Labour Hire Hourly Rate Breakdown: What
Sydney labour hire hourly rate breakdown for 2026: CW1 award base, 25% casual loading, 12% super, workers comp, payroll tax*, overhead. Award-based, illustrative.
A Sydney labour hire hourly rate in 2026 is built from five award-based blocks. A casual CW1 general labourer stacks to the mid-to-high-$40s/hr ex-GST (illustrative).
- CW1 award base: ~$28.74/hr ordinary (MA000020, industry allowance already folded in)
- Casual loading: +25% → a casual CW1 sits near $35.93/hr
- Superannuation: 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025
- Workers compensation: ~5% for construction WIC (icare NSW, held by agency)
- NSW payroll tax: 5.45% for agencies above the $1.2M wages threshold (not universal)
- General overhead + margin: PPE, compliance, recruitment, operating costs
Illustrative and award-based — verify the live award rate on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
Here's the line most quotes hide.
A Sydney CW1 labourer's ordinary base is ~$28.74/hr — not $38. That's the casual-loaded number people confuse it with.
Add the 25% casual loading and a casual CW1 lands near $35.93/hr. Stack the mandatory on-costs and the bill rate climbs into the mid-to-high-$40s/hr ex-GST.
Where does the rest go? And which lines are mandatory for every supplier versus only the large ones?
Most invoices show one number. A compliant rate is actually five — and the cheap ones quietly drop a line.The maths below is illustrative and award-based — built from 2025-26 figures from Fair Work (MA000020), the ATO, Revenue NSW, and icare.
The Five Components of Every Rate
Every Sydney labour hire rate is built from the same five blocks.
The on-costs aren't optional for the suppliers that bear them. Super and workers comp apply to every employer. Payroll tax only applies to suppliers above the $1.2M NSW wages threshold — a real cost for large agencies, not for small operators or in-house teams. If the supplier is large enough to be paying it, the host site is paying it on the charge-out — full stop.
Compliance Warning — Both Sides Are Exposed
This isn't just a supplier problem.
- Pay below award and you MAY get punished. Host PCBUs carry accessorial liability under the Fair Work Act when they "knew or ought to have known" the rate was below award.
- Your supplier MAY get punished too. The Fair Work Ombudsman, ATO, icare, and Revenue NSW all audit labour hire agencies — underpayments and unpaid super are the most-prosecuted patterns.
- Both sides exposed. A non-compliant rate is a deferred bill with penalties attached.
If you can't see the maths on a quote, you can't show good faith in an audit. That's the spine of why this post exists.
Component 1 — Worker Base Pay (CW1, MA000020)
The relevant instrument for Sydney construction is the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020).
CW1 is the most common classification — general labourers on site, and the default starting point for any rate conversation.
CW1 figures for 2025-26 (Fair Work):
- Ordinary base (industry allowance already folded in): ~$28.74/hr
- Casual loading: +25%
- CW1 casual all-in: ~$35.93/hr for a standard weekday shift
The base and the casual figure are different numbers — don't quote one as the other.
Always verify the live figure on the Fair Work Pay Calculator before signing — award rates move every 1 July.
Conditional allowances (only when they actually apply)
Casual minimum engagement means once a worker shows up, you pay at least four hours — even if the day ends early. Wet weather is handled by the wet-weather clause in your agreement, not a blanket "weather payment."
EBA sites run well above award. If your site is on an EBA, the floor moves. Ask which instrument the rate is built on. Get it in writing.
Full pay guides: fairwork.gov.au — MA000020 summary and the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
Component 2 — Superannuation (12%)
Super is the easiest line to verify — a fixed percentage of ordinary time earnings, set by federal law.
- $35.93 × 12% = $4.31/hr on the CW1 casual figure.
- An agency quoting on 11.5% (the 2024-25 rate) is either out of date or pocketing the difference. Either way, the worker's fund is short.
Payday Super from July 2026: the rate stays at 12%, but super must reach the worker's fund within seven business days of every pay run — not quarterly. The quarterly float disappears.
If your agency goes under owing super, the cost is the worker's but the reputational damage is yours.
Component 3 — Workers Compensation Premium
In NSW, workers comp runs through icare. Construction suppliers sit in a high-risk WIC — typically 4-6% of wages. Premiums rose 8% for 2025-26 (the third and final capped increase).
- For our CW1 example: $35.93 × 5% = ~$1.80/hr
Why this is the line agencies fudge
Workers comp is invisible to clients.
A dodgy operator can quote on a lower-risk WIC, run under-insured, or carry premium debt until cancellation.
When a claim gets rejected because the WIC didn't cover construction, the host employer becomes the target — you allowed the worker on site and carry the duty of care under WHS law regardless of who payrolled them. See Host Employer Responsibilities for the full liability picture.
⚠️ Ask any agency for their icare Certificate of Currency before the first shift. A compliant operator emails it inside an hour. If they get defensive, that's your answer.
Component 4 — NSW Payroll Tax (5.45%)*
* This component is conditional — not universal.
- NSW payroll tax applies only to employers whose annual NSW wages exceed $1.2 million (2025-26 threshold).
- Most small clients and small in-house teams sit below the threshold and pay nothing.
- Large agencies sit well above $1.2M — so the 5.45% flows into every dollar of wage they charge.
- It's calculated on wages plus super: ($35.93 + $4.31) × 5.45% = $2.19/hr in our CW1 example.
If a small supplier charges a "payroll tax" line, ask whether they're actually above the threshold. If a large supplier doesn't show it, ask where it's hiding in the rate.
Component 5 — General Overhead and Agency Margin
General overhead (~$0.85/hr): Public Liability + Professional Indemnity insurance ($20M PL minimum). White card verification, HRWL checks, drug & alcohol screening, PPE, payroll processing, Single Touch Payroll reporting, and from July 2026 — daily super reconciliation under Payday Super.
Agency margin (illustrative): sustainable Sydney margins run roughly 8-12% of base pay. Under 5% and an agency is one bad week from cashflow trouble. The figure shown here is illustrative — not Leap's own margin.
The Full Build-Up — CW1 Worked Example
A general labourer, casual, standard weekday award site. Numbers are 2025-26 (MA000020).
Illustrative example only. These numbers don't reflect Leap's actual pricing or charge structure — we're showing how the award-based maths is built. Real rates depend on classification, site, day type, supplier size (the payroll-tax-threshold question), and the current Fair Work tables. Verify award rates at fairwork.gov.au/pay-and-wages/pay-calculator.
Margin defaults off in the calculator below — that shows cost-to-supply only. Toggle it on to see how a margin layers on top.
Build your own labour hire bill rate
Pick award classification, day type and casual status. The breakdown updates live.
Why "Cheap" Agencies Aren't Actually Cheaper
Strip the example back to mandatory employment costs only (for a large supplier above the payroll-tax threshold):
$35.93 + $4.31 + $1.80 + $2.19 = ~$44.23/hr in pure compliance cost (illustrative — verify award rates at fairwork.gov.au/pay-and-wages/pay-calculator).
That's the floor for this illustrative CW1 build — no insurance, no PPE, no admin, no margin.
If a quote sits below the legal on-cost floor, someone is being underpaid — usually the worker, sometimes the tax office.So when an agency quotes well under that for the same role, ask where the money went. Three options (covered in Warning — Labour Hire Compliance: Avoid the Cheap):
- Underpaying the worker — paying a flat cash rate instead of award. The FWO recovered hundreds of millions for underpaid workers in 2024-25; anonymous tip-offs surged. Source: Fair Work Ombudsman Annual Report.
- Cutting compliance — wrong WIC on workers comp, skipping payroll tax registration, late super. Each is a ticking ATO / icare / Revenue NSW audit.
- Both — most common. The agency is structurally insolvent the day it quotes you.
Cash Jobs — What the Law Actually Says
Paying workers cash-in-hand isn't a grey area:
- Illegal under Fair Work and the ATO — wages must be reported via Single Touch Payroll; PAYG withheld and remitted every pay cycle.
- No workers comp cover — if a worker is injured on a cash arrangement, the host PCBU carries the exposure directly under the NSW WHS Act.
- Sham contracting penalties — civil penalties apply under the Fair Work Act (verify current figures on the Fair Work sham contracting page).
- ATO penalties — apply to both the engager and the worker. Voluntary disclosure before audit reduces penalties but doesn't eliminate them.
How to Read a Labour Hire Quote
Most reputable agencies — Leap included — quote a single all-in $/hr per worker classification, not a line-itemised P&L.
The award-based maths above sits inside that single number. You shouldn't have to audit a line-by-line breakdown — that's the supplier's job, not yours.
What you should verify is whether the worker is being paid lawfully. That's the real audit.
The only line items you need to see are the ones that affect you on a job-by-job basis:
- Travel allowance (~$25/day on all jobs except fixed-location ongoing roles)
- Overnight allowance (~$250/night for stays outside Sydney metro)
- Minimum hire (industry standard: 4 hrs/shift)
- Cancellation policy (typical: under 12hr notice = 2hr charge; under 1hr = 4hr charge)
- Engagement mode — On-Hire (you direct day-to-day work) vs Subcontract (agency supervises to a defined outcome). Different tax/risk treatment.
Three documents to request before the first shift:
- icare Certificate of Currency — workers comp, active for construction WIC
- Public Liability Certificate — $20M minimum is the Sydney commercial floor
- Sample payslip (worker-name redacted) showing pay at or above the applicable Fair Work / EBA rate
If an agency refuses those three, the issue isn't "they don't want you to see the maths" — it's that they likely can't pass an audit. That's what you actually need to know.
Get a Transparent Quote
Send us the role, classification, site address, EBA or award, and start date. Rates in your email in minutes. You can also check typical ranges on our labour hire rates page before you call.
A single all-in rate per classification, current to 2025-26 Fair Work, icare, and Revenue NSW figures.
Get a transparent rate breakdown →
For the full series on labour hire pricing in Sydney, see our parent guide: Labour Hire Cost Breakdown — The Complete Sydney Guide. For the bigger build-vs-rent question, read Is Labour Hire Worth It? An Honest Cost-Benefit Analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's included in a labour hire hourly rate in 2026?+
A 2026 Sydney labour hire rate covers the worker's award base pay under MA000020 (the industry allowance is already folded into the headline construction figure), the 25% casual loading, 12% superannuation, the NSW workers compensation premium (~5% in construction), NSW payroll tax at 5.45% if the agency is above the $1.2M wages threshold, general overhead (PL/PI insurance, PPE, compliance checks, payroll processing), and the agency's margin. These figures are illustrative and award-based — verify the live award rate on the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
What is the CW1 minimum rate for 2025-26?+
Under the Building & Construction General On-site Award (MA000020), the CW1 ordinary rate for 2025-26 sits around $28.74/hr with the industry allowance already folded into the headline figure on Fair Work. That is the base, not the casual figure. Add the 25% casual loading and a casual CW1 labourer earns roughly $35.93/hr for a standard weekday shift. Always verify the live figure on the Fair Work Pay Calculator before signing — award rates update every 1 July.
Does every labour hire agency pay NSW payroll tax?+
No. NSW payroll tax (5.45%) only applies once an employer's annual NSW wages exceed the $1.2 million threshold for 2025-26. Large established agencies sit well above the threshold so it flows into every charge-out rate, but small agencies and small businesses hiring directly may sit below it. If the line appears on a quote, it's a fair component for large suppliers — not a universal requirement.
What is the super guarantee rate in 2026?+
The Superannuation Guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025 — the final legislated increase. From 1 July 2026, Payday Super rules require employers to pay super on every pay run (not quarterly), with contributions reaching the worker's fund within seven business days of payday.
Is the cheapest labour hire agency actually cheaper?+
Usually no. Mandated employment costs — award base pay, super, workers comp, and payroll tax for large suppliers — are fixed by law. Two compliant agencies on the same CW1 casual role rarely differ by more than $2-4/hr all-in. A quote materially below that range is either running a thinner margin, cutting corners on compliance, or paying the worker below award. The risk of an underpayment or sham-contracting finding flows back to the host site through accessorial liability.
Are cash-in-hand labour hire jobs legal?+
No. Wages must be reported via Single Touch Payroll, PAYG withheld and remitted, super paid, and workers comp cover maintained. Cash arrangements breach Fair Work, ATO, and NSW WHS rules. If a worker is injured on a cash arrangement, the host PCBU carries the workers comp exposure directly, and sham-contracting penalties apply to both engager and worker.
How fast can Leap Labour quote a rate?+
Rates in your email in minutes, not days. Send the role, classification, site address, award or EBA, and start date — we reply with a single all-in rate per worker classification, current to 2025-26 Fair Work, icare, and Revenue NSW figures. No phone tag. No vague "$45 all in" answers.
