This traffic controller pay calculator checks a week of shifts against the award, or against your own agreement, and shows what each hour should have been paid. It's built for the question crews ask most: is my pay right? It splits every shift into ordinary time, shift loadings, weekend and public holiday time and overtime, adds the minimums and allowances, and compares the total with your payslip.
Which award covers traffic controllers
Most traffic controllers working on roadworks and construction sites are covered by the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020). The award defines traffic management as directing and controlling traffic, and puts it inside the civil construction stream. It applies when your employer works in on-site building, engineering or civil construction and the traffic control is part of that work.
Two things change the answer:
- An enterprise agreement (EBA). Many traffic control companies have their own agreement. If you're covered by one, its rates apply instead of the award, as long as you're better off overall. Use the "My agreement rates" option and type your agreement's rate and multipliers.
- Work outside construction. Events, car parks and some council or utility work may fall under the Miscellaneous Award instead. This tool doesn't load that award.
The civil stream matters because its shift loadings are different from general building. A night shift is 115% in civil construction, but 150% in general building. Paying the wrong stream is one of the easiest ways to get night pay wrong.
Traffic controller pay rates from 1 July 2026
The award's minimum weekly rate for each level is turned into an hourly rate by adding the industry allowance of $67.15 a week and dividing by 38 hours. The industry allowance is paid "for all purposes", so it's part of the ordinary rate that every penalty is worked out from.
| Level | Award minimum | Ordinary rate (weekly hire) | Casual rate (+25%) | Daily hire rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CW1 (level a) | $26.67 | $28.44 | $35.55 | $29.34 |
| CW1 (level b) | $27.20 | $28.96 | $36.20 | $29.88 |
| CW1 (level c) | $27.56 | $29.33 | $36.66 | $30.26 |
| CW1 (level d) | $28.05 | $29.82 | $37.28 | $30.77 |
| CW2 | $28.62 | $30.39 | $37.99 | $31.35 |
| CW3 | $29.45 | $31.22 | $39.03 | $32.21 |
Daily hire employees get a "follow the job" loading: the weekly amount is multiplied by 52/50.4 before dividing by 38. That's why the Fair Work pay guide shows $29.34 for CW1 (level a), while the weekly hire figure is $28.44. Most traffic controllers start at CW1 (level a). Check your employment letter, which must say your classification.
Penalty rates, overtime and shift loadings
| When you work | Weekly or daily hire | Casual | Award clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours (Mon–Fri, 7 am–6 pm, or 6 am by agreement) | 100% | 125% | 12.4, 16.1 |
| Weekday overtime, first 2 hours | 150% | 175% | 29.4, 12.5 |
| Weekday overtime after 2 hours | 200% | 225% | 29.4, 12.5 |
| Saturday, first 2 hours (200% after 12 noon) | 150% | 175% | 30.1 |
| Saturday after 2 hours | 200% | 225% | 30.1 |
| Sunday | 200% | 225% | 30.1(d) |
| Public holiday | 250% | 275% | 30.1(e), 12.6 |
| Civil afternoon or night shift | 115% | 140% (check) | 17.2(j) |
| Civil permanent night shift | 130% | 155% (check) | 17.2(n) |
| Afternoon or night shifts fewer than 5 in a row | 150% | 175% (check) | 17.2(m) |
Minimums apply too. A casual must be paid for at least 4 hours every time they're engaged. Saturday overtime has a 3-hour minimum, Sunday and public holiday work a 4-hour minimum, and a shiftworker called out after leaving work gets at least 3 hours at 200%. The award doesn't say exactly how the casual loading stacks on a civil shift loading, so the calculator adds 25 points and marks it "check".
How the calculator works it out
The calculator walks through each shift minute by minute:
- It takes out your unpaid break, placed before the 5-hour mark, because the award says no more than 5 hours without a meal break.
- For day work, minutes inside the ordinary hours window, up to 8 hours a day, are ordinary time. Anything outside the window or past 8 hours is overtime.
- For civil shiftwork, the start time decides the shift type: day (6–10 am), afternoon (10 am–8 pm) or night (8 pm–6 am). The day with most of the shift decides whether it's a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shift. Hours past 8 are shift overtime at 200%.
- Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays use the weekend rates. Public holidays come from your state's official 2026–2027 list, including part-day holidays such as Christmas Eve evening in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
- Minimums top up short shifts, and RDO accrual banks 0.4 hours of each 8 ordinary hours (7.6 paid now) if you're on weekly or daily hire.
- Allowances are added: fares and travel $22.41 a day, an overtime meal of $19.74 when you work 1.5 hours or more of overtime after ordinary hours, and $1.00 a km for driving your own car between sites.
- Super is 12% of ordinary-time pay. Overtime and allowances are left out.
It also flags less than 10 hours off between shifts, which under clause 29.8 means the extra time is paid at 200% until you get your break.
A worked example
Jess is a casual CW1 (level a) traffic controller in Queensland on the award. Her ordinary hours can start at 6 am. She works Monday to Friday 6:00 am to 3:00 pm with a 30-minute unpaid break, and Saturday 6:00 am to 12:30 pm.
- Each weekday: 8 ordinary hours at $35.55 = $284.40, plus 30 minutes of overtime at 175% ($49.77/h) = $24.89. That's $309.29 a day, or $1,546.43 for five days.
- Saturday: 2 hours at 175% = $99.54, 4 hours at 225% = $255.96, and 30 minutes after noon at 225% = $32.00. That's $387.50.
- Wages: $1,933.92 for 49 hours. Allowances: six days of fares and travel at $22.41 = $134.46. Gross: $2,068.38.
- Super: 12% of the $1,422.00 of ordinary pay = $170.64.
If Jess had been paid a flat $35.55 for all 49 hours, her wages would be $1,741.95. That's $191.97 short before allowances. Typing $1,741.95 into the payslip box shows the gap and the questions to ask.
Agreements and state differences
The award is the same in every state, but public holidays aren't. Easter Saturday isn't a holiday in Western Australia or Tasmania, Victoria has the AFL Grand Final Friday and Melbourne Cup, and only some states add a Monday when Anzac Day falls on a weekend. The calculator ticks the holiday for the state you choose. You can tick any other day yourself.
Enterprise agreements can be very different. The 2026 CFMEU Victoria traffic control agreement pays CW1 $56.65 an hour on a 36-hour week, with a $57.60 daily travel allowance and super of at least $280 a week. Use the example button and then change the rates to match your own agreement. Our guide to traffic controller pay and awards explains how coverage works, and what traffic controllers earn puts the hourly rates into yearly figures.
When to get help
This is an estimate. Rosters, over-award payments, classifications, inclement weather, living-away allowances and leading hand rates all change the answer. If your payslip is well below the estimate:
- ask your employer which award or agreement covers you and your classification
- ask how each hour on the payslip was paid
- keep your rosters, signed dockets and payslips: a digital docket helps
- contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94 or use their pay calculator
If you run a traffic control company, the labour cost calculator turns these rates into a fully loaded cost per hour, and the Payday Super calculator shows when each pay run's super is due.