What are the award levels and minimum rates?
The award has five pay points across four levels. Level 1 (Associate) pays $1,010.60 a week in the first 12 months at that level and $1,063.90 after that. Level 2 (Representative) pays $1,119.10, Level 3 (Supervisory) $1,231.00 and Level 4 (In-Charge) $1,287.30. These are full-time rates for a 38-hour week and apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.
As hourly rates, that is $26.59, $28.00, $29.45, $32.39 and $33.88. Part-timers are paid at least 1/38th of the weekly rate for each ordinary hour. Casuals earn the hourly rate plus a 25% loading, so a Level 2 casual gets $36.81 an hour, and every casual engagement must run at least 3 hours. These are floors. Many agencies pay above them, and the ABS-based modelled median for residential property management is about $80,700 a year.
Who does the award cover?
It covers employers in the real estate industry and their employees in the award classifications. The industry definition is wide: real estate agency, business and hotel broking, strata and community title management, stock and station agency, buyers agency and real estate valuation. It applies to residential, commercial, retail, industrial, hotel and retirement property, and to labour-hire and group training employers placing staff in the industry.
The award does not cover employees who sit under an enterprise award or a state reference public sector award, or anyone excluded by the Fair Work Act. Where an employer is covered by more than one award, each employee falls under the classification that best fits the work they do and the setting they do it in.
How do junior rates and overtime work?
Juniors are paid a percentage of the adult rate: 60% under 19, 70% at 19 and 80% at 20. Adult rates apply from 21. A Level 1 employee under 19 in their first year gets $606.36 a week. Juniors cannot be employed on commission only.
Overtime penalties under this award are narrow. A full-time or part-time employee expressly told to work extra hours on a rostered day off or half day off gets 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after that. Extra hours worked on a normal working day are paid at the ordinary rate. Casuals get no overtime penalty. Public holidays are paid at double time. Overtime can be taken as time off in lieu if you agree to it in writing.
What allowances are payable?
If your employer requires you to use your own car, you are paid a weekly standing charge plus a per-kilometre rate, based on the car's age and engine size. For a car up to 5 years old with an engine of 1601cc to 2600cc, that is $141.37 a week plus 20 cents a km, or a $243.50 weekly lump sum if agreed in writing. The employer can choose to pay $1.00 a km instead, capped at 400 km a week.
Motorcycles attract 34 cents a km, also capped at 400 km a week. If you use a mobile phone on a plan for work, the employer must reimburse at least 50% of the plan, up to a $100 monthly plan. Excess travel time away from your usual workplace is paid at your hourly or overtime rate. Strata and property management staff on stand-by or call-out must be paid under a method agreed in writing.
Pay
AUD a year, before tax. These are the official full-time minimums under the Real Estate Industry Award 2020 (MA000106) from 1 July 2026, shown as the weekly rate multiplied by 52, before super. Your classification level decides the figure. Commission, bonuses and above-award pay come on top.
What you need
- Written commission agreementAny commission, bonus or incentive paid on top of wages must be set out in a written agreement. Any later change to it must also be in writing.
- Commission-only: eligibilityOnly sales or commercial, industrial or retail leasing staff at Level 2 or above can agree to commission-only pay. You must be licensed or registered, at least 21, and full-time. Casuals, part-timers, juniors, trainees and Level 1 staff are excluded.
- Commission-only: experience and incomeYou need at least 12 consecutive months in sales or leasing at Level 2 or above in the past 3 years. In one 12-month stretch you must also have earned at least 125% of your classification's annual rate, excluding super.
- Commission-only: minimum shareA commission-only employee gets at least 31.5% of the employer's gross commission on each deal they were responsible for. Income is reviewed every year, and the arrangement must end if it falls below the threshold.
- Classification in writingYour employer must tell you your classification in writing when you start and whenever it changes.
- Rostered days offFull-time and part-time employees get one and a half or 2 rostered days free of duty each week. Ordinary hours can be worked on any day and averaged over 8 weeks.
How to get there
- First 12 monthsLevel 1 Associate, first yearEntry pay point of $1,010.60 a week ($26.59 an hour) for the first 12 months at this level.
- After 12 monthsLevel 1 Associate, after first yearThe rate rises to $1,063.90 a week ($28.00 an hour) once you have spent 12 months at Level 1.
- VariesLevel 2 Representative$1,119.10 a week ($29.45 an hour). Sales and commercial leasing staff become eligible for commission-only pay at this level if they meet the other conditions.
- VariesLevel 3 Supervisory$1,231.00 a week ($32.39 an hour) for supervisory roles.
- VariesLevel 4 In-Charge$1,287.30 a week ($33.88 an hour), the top classification in the award.
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Questions people ask
What is the minimum wage for a property manager under the award?
It depends on the classification level, not the job title. Full-time rates from 1 July 2026 run from $1,010.60 a week at Level 1 in the first year to $1,287.30 at Level 4. Your employer must tell you your level in writing.
Do real estate employees get overtime for working Saturdays?
Ordinary hours can fall on any day of the week, so working a Saturday is not overtime in itself. Penalty overtime of 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after that applies only when a full-time or part-time employee is told to work on a rostered day off or half day off.
How much is the casual rate under the Real Estate Award?
Casuals get the minimum hourly rate plus a 25% loading. From 1 July 2026 that ranges from $33.24 an hour at Level 1 in the first year to $42.35 at Level 4, and every shift must be at least 3 hours.
What are the junior rates?
Employees under 19 get 60% of the adult rate, 19-year-olds 70% and 20-year-olds 80%. Full adult rates apply from 21. Juniors cannot be paid on commission only.
How much is the car allowance?
If you must use your own car, you get a weekly standing charge plus a per-km rate based on the car's age and engine size, or a weekly lump sum if agreed in writing. As an alternative, the employer can pay $1.00 a km for up to 400 km a week.
When do award rates change?
The current rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Award minimums are normally reviewed with effect from 1 July each year.
