Health Professionals Award Interpretations in Astalty

Overview

Astalty uses the award on each worker's employment contract to interpret approved hours into pay categories and allowance quantities. This page describes the Health Professionals Award rules currently implemented, including the limits you need to check before payroll.

The Award Pay Report, Award Playground, interpreted Excel exports and Xero timesheet push use this interpretation. The Award Interpretation tab on a timesheet batch is available on every payroll platform. On Employment Hero, PayCat and QuickBooks Payroll, the payroll platform calculates award pay itself from the timesheets Astalty sends, so what it pays can differ from these figures. See payroll platform differences.

Who this award covers

Confirm coverage and classification against clause 4 of the Award, including its exclusions and any applicable enterprise agreement. Selecting an award in Astalty does not determine a worker's legal coverage.

The Health Professionals Award covers allied health professionals - occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, dietitians, exercise physiologists, podiatrists, social workers and similar professions - together with the support services staff who work alongside them, such as receptionists, administration staff and cleaners.

For an NDIS provider, check this award when classifying your therapy and allied health team. A job title alone does not settle coverage.

Putting a worker on the Health Professionals Award

The award is set on the worker's employment contract:

1. Open the worker's User Profile and go to the HR tab.
2. Create (or edit) their contract and set Award to Health Professionals Award.
3. Choose their Health Professionals Classification. Leave Base Hourly Rate blank to use the applicable loaded award rate, or enter an intentional override. Review existing amounts and the retained-rate rules when reclassifying a worker.
4. Choose the Practice Type - this sets the daily span of hours used to decide when the shift loading applies (see The practice type and span of hours).
5. For a casual cleaner in a private medical practice, turn on Cleaner in a Private Medical Practice to apply the 2-hour minimum engagement (see Cleaner in a Private Medical Practice).

Classifications come from the award's two streams:

SCHADS-only contract fields - the SCHADS Overtime Stream, First Aid Allowance entitlement and Minimum Break Near a Sleepover - do not apply to a Health Professionals Award contract and are hidden.

October 2026 Classifications and Retained Rates

From 1 October 2026 in your organisation's timezone, the classification selector offers the new health professional structure. Level 1 uses AQF levels 5-9 and experience bands 1st year, 2nd-3rd year, 4th-6th year and 7th year+. Higher roles use levels 2.1, 2.2, 3 and 4.

Astalty does not choose or change a worker's classification automatically. Review the Fair Work transition guidance and Schedule J of the Award before selecting one. The relevant AQF level depends on the profession's entry qualification and any higher requirement for the role; it is not always the worker's highest qualification.

1. Review each health professional's existing classification, qualifications, experience and duties.
2. From 1 October, edit their contract or create the next contract and select the appropriate Health Professionals Classification. Contact Astalty support if the required option is unavailable.
3. Check Previous Classification, Retained Minimum Rate and any Base Hourly Rate on the saved contract.
4. Update the payroll classification and rate separately. Compare the first affected pay period with the Award Pay Report.

When you move an existing worker from the old pay-point structure, Astalty records their previous classification and costs at the higher applicable minimum. A contract left on an old pay point continues using its 30 September rate; leaving it unchanged does not complete the required classification review.

The new minimum applies from the first pay period starting on or after 1 October 2026. A translated contract keeps the previous classification's rate for an earlier-starting period. For a new hire with no previous classification, Astalty can use the first new rate in a period that spans its commencement; check this case separately.

On reclassification, a saved base amount matching a loaded rate for either classification is cleared so the award rates can apply. Other explicit amounts remain, but costing uses at least the applicable minimum while a previous classification is recorded. See Maintaining Award Rates.

The practice type and span of hours

Under this award, the hours that count as ordinary day work depend on the type of practice the worker is employed in. Astalty records this on the worker's contract as the Practice Type:

A weekday shift worked inside the span is paid at the ordinary rate. The practice type decides how late (or early) a shift can run before the shift loading below applies - for example, a 3pm-7pm shift attracts the loading in a general practice but is plain day work in a private practice, whose span runs to 9pm.

The medical imaging spans are not supported. Check clause 13.2 when selecting the practice type.

How your hours are interpreted

The shift loading

This award has a single 15% shift loading - there are no separate afternoon, night or permanent-night loadings. The loading applies to a weekday shift that falls outside the practice span, when the shift:

• finishes after 6:00pm and at or before 8:00am the next day, or
• commences at or after 6:00pm, or before 6:00am.

The loading applies to the whole shift, and a shift that sits entirely inside the practice span never attracts it.

Weekends and public holidays

Weekend hours are paid at 150% on both days - unlike SCHADS and the Aged Care Award, Sunday is not paid at a higher rate than Saturday under this award. A shift is classified by the day each hour falls on, so the Saturday-morning portion of a Friday night shift is paid at the Saturday rate.

For overnight work, review public holiday boundaries: an ordinary shift's holiday flag can apply to the whole shift.

Ordinary hours and overtime

Ordinary hours are capped by continuous shift, calendar day and pay period, for every employment basis. Hours beyond a cap become overtime:

• Continuous shift - 10 ordinary hours, including work across midnight.
• Daily - 10 ordinary hours per day, for full-time, part-time and casual employees alike.
• Weekly / fortnightly - 38 hours per week, or 76 hours per fortnight.

Overtime from Monday to Saturday is paid at 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% after that - Saturday overtime uses the same bands as a weekday. Sunday overtime is 200% and public holiday overtime is 250%.

Back-to-back shifts and adjoining travel count towards one continuous shift. A separately recorded unpaid meal break of 30-60 minutes preserves that grouping but adds no paid hours; a gap without a recorded break starts a new group. Meal-allowance thresholds also carry across this group, with each threshold paid once.

The first overtime band carries across midnight within a continuous shift. Overtime from any cap uses it up, including hours past the weekly limit and Sunday overtime running into Monday. A 12pm-2am shift pays 2 hours at 150% before midnight and 2 hours at 200% after it.

Casual employees

The 25% casual loading behaves differently on penalties and on overtime, and this is the detail most worth getting right:

• On ordinary, weekend, shift-loading and public holiday rates the loading is added - a casual working a Saturday is paid 150% + 25% = 175%.
• On overtime the loading is folded into the base before the overtime multiplier is applied - a casual's first overtime band is 150% x 1.25 = 187.5%, not 175%.

Casual employees also have a 3-hour minimum engagement, flagged as a scheduling alert. A casual cleaner in a private medical practice has a 2-hour minimum, applied when Cleaner in a Private Medical Practice is on in their employment details. Part-time and full-time employees have no minimum engagement under this award.

Astalty pays a casual employee's short engagement up to the minimum only when Pay Award Minimum Engagement is on. Otherwise pay covers the approved hours only. Any break between two shifts starts a new engagement with its own minimum: with the setting on and a 3-hour minimum, 9am-10am then 10:15am-3pm is paid 7.75 hours. For a cleaner on the 2-hour minimum, the same roster is paid 6.75 hours.

Allowances

• Overtime meal allowance - one meal once a shift's overtime exceeds one hour, and a second once it exceeds four hours. Turned on at Settings > Scheduling > Meal Allowance; it is off by default.
• Laundry allowance - per shift, capped weekly, for workers with the laundry entitlement on their contract.
• Uniform allowance - per shift, capped weekly, for workers with the uniform entitlement on their contract.
• Kilometre / vehicle allowance - per kilometre, for approved travel in a worker's own vehicle.

Astalty uses allowance rates loaded for the pay period. It does not retrieve changes live from Fair Work or update rates in Xero. Check both systems after a rate change; see Maintaining Award Rates.

The on-call allowance, telephone allowance and the award's other minor allowances are not calculated - see What Astalty covers under this award.

Meal provision and notice conditions need a separate check; the automatic meal setting uses overtime thresholds. Uniform allowance during eligible leave is not generated from rostered shifts, so check it in payroll.

Scheduling alerts

Astalty raises alerts while you roster, before the hours reach payroll:

• Minimum engagement of 3 hours for casual employees, or 2 hours for a casual cleaner in a private medical practice
• Minimum 10-hour break between shifts, subject to the same-day checking limitation
• Ordinary hours exceeded - a shift longer than 10 hours, for every employment basis, measured across the continuous shift

See Scheduling Award Alerts for how alert behaviour is configured.

Where you see the interpretation

• Award Interpretation tab on a timesheet batch - the per-worker breakdown for the shifts in that batch.
• Award Pay Report - the same breakdown across a full pay period.
• Award Playground (under Scheduling > Award Playground) - experiment with hypothetical work records for a worker whose contract is on this award. Sleepover scenarios don't apply - this award has no sleepover provisions, so sleepover templates are hidden.
• Interpreted Excel exports and the Xero timesheet push use the pay categories and allowances described here. Other payroll exports can contain raw timesheet records; see payroll platform differences.

Each worker's expanded view includes the interpretation trace showing which Health Professionals Award rules were applied - which cap was reached, whether the shift loading was classified, and why.

Setting up Xero pay items

Pay items are mapped per pay group, and one pay group's mapping can only encode one award's rates. Health Professionals Award staff therefore need their own pay group.

Whilst we cannot provide payroll advice based on your interpretation and application of the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020, these are the Pay Items and their suggested multipliers when setting up Xero pay items for a Health Professionals Award pay group. You should refer to the Award, or seek professional and qualified advice, to ensure accuracy and compliance for your organisation.

The Weekday Afternoon pay item is never used by this award - Astalty marks it as not applicable for a Health Professionals pay group, and you do not need to map it.

For the mapping workflow itself, see Setup Pay Items and Employee Templates in Xero and Setup Pay Groups and Employees in Astalty.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Sunday paid the same as Saturday?

Because that is what this award says: all ordinary hours between midnight Friday and midnight Sunday are paid at 150% (175% casual). Sunday is only paid at a higher rate when the hours are overtime - Sunday overtime is 200%.

Why didn't my worker's 7pm finish attract the shift loading?

Check the Practice Type on their contract. In a private practice the span runs to 9:00pm, so a shift finishing at 7pm is ordinary day work. In a general practice the span ends at 6:00pm, and the same shift would attract the 15% loading.

Why is my casual's overtime higher than the ordinary rate plus 25%?

Because on overtime the casual loading is folded into the base before the overtime multiplier, rather than added afterwards. The first overtime band works out at 150% x 1.25 = 187.5%.

Why didn't a minimum engagement alert appear for my part-time worker's short shift?

Because this award only sets a minimum engagement for casual employees (3 hours, or 2 hours for a cleaner in a private medical practice). Part-time and full-time employees can be rostered shorter shifts without an award minimum applying.

Why does my casual cleaner get a 3-hour minimum engagement alert?

The 2-hour minimum only applies once Cleaner in a Private Medical Practice is on in the worker's employment details. See Cleaner in a Private Medical Practice.

Does Astalty pay the on-call allowance for health professionals?

No. On-call and recall are not calculated under this award - if you pay an on-call allowance, handle it in your payroll system. See What Astalty covers under this award.

Who updates pay rates after the Annual Wage Review?

You maintain your payroll rates and check the rate stored on each Astalty contract. Astalty uses loaded rate schedules, not a live Fair Work feed. See Maintaining Award Rates.

Can Astalty tell me if my roster complies with the Health Professionals Award, or give payroll advice?

Astalty gives you the tools - the interpreter, the per-worker interpretation trace, the scheduling alerts and the playground - but it cannot give payroll advice or confirm compliance for your organisation. How the Award applies to your situation is your decision; refer to the Award or seek qualified advice.

What Astalty covers under this award

Sources and Review

Checked against Astalty and the current Health Professionals Award award text on 29 September 2026. The supported-rules table describes product behaviour, not a complete compliance assessment. Recheck the Award and Maintaining Award Rates before a pay run involving changed rates or conditions.