Most people assume payroll is simple. You hire staff, pay them their wages, and that’s it.
But in real estate, it’s not that straightforward.
The Real Estate Industry Award is one of the most difficult employment awards to navigate. The rules around full-time, part-time, and casual employees, commission-only structures, allowances, and overtime rates are incredibly specific – and constantly changing.
And if you get it wrong? Fair Work doesn’t care if you didn’t realise you were making a mistake. They won’t give you a warning. They’ll simply demand back pay, issue penalties, and, in some cases, take businesses to court.
Even if you’ve never had an issue before, that doesn’t mean you’re compliant. It just means no one has checked yet.
So, in this blog, I’m going to break it all down for you – how the Award works and how to make sure your payroll is 100% compliant.
So, who does this Award apply to?
This Award covers any employer in the real estate industry in respect to their employees engaged in the classifications listed in the Award.
The real estate industry, as defined under this Award, includes businesses that provide services related to:
In addition, the Award extends to labour-hire employers supplying workers to businesses in the real estate industry, as well as group training organisations placing trainees within the sector.
The Real Estate Industry Award 2020 does NOT cover:
Key takeaway: If your business engages employees in any of the classifications under the Award, you are likely covered. However, if your employees fall under another industry-specific award or enterprise agreement, this Award may not apply. If you’re uncertain, it’s critical to get legal or payroll advice—because Fair Work won’t accept ignorance as an excuse.
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This Award outlines strict rules on full-time, part-time, and casual employment, and you must classify your employees correctly from the start.
A full-time employee under this Award is engaged to work an average of 38 ordinary hours per week. These employees are entitled to:
Part-time employees must:
Most importantly, the employer must provide written notice to a part-time employee at the start of employment, outlining their agreed-upon hours and conditions. Failure to do this can result in Fair Work determining that the employee should have been treated as full-time (which could mean back-paying annual leave, overtime, and more).
Casual employment under this Award comes with strict requirements:
Important: Casual employees CANNOT be employed on a commission-only basis under this Award. If your business is engaging commission-based sales staff, they must be employed as full-time or part-time employees with a properly structured agreement.
Casual employees have the right to request permanent employment under the Fair Work Act if they meet certain criteria. These rights exist to ensure that long-term casual employees who work regular, ongoing hours have a pathway to job security.
Employers must ensure they understand Sections 66A to 66MA of the Fair Work Act, which set out the rules for casual conversion.
Under the law, an employer must make a written offer to convert a casual employee to full-time or part-time if:
However, an employer is not required to offer conversion if there are reasonable business grounds to refuse. This could include:
If an employer does not make an offer, they must provide a written explanation to the employee. Likewise, if an employee meets the eligibility criteria but has not received an offer, they have the right to request conversion in writing. The employer must respond within 21 days, either accepting or refusing the request with a clear reason.
Casual conversion is an area where many businesses make costly mistakes. Employers who ignore these rules or fail to follow proper procedures can face penalties from Fair Work. Ensuring compliance means not only understanding when offers must be made but also keeping accurate records of hours worked and all communication regarding conversion requests.
This includes ordinary hours of work, rostered time off, and an employee’s right to disconnect outside of work hours.
For employees covered under this Award, ordinary working hours are:
A Rostered Day Off (RDO) is a scheduled day off that forms part of an employee’s work pattern, allowing them to accumulate time off by working additional hours over a set period. This system is often used to balance workloads while ensuring employees receive their full entitlements to rest and recovery.
Non-casual employees under this Award are entitled to either one and a half or two days off per week, which can be structured in different ways depending on the needs of the business and the employee. These can be taken as:
The employee takes their full entitlement as one continuous period.
Example: An employee works Monday to Friday and has Saturday and Sunday off as their RDOs.
Two Separate Days
The employee takes their days off separately rather than in a continuous block.
Example: An employee works Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday but has Wednesday and Sunday off.
Instead of two full days off, the employee takes one full day and two half days.
Example: An employee has Wednesday off completely and takes Monday and Friday afternoons off as their half-days.
Additionally, employees must receive an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes after no more than five consecutive hours of work. However, if their shift is six hours or less, they may choose to work through their meal break—provided the employer agrees.
From 26 August 2024, non-small business employers must comply with the new Right to Disconnect provisions. Small businesses (those with fewer than 15 employees) have until 26 August 2025 to implement these changes.
Under these rules:
Employers should review their rostering and communication practices to ensure they align with these new requirements.
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Employees are classified based on their level of responsibility, experience, and role within the business.
Employees must be paid at least the minimum weekly wage for their classification. The Award sets out five classification levels, with pay increasing as responsibilities grow:
These rates do not apply to commission-only employees.
Employees under 21 receive a percentage of the adult minimum wage:
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Employees can be paid a base wage plus commission, a bonus, or an incentive payment—but only if this is outlined in a written agreement between the employer and employee.
Commission-only employment has strict eligibility rules and is only allowed for experienced, full-time employees who meet a specific income threshold. Employers must ensure they are not misclassifying employees under this arrangement.
To be employed solely on commission, an employee must:
⚠ Casual, part-time, junior, and trainee employees CANNOT be employed on a commission-only basis.
Commission-only employees must be paid at least 31.5% of the employer’s gross commission. If multiple employees worked on a sale, their commission must be split based on their contribution, as outlined in a written agreement.
⚠ Commission-only employees do not receive base wages, paid leave, overtime, allowances, or penalty rates.
These allowances ensure that employees are not left out of pocket for costs they incur while performing their duties.
Real estate employees frequently use their own vehicles for work-related purposes, including attending property inspections, meeting clients, and conducting market appraisals. If an employer requires an employee to use their personal vehicle, they must reimburse them under one of the following methods:
Employees are not entitled to a motor vehicle allowance if:
If an employer provides a company vehicle, they must cover all expenses, including fuel, maintenance, and insurance. Employees must follow the employer’s policies regarding the use of the vehicle.
If an employee is required to use a motor scooter or motorcycle for work purposes, they must be reimbursed at a set per-kilometre rate, up to a weekly maximum. Employees must maintain accurate records of their mileage and usage.
If an employer requires an employee to use their personal mobile phone for work, they must provide reimbursement. The amount of reimbursement depends on whether the phone is on a contract plan or a pre-paid service:
If an employee changes their phone plan, the allowance must be adjusted accordingly. The mobile phone allowance is paid throughout employment, except during any period of leave.
If an employer requires employees to wear a uniform, they must either:
The uniform remains the property of the employer and must be returned upon termination of employment. Employees are responsible for maintaining, laundering, and dry-cleaning their uniforms.
If an employee incurs expenses while performing work duties at the request of the employer, they must be fully reimbursed. These expenses may include:
Where possible, employers should pay for these expenses upfront to prevent employees from having to cover costs out of pocket.
If an employee is required to start or finish work at a location other than their usual workplace, they must be compensated for excess travel time beyond their normal commute. This additional time is treated as working time and must be paid at the applicable ordinary or overtime rates, depending on when the travel occurs.
Employers and employees should ensure that all allowances and reimbursements are recorded in payroll systems and payslips as required under Fair Work Regulations.
The rules around super guarantee payments, employee fund choices, and voluntary contributions are outlined in the Award and must be strictly followed.
Employers must contribute superannuation payments in line with the Superannuation Guarantee (SG), which is set by the Australian government.
Employees generally have the right to choose their own super fund. However, if an employee does not make a choice, the employer must:
Employers must ensure they are paying into the correct fund—failure to do so may result in penalties.
Employees may choose to make additional super contributions from their wages. If an employee provides written consent, the employer must:
Employers who fail to meet their superannuation obligations risk fines, penalties, and liability for unpaid contributions.
Overtime and penalty rates exist to ensure employees are fairly compensated when working outside standard hours. This includes work beyond the normal weekly hours or on rostered days off.
Employees must be expressly directed by their employer to work beyond their standard rostered hours to qualify for overtime payments. If an employee works extra hours voluntarily, without employer instruction, it does not count as overtime.
Overtime is paid at the following rates:
|
Day Worked |
Full-Time & Part-Time Overtime Rate (% of Minimum Hourly Rate) |
Casual Overtime Rate (% of Minimum Hourly Rate) |
|---|---|---|
|
Hours worked beyond standard rostered hours |
100% |
125% |
|
Rostered day or half-day off – First 2 hours |
150% |
N/A |
|
Rostered day or half-day off – After 2 hours |
200% |
N/A |
Note: Casual employees receive a 25% casual loading on top of the full-time and part-time overtime rates.
Instead of receiving overtime pay, employees and employers can agree to time off in lieu (TOIL). This must be agreed upon in writing and must specify:
TOIL must be taken within 6 months of the overtime being worked. If it is not taken within this period, the employer must pay the employee at the overtime rate for those hours.
⚠ Employers cannot pressure employees into choosing TOIL instead of overtime pay.
Employees in property management and strata/community title management roles may be required to be on standby or called out outside their normal hours.
Without a written agreement, stand-by and call-out hours must be counted as working hours.
Employers must ensure these entitlements are correctly recorded and paid.
Employees (excluding casuals) are entitled to 4 weeks of paid annual leave per year of service, as per the National Employment Standards (NES).
Employers cannot unreasonably refuse an employee’s request to take their accrued annual leave. Employees are encouraged to take their leave within the anniversary year it accrues unless agreed otherwise.
Employees (excluding commission-only employees) receive a 17.5% leave loading on their base pay while on annual leave.
If a business plans to shut down temporarily, the employer may require employees to take annual leave.
Employers and employees may agree in writing to take annual leave before it has accrued.
The written agreement must specify:
If an employee leaves the business before accruing the leave they have taken, the employer can deduct the value of the leave from the final pay.
Employees may cash out some of their accrued annual leave, but only if:
⚠ Employers cannot pressure employees into cashing out leave, and the payment must be equal to what they would have earned had they taken the leave normally.
An excessive leave accrual occurs when an employee has more than 8 weeks of accrued annual leave.
If no agreement is reached, the employer may direct the employee in writing to take annual leave. This direction must not:
If an employee has had excessive leave for more than 6 months, and no agreement is reached, they may force the employer to allow them to take leave. Employees can only request up to 4 weeks of leave (or 5 weeks for shiftworkers) per 12-month period.
Personal/carer’s leave allows employees to take paid time off when they are sick or need to care for an immediate family or household member.
Employees can take 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave per occasion if they don’t have enough paid leave accrued.
Employees are entitled to 2 days of compassionate leave when a close family member dies or suffers a life-threatening illness or injury. This leave is paid for full-time and part-time employees, but casual employees can take it as unpaid leave.
Employees who have worked for their employer for at least 12 months are entitled to unpaid parental leave when having or adopting a child.
Employees are entitled to unpaid leave to engage in voluntary emergency management activities or jury duty.
Employees are entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave per year.
Employees are entitled to paid time off on public holidays unless required to work.
Even small payroll mistakes can lead to back payments, penalties, and unnecessary stress. But with the right payroll system in place, you can avoid these risks entirely.
Pay Cat makes payroll compliance simple and hassle-free for real estate businesses by:
By using automated payroll software, you remove the guesswork from compliance. It ensures employees are paid correctly every time—no manual calculations, no last-minute adjustments, and no risk of falling behind on Award changes.
With Pay Cat, you can focus on running your business, knowing your payroll is handled accurately and efficiently.
Find out how we can help by booking a demo.