclusion rules.
QLeave: Portable Long Service Leave in Queensland
QLeave is a levy scheme. Work of $150,000 or more excluding GST attracts 0.575 per cent in combined levies, of which 0.35 per cent funds portable long service leave.
Workers Compensation for Residential Builders in Queensland
WorkCover Queensland Accident Insurance Policy requirements for residential builders, who must be covered, premium calculation and the contractor inclusion rules in the QLD scheme.
MyLeave: Portable Long Service Leave in Western Australia
MyLeave charges WA construction employers 0.75 per cent of ordinary pay for the 2026 calendar year, paid on quarterly returns. There is no project levy in WA.
Workers Compensation for Residential Builders in WA
How WorkCover WA's scheme works for residential builders. Insurance duty, premium setting and the 2023 Act that commenced 1 July 2024.
Workers Compensation for Residential Builders in South Australia
SA builders must register with ReturnToWorkSA. Premium is the industry rate times remuneration, most sole-trader building subbies are deemed workers, and employing uninsured risks $10,000 per worker.
Workers Compensation for Residential Builders in Tasmania
Tasmanian builders must hold a policy with a licensed insurer or self-insure. Going uninsured risks 500 penalty units plus seven years of avoided premiums, and the claim clock runs in days.
Workers Compensation for Residential Builders in the ACT
ACT builders must insure with an approved private insurer under the Workers Compensation Act 1951. Injury notice in 48 hours, claim form in 7 days, up to double the premium avoided if uninsured.
Workers Compensation for Residential Builders in the NT
NT builders insure under the Return to Work Act 1986. The worker test is the ATO PAYG test, claims go to the insurer in 3 working days, and trading uninsured risks a stop-work order plus $179,000.