Rates guide · Sydney and NSW · 2026-27 award rates
Boilermaker labour hire rates guide 2026
What does a boilermaker cost through labour hire? Start with the award minimum, add what the law and the insurer add, then see where a quote sits. Every number is sourced. Every assumption is yours to change. All of it is an estimate, not a quote.
- Estimates only
- Award rates from 1 July 2026
- Not a quote
Award rates are minimums. Many Sydney sites pay more under an enterprise agreement.
Start with the award, not the ad
Job ads show a number. A labour hire quote shows a bigger one. The gap is not mysterious, and it is not all margin. This guide builds the number from the bottom so you can check any quote against it.
Where the bottom is. For many fabrication and manufacturing trades, the minimum pay is set by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award. Its tradesperson level I (C10) is the reference classification in this guide, and the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide has the current hourly rate for every level.1 The Fair Work Commission lifted award minimums by 4.75% from 1 July 2026.2 Which classification a boilermaker is paid at depends on their qualifications, their duties and the agreement that applies. Construction sites may sit under a different award, and many industrial sites run enterprise agreements that pay more.
What a labour hire provider adds. Casual loading, superannuation, workers compensation, payroll tax, insurances, PPE, induction, payroll and account management, and the provider's margin. The estimator below adds the on-costs from sourced rates or placeholders you control. It leaves margin out, so the result is a cost floor: what it costs to employ the person correctly, before the provider adds any margin.
Why that matters. If a quote sits below the floor for the same conditions, ask what has been left out. Cheap is usually missing a line.
At a glance
Award classifications compared, from 1 July 2026
Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award, full-time and part-time adult rates. Each level is shown as a percentage of C10 tradesperson level I, the reference for this guide. Casual employees add 25%. The Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide has the current hourly rate for each level.
Which level applies to a boilermaker depends on qualifications, duties and the agreement that covers the site. These classifications set minimums, not market rates.
At a glance
Shift, weekend and holiday rates for a C10 tradesperson
Shown as a percentage of the base rate. Full-time employee, from 1 July 2026. Same award, same pay guide.
Allowances (for example height, confined space, industry or site allowances) can apply on top. See the pay guide and your agreement.
What moves a boilermaker's rate
| Driver | Moves the rate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Classification and agreement | Up | A higher level or an enterprise agreement sets a higher base |
| Casual or permanent | Casual is 25% higher | Casual loading replaces paid leave |
| Shift pattern | Up for nights, weekends and public holidays | Shift loadings and penalty rates |
| Overtime and long shifts | Up | Time and a half for the first three hours, then double time |
| Allowances | Up | Height, confined space, industry and site allowances where they apply |
| Tickets and weld codes | Up in a tight market | Scarce tickets and coded welding command a premium |
| Duration and volume | Down | A longer, steadier engagement can lower the margin per hour |
| Location and travel | Up | Regional work adds travel and accommodation |
| Notice | Up | Short-notice cover costs more to find |
Shutdown and night work
Shutdown ads often show higher hourly figures than day-shift maintenance ads. Some of that is the work. Most of it is arithmetic: night loadings, overtime on long shifts, public holidays and allowances stack. Put them into the estimator below and you will see the same shape.
Same job, same pay
Where the Fair Work Commission has made a regulated labour hire arrangement order, labour hire workers doing the same work as the host's direct employees must receive at least the host's protected rate of pay.3 If a host agreement pays more than the award, the award figures above are not the floor for that site.
Calculator
Boilermaker cost-floor estimator
Pick the engagement and the shift. Add overtime and allowances for a shutdown. The result is what it costs to employ the person correctly, before margin, shown as a percentage of the base rate. Because every figure is a multiple of the base rate, the calculator needs no pay rate. If you hold a quote, enter its hourly rate and your base rate to see where it sits against the floor.
Assumptions
| Assumption | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Award base rate | Manufacturing Award, C10 tradesperson level I as the reference classification. Every result is a multiple of the base rate, so the level you pay does not change the percentages | 1 Fixed |
| Casual loading | 25% | 1 Fixed |
| Shift loadings and penalty rates | 15% and 30% shift loadings. 150%, 200% and 250% for Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Overtime 150% for three hours, then 200% | 1 Fixed |
| Superannuation guarantee | 12% of ordinary-hours pay (overtime and allowances are left out: a simplification) | 4 Fixed |
| Payroll tax, NSW | 5.45% of wages plus super above the annual threshold set by Revenue NSW, 2026-27 | 5 You can change it above |
| Workers compensation | 3.5% of wages. Placeholder | You can change it above |
| Other on-costs | 2% of wages. Placeholder | You can change it above |
| Provider margin | Not included. The result is the cost floor, before any margin | Fixed |
What the numbers leave out
- Penalty rates here apply to ordinary hours worked on that day by agreement. Shift loadings apply to weekday ordinary hours only.
- Real engagements add minimum shift lengths, travel, tool and meal allowances and site-specific conditions.
- Enterprise agreements and other awards differ, often upwards. Where a regulated labour hire arrangement order applies, the host's rate is the floor.
- Superannuation rules changed from 1 July 2026 (Payday Super). Check how your payroll calculates super.
Checklist
Check any quote against the floor
Print this and hold your next labour hire quote up to it. A good provider answers every line without a fuss.
How it works
How we quote a boilermaker
No rate card, because a number without a brief is wrong for most clients.
Send the brief
Trade and level, tickets and weld codes, shift pattern, site, start date and duration. Request boilermakers or call 02 7813 4761.
We confirm the base
We confirm which award or enterprise agreement applies and the classification the work calls for.
You see the build-up
Rates are built on the applicable award. We show the build-up line by line on request: base, loadings, on-costs and margin.
You approve the profiles
Verified qualifications, tickets and experience, then timesheets you approve and weekly invoices auto-generated from them.
Smart Industrial is first class in delivering projects, labour and engineering support across all facets of the industrial space.
Questions
Boilermaker rate questions
What is the award rate for a boilermaker in NSW?
It depends on the award or agreement that covers the work. Under the Manufacturing Award, the tradesperson level I (C10) is the base classification, and higher levels (C9 down to C6) are paid progressively more. The Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide sets out the current hourly rate for each.1 Construction sites may sit under a different award, and many industrial sites pay more under an enterprise agreement. Treat award figures as the floor, not the market.
Why is a labour hire rate so much higher than the award rate?
Because the award rate is only the wage. Casual loading adds 25%, then come superannuation at 12%, workers compensation, payroll tax, insurances, PPE, induction, payroll and the provider's margin. With the estimator's placeholder on-costs, the cost floor before any margin is about 55% above the award base rate. Margin sits on top of that.
Do boilermakers and welders get paid the same?
Not automatically. A boilermaker holds a fabrication trade and a welder joins metal. Classification follows qualifications and duties, and agreements differ. See our boilermaker and welder pages for how we match the trade to the brief.
Do you publish your rates?
No. Rates depend on the award or agreement, classification, shift, site, tickets and duration, so a published number would be wrong for most clients. We build the rate on the applicable award and show the build-up line by line on request.
What about shutdown and night rates?
Shutdown work stacks loadings: afternoon and night shift loadings, overtime on long shifts, weekend and public holiday rates and allowances. Put them in the estimator and the hourly figure rises quickly. An ad that shows a high hourly rate for a shutdown is usually showing that stack, not a base rate.
Does 'same job, same pay' change the numbers?
It can. Where the Fair Work Commission has made a regulated labour hire arrangement order, labour hire workers must receive at least the host employer's protected rate of pay for the same work, which can lift the rate above the award.3 Our rates are built on the applicable award and the site's requirements, and we will tell you if an order applies to your site.
Is the estimator a quote?
No. It is an educational estimate built from public award rates and placeholders you can change. It does not show our rates or our margin. For a quote against a real brief, request boilermakers.
Sources and notes
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Pay Guide, Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award [MA000010]. Effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026; published 29 July 2026. Base classifications C10 to C6, casual loading, shift loadings and penalty rates for the Manufacturing Award. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- Fair Work Commission: Annual Wage Review 2026 decision. 4.75% increase to modern award minimum wage rates from 1 July 2026. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- Clayton Utz: Same job, what pay? Guidance on new labour hire laws. Law-firm commentary on regulated labour hire arrangement orders, which the Fair Work Commission has been able to make since 1 November 2024. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- Australian Taxation Office: Key superannuation rates and thresholds. Superannuation guarantee rate of 12% from 1 July 2025. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- Revenue NSW: Payroll tax thresholds and rates. 5.45% above the annual threshold in 2025-26 and 2026-27. Accessed 3 October 2026.
Ready when you are
Want a quote against a real brief?
Tell us the trade, the level, the tickets, the shift and the site. We will build the rate on the award or your agreement and show you the build-up.