If you’re running payroll for a construction business in 2026, getting CFMEU pay rates wrong can be a significant compliance risk. Whether your workers are on the Building and Construction General On-site Award [MA000020] or covered by a CFMEU Enterprise Agreement (EBA), rates have changed, allowances have moved, and superannuation is now locked at 12%.
This article breaks down the current 2026 CFMEU pay rates for every classification, explains what’s changed, and flags the compliance traps that catch payroll teams out.
Key Insights:
- CFMEU EBA wage rates (Victoria, on-site) updated from 1 February 2026 under the 2024–2027 Enterprise Agreements
- The underlying Building and Construction General On-site Award [MA000020] was updated from 1 July 2025 with a 3.5% increase following the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review
- Superannuation under the CFMEU EBA is now $280 per week or 12% of ordinary time earnings, whichever is greater
- EBA rates are substantially higher than award minimums. Businesses party to an EBA must apply EBA rates, not award rates
- Site allowances, special rates, and leading hand allowances add significantly to base pay. Missing these is one of the most common underpayment triggers in construction
EBA Rates vs. Award Rates: Which Applies to Your Business?
This is the first thing to sort out before looking at any rate table.
Most commercial construction businesses in Victoria (and many across other states) operate under a CFMEU Enterprise Agreement. If your business has signed a CFMEU EBA, those rates override the underlying Modern Award minimums. EBA rates are materially higher, and the two should never be confused.
If you’re not party to a CFMEU EBA, the Building and Construction General On-site Award [MA000020] sets your minimum obligations. Those rates were updated on 1 July 2025 following the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review 2024–25, which delivered a 3.5% increase.
If you’re not sure which applies, check Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) or review the registered agreement on the Fair Work Commission’s website.
2026 CFMEU EBA Pay Rates – On-site Construction (Victoria, 36-Hour Week)
The following rates apply from 1 February 2026 under the 2024–2027 CFMEU Enterprise Agreements.
Trades Classifications
| Classification | Roles | Hourly Rate | Weekly Rate |
| CW3 – 100% | Carpenter/Joiner, Tile-layer, Stonemason, Artificial Stoneworker, Marble & Slate Worker, Plasterer, Cladding Fixer, Bricklayer | $62.21 | $2,239.56 |
| CW3 – 100% | Bricklayer (Builder employed) | $61.71 | $2,221.56 |
| CW3 – 100% | Painter – new work | $60.81 | $2,189.16 |
| CW3 – 100% | Painter – re-paint | $60.72 | $2,185.92 |
| CW4 – 105% | Marker/Setter Out, Letter Cutter | $64.75 | $2,331.00 |
| CW4 – 105% | Signwriter | $63.40 | $2,282.40 |
| CW5 – 110% | Specialist Class Tradesperson: Carver | $67.19 | $2,418.84 |
Labourers
| Classification | Roles | Hourly Rate | Weekly Rate |
| CW3 – 100% | Grade 1: Rigger, Dogman, Sign Industry Worker | $60.46 | $2,176.56 |
| CW2 – 96% | Grade 2: Scaffolder, Hoist/Winch Driver, Steel Fixer, Concrete Finisher | $58.46 | $2,104.56 |
| CW1 – 92.4% | Grade 3: Trades Labourer, Concrete Gang, Jack Hammerman, Concrete Cutting Machine Operator | $56.65 | $2,039.40 |
Crane Crews – Building Sites
| Classification | Roles | Hourly Rate | Weekly Rate |
| CW7 – 120% | Tower Crane Crew (Operators & Dogman/Crane Hands) | $70.42 | $2,535.12 |
| CW5 – 110% | Trainee Dogman/Crane Hand on Fixed Cranes | $65.50 | $2,358.00 |
Plant Operators
| Classification | Roles | Hourly Rate | Weekly Rate |
| PCW1 – 92.4% | New entrant for plant only; Rollers up to 5 tonnes | $54.48 | $1,961.28 |
| PCW2 – 96% | Rollers 5–10 tonnes; Skid Steer & Backhoe/Loaders to 200kw; Construction Trucks up to 12 tonnes | $56.58 | $2,036.88 |
| PCW3 – 100% | Rollers over 10 tonnes; Excavators up to 16 tonnes; Wheel & Track Loaders up to 100kw; Construction Trucks 12–60 tonnes; Forklift Operators | $58.93 | $2,121.48 |
| PCW4 – 105% | Compactors up to 200kw; Excavators 16–25 tonnes; Wheel & Track Loaders 100–200kw; Construction Trucks 60–120 tonnes; Mobile Cranes up to 15 tonnes | $61.37 | $2,209.32 |
| PCW5 – 110% | Excavators 25–65 tonnes; Wheel & Track Loaders 200–300kw; Construction Trucks 120–200 tonnes; Mobile Cranes 15–100 tonnes | $63.85 | $2,298.60 |
| PCW6 – 115% | Excavators 65–115 tonnes; Wheel & Track Loaders over 300kw; Construction Trucks over 200 tonnes; Tower Cranes | $66.38 | $2,389.68 |
| PCW7 – 120% | Excavators over 115 tonnes; Crawler Tractors over 350kw; Graders experienced final trim | $68.91 | $2,480.76 |
Source: CFMEU Victoria & Tasmania – 2026 On-site EBA Wage Sheet.
All EBA rates are for a 36-hour week. Site allowances, penalties, overtime, and other special rates are additional.
2026 CFMEU EBA Allowances (Effective 1 March 2026)
The base hourly and weekly rates are only part of the story. In addition to these, the EBA requires a range of additional payments.
Standard EBA Benefits (from 1 March 2026)
- Travel allowance: $57.60 per day
- Superannuation: $280 per week or 12% of ordinary time earnings — whichever is greater
- Incolink (redundancy): $160.00 per week
- Overtime meal allowance: $33.80 when required to work overtime for 1.5+ hours on an ordinary working day
- Living away from home allowance: $965.65 per week / $191.00 per day
- Additional overnight allowance: $14.75 per night
- Long service leave: 13 weeks after 10 years’ service; pro rata after 7 years (paid into LeavePlus)
Multi-storey Allowance
Floors | Rate per Hour |
Start to 15th floor | $0.74 |
Floors 16–30 | $0.87 |
Floors 31–45 | $1.34 |
Floors 46–60 | $1.74 |
Floors 61+ | $2.11 |
Leading Hands Allowance (CW3 trades supervising trades)
Persons supervised | Rate per Hour |
1 person | $0.69 |
2–5 persons | $1.53 |
6–10 persons | $1.94 |
11 or more | $2.60 |
Selected Special Rates
Condition | Rate |
Hot work: 46–54°C | $0.90/hr |
Hot work: over 54°C | $1.12/hr |
Cold work: under 0°C | $0.90/hr |
Demolition (directly performing) | $10.25/hr |
Demolition (working alongside) | $9.20/hr |
Confined space | $1.12/hr |
Asbestos eradication | $3.00/hr |
Dirty work | $0.90/hr |
Wet work | $0.90/hr |
Towers allowance (over 15m + each additional 15m) | $0.90/hr |
Explosive powered tool | $2.11/day |
Pneumatic tool operation | $4.92/day |
Dual lift allowance | $4.54/day |
Service core allowance | $1.85/hr |
Source: CFMEU Victoria – 2026 On-site EBA Allowances Sheet.
Site allowances vary by project and are listed separately in the CFMEU Victoria Site Allowances sheet.
Award Rates Under MA000020 (Non-EBA Businesses, From 1 July 2025)
If your business is not party to a CFMEU EBA, the Building and Construction General On-site Award MA000020 sets your minimum obligations. Rates below are from the Master Painters Australia Victoria Award Wage Rate Sheet (July 2025), reflecting the 3.5% increase from 1 July 2025.
Daily Hire – Non-Residential (from 1 July 2025)
Classification | Roles | Hourly Rate | Weekly Rate |
CW4 | Signwriter | $31.91 | $1,212.70 |
CW3 | Carpenter & Joiner | $31.79 | $1,208.10 |
CW3 | Tile-layer, Marble & Slate Worker | $31.79 | $1,208.10 |
CW3 | Floorlayer Specialist, Plasterer | $31.61 | $1,201.20 |
CW3 | Painter | $31.00 | $1,178.00 |
CW1(d) | Experienced labourer | $29.62 | $1,125.60 |
CW1(c) | Labourer after 12 months | $29.14 | $1,107.20 |
CW1(b) | Labourer 3–12 months | $28.78 | $1,093.60 |
CW1(a) | Labourer up to 3 months | $28.26 | $1,073.90 |
Award rates include Supplementary Payment, Industry Allowance, Tool Allowance, and Follow-the-Job Allowance. Daily fares allowance of $21.94/day is payable on RDOs but not on public holidays, sick leave, or annual leave.
The difference between the EBA and the award is stark. A CW3 carpenter on the EBA earns $62.21/hr, nearly double the award minimum of $31.79/hr. If you’re on an EBA and accidentally running payroll at award rates, you’ll have a significant underpayment exposure on your hands.
What’s Changed for 2026?
Under the CFMEU EBA (Victoria):
- New hourly and weekly rates effective 1 February 2026 under the 2024–2027 EBAs
- Allowances updated from 1 March 2026, including travel ($57.60/day, up from $55.85 in 2025) and living away from home ($965.65/week, up from $936.60)
- Superannuation is now locked at $280/week or 12%. The statutory super rate reached 12% on 1 July 2025 and is no longer scheduled to increase
- Incolink payments remain $160/week
Under the Award [MA000020]:
- 3.5% wage increase effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025, following the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review 2024–25
- Expense-related allowances also updated from 1 July 2025
What Payroll Teams Get Wrong With CFMEU Pay Rates
Getting the base rate right is just the start. These are the compliance traps that catch businesses out:
Applying award rates to EBA workers
The gap between EBA and award rates is significant, and if workers are covered by an EBA, the award floor doesn’t apply to base rates. The base rate in a registered agreement can’t be lower than the award, but in CFMEU EBAs, it’s substantially higher. Mixing these up creates underpayment liability.
Missing special rates and allowances
Demolition allowances ($10.25/hr), confined space ($1.12/hr), and asbestos eradication ($3.00/hr) add up fast across a 38-hour week. Many businesses calculate base pay accurately but fail to track which workers are entitled to which special rates on which days.
Getting leading hand rates wrong
The leading hand allowance changes based on the number of people supervised. A leading hand supervising 11 workers earns $2.60/hr more than their base, but that number changes the moment the crew size changes. Tracking this manually across multiple sites is where errors creep in.
Multi-storey rates
Projects above 15 floors trigger per-floor allowances. These change at set intervals (16th floor, 31st floor, 46th floor, 61st floor). A worker on a 35-storey project earns $1.34/hr more than one on a 20-storey project.
Superannuation miscalculation
Under the CFMEU EBA, super is calculated as the greater of $280/week or 12% of ordinary time earnings. For higher-classification workers, 12% of their ordinary earnings will exceed $280. Businesses that default to the flat $280 for all workers may be underpaying super on their higher earners.
Classification drift
Workers change roles on site. A labourer who starts using an explosive-powered tool is entitled to an additional $2.11/day for those days. If classification and work type aren’t tracked against actual daily tasks, allowances get missed.
Managing CFMEU Pay Rates 2026 at Scale
If you’ve got 30 workers across two sites, running these calculations manually in a spreadsheet is barely manageable. At 100 workers across five sites with mixed classifications, multiple allowances, and EBA obligations, it becomes a full-time compliance problem.
That’s the exact scenario construction industry payroll software is built for. Rather than manually cross-referencing rate sheets and tracking which workers trigger which special rates on which days, the right system handles award and EBA interpretation automatically, flagging when a worker’s hours, role, or location trigger a different rate.
Award interpretation software takes the published EBA or award rules and applies them to your actual timesheet data: hours worked, classification, site, and conditions encountered. The output is a compliant pay run, not a manual calculation that depends on someone remembering to check the allowances sheet.
For construction businesses dealing specifically with CFMEU obligations, payroll and compliance software built to handle the complexity of multi-site, multi-classification workforces is the practical answer to keeping underpayment risk low without running a large payroll team.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or payroll advice. Always verify current rates using official CFMEU wage sheets and Fair Work Ombudsman resources. EBA rates vary by state and agreement – confirm which agreement applies to your workforce before applying any rate.
