The warehouse pay ladder 2026.
Six casual grades cover almost every DC floor role under the Storage Services and Wholesale Award (MA000084). Here is what each one costs from 1 July 2026: the hourly rate, the loaded 8-hour shift, and what weekends and public holidays multiply it to. Every number comes from the award engine that prices MyGig shifts.
The ladder, loaded
Adult casual rates including the 25% casual loading. “Loaded 8h shift” adds 12% superannuation and 2.5% NSW workers comp to the day’s wages. Weekend columns show the engine’s casual multipliers: Saturday 1.4x (ordinary hours by agreement), Sunday 1.8x, public holiday 2.2x.
| Classification | Casual $/hr | Wages, 8h | Loaded 8h shift | Sat / Sun $/hr | Pub hol $/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 (on commencement) | $33.85 | $270.80 | $310.07 | $47.39 / $60.93 | $74.47 |
| Grade 1 (after 3 months) | $34.26 | $274.08 | $313.82 | $47.96 / $61.67 | $75.37 |
| Grade 1 (after 12 months) | $34.65 | $277.20 | $317.39 | $48.51 / $62.37 | $76.23 |
| Grade 2 | $34.96 | $279.68 | $320.23 | $48.94 / $62.93 | $76.91 |
| Grade 3 | $35.96 | $287.68 | $329.39 | $50.34 / $64.73 | $79.11 |
| Grade 4 | $37.01 | $296.08 | $339.01 | $51.81 / $66.62 | $81.42 |
Three things the ladder tells an operator
First, progression is cheap and loyalty is not the expensive part: the whole ladder from a day-one grade 1 to a grade 4 storeworker spans $3.16 an hour, about $29 per loaded shift. Paying the correct higher grade costs far less than the underpayment risk of grading someone below their duties, which is the most common compliance failure we see.
Second, the day of the week moves cost more than the grade does. A grade 1 Sunday shift ($60.93/hr) out-costs a grade 4 weekday shift ($37.01/hr) by a wide margin: weekend scheduling discipline is worth more than grade shopping.
Third, blended agency rates hide exactly this structure. If a quote shows one number for “warehouse labour”, the weekend multiples and the margin are fused together and you cannot audit either. MyGig prices each shift against this table with the clause cited; preview any combination in the shift calculator.
“On a DC floor the calendar outprices the org chart: a grade 1 casual on Sunday costs $60.93 an hour, more than the top storeworker grade costs on a Tuesday.”
MyGig Workforce Insights, July 2026. Free to cite with attribution and a link to this page. Media and data requests: contact us.
Method
Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 (MA000084) adult casual classifications, effective first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, from MyGig's award engine (built from Fair Work Commission pay guides). Full table on the award page.
Loaded shift = 8 hours x casual rate, plus 12% superannuation guarantee (ATO) and 2.5% NSW workers compensation (icare, indicative; classification-dependent). Payroll tax excluded (below the $1.2M NSW threshold for the example).
Casual penalty multipliers from the engine's MA000084 tables: Saturday 1.4x by agreement, Sunday 1.8x, public holiday 2.2x, applied to the casual hourly rate. Overtime and shift loadings (early/afternoon/night) apply on top per the award.
General information, not legal advice; confirm against the award and official pay guides. Companion pieces: the cost of an unfilled shift and the award rate map 2026. Full classification table: Storage Services Award guide.
DC shifts, priced to the clause.
Post a warehouse shift and the right grade, loadings, and penalties are applied automatically, with the all-in cost shown first.