Awards/Poultry processing

← Coverage and definitions

What does on-hire mean in this Award?

MA000074All business streamsAll employment types

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Quick explanation

Previously reviewed explanation — check official wording before use

On-hire means the employer hires its employee out to a client, and the employee works under the client’s general guidance and instruction, or that of the client’s representative.

Check the conditions

  • This relationship definition does not by itself establish Award coverage. Clause 4.3 also requires poultry-processing industry work in a covered classification and preserves the Award exclusions.
Read the official wording and citations

Poultry Processing Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman

FWC · MA000074 · Clause 2

2. Definitions

[Varied by PR733892, PR774786, PR777307, PR795698]

In this award, unless the contrary intention appears:

Act means the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

adult employee means an employee 18 years of age and over.

afternoon shift means a shift of ordinary hours finishing at or after 5.00 pm or, where the ordinary hours are extended by agreement, 6.00 pm and at or before midnight.

all purposes means the payment will be included in the rate of pay of an employee who is entitled to the allowance, when calculating any penalties or loadings or payment while they are on annual leave (see clause 17.2(a)).

[Definition of casual employee inserted by PR733892 from 27Sep21; varied by PR777307 from 27Aug24]

casual employee has the meaning given by section 15A of the Act.

NOTE: Section 15A of the Act was amended with effect from 26 August 2024. Under clause 102(3) of Schedule 1 to the Act, an existing employee who was a casual employee of an employer under section 15A as it was immediately before that date is taken to be a casual employee of the employer for the purposes of section 15A after that date.

defined benefit member has the meaning given by the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth).

early morning shift means a shift of ordinary hours commencing at or after 2.00 am and before 4.00 am.

employee means national system employee within the meaning of the Act.

[Definition of employee organisation inserted by PR774786; substituted retrospectively by PR795698 ppc 01Jul24]

employee organisation has the meaning given by section 12 of the Act.

employer means national system employer within the meaning of the Act.

[Definition of enterprise inserted by PR774786 from 01Jul24]

enterprise has the meaning given by section 12 of the Act.

exempt public sector superannuation scheme has the meaning given by the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth).

leading hand means an employee who is given by the employer, or their agent, the responsibility for directing and/or supervising the work of other persons.

MySuper product has the meaning given by the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth).

NES means the National Employment Standards as contained in sections 59 to 131 of the Act.

night shift means a shift finishing after midnight and at or before 8.00 am.

on-hire means the on-hire of an employee by their employer to a client, where such employee works under the general guidance and instruction of the client or a representative of the client.

ordinary hourly rate means the hourly rate for the employee’s classification specified in clause 15—Minimum rates, plus any allowances specified as being included in the employee’s ordinary hourly rate or payable for all purposes.

permanent night shift employee is an employee who:

(a) works night shift only; or

(b) stays on night shift for a longer period than 4 consecutive weeks; or

(c) works on a night shift which does not rotate or alternate with another shift or with day work so as to give the employee at least one third of their working time off night shift in each shift cycle.

poultry processing industry has the meaning given in clause 4.2.

[Definition of small business employer inserted by PR774786 from 01Jul24]

small business employer has the meaning given by section 23 of the Act.

standard rate means the minimum hourly rate for the Level 2 classification in clause 15.1.

[Definition of workplace delegate inserted by PR774786 from 01Jul24]

workplace delegate has the meaning given by section 350C(1) of the Act.

Complete top-level clause extracted from the checked official consolidated text, including the available subordinate paragraphs and tables. Source wording and official numbering retained; whitespace/table layout normalised. AI source-checked for this user-authorised local release; no human professional review.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2026. Fair Work Commission. Consolidated Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Quotations retain source wording; whitespace/table formatting is normalised for display. Personal/non-commercial or internal use only under the FWC copyright notice. Quick Award explanations are separate AI source-checked text; no government endorsement.

Official document
Poultry Processing Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman ↗
Version
This Fair Work Commission consolidated modern award incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 July 2026 (PR799280, PR799354 and PR799510). ↗
Citation verified
Operative note
Explains the current consolidated Award text incorporating amendments up to and including 1 July 2026, checked on 25 October 2026. The consolidation date is not a commencement date for these rules; historical work requires the text and variations applicable at that time.

Poultry Processing Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman

FWC · MA000074 · Clause 4

4. Coverage

4.1 This industry award covers employers throughout Australia in the poultry processing industry and their employees in the classifications listed in Schedule A—Classification Definitions to the exclusion of any other modern award.

4.2 The poultry processing industry means the killing, processing, preparation, packing, wholesaling and distribution of uncooked poultry, poultry products and poultry by‑products and, where the cooking is incidental to the aforementioned, cooked poultry, poultry products and poultry by-products.

4.3 This award covers any employer which supplies labour on an on-hire basis in the poultry processing industry in respect of on-hire employees in classifications covered by this award, and those on-hire employees, while engaged in the performance of work for a business in that industry. Clause 4.3 operates subject to the exclusions from coverage in this award.

4.4 This award covers employers which provide group training services for trainees engaged in the poultry processing industry and/or parts of that industry and those trainees engaged by a group training service hosted by a company to perform work at a location where the activities described in clauses 4.1 and 4.2 are being performed. Clause 4.4 operates subject to the exclusions from coverage in this award.

4.5 This award does not cover:

(a) employees excluded from award coverage by the Act;

(b) employees who are covered by a modern enterprise award or an enterprise instrument (within the meaning of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Cth)), or employers in relation to those employees; or

(c) employees who are covered by a State reference public sector modern award or a State reference public sector transitional award (within the meaning of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Cth)), or employers in relation to those employees.

4.6 Where an employer is covered by more than one award, an employee of that employer is covered by the award classification which is most appropriate to the work performed by the employee and to the environment in which the employee normally performs the work.

NOTE: Where there is no classification for a particular employee in this award it is possible that the employer and that employee are covered by an award with occupational coverage.

Complete top-level clause extracted from the checked official consolidated text, including the available subordinate paragraphs and tables. Source wording and official numbering retained; whitespace/table layout normalised. AI source-checked for this user-authorised local release; no human professional review.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2026. Fair Work Commission. Consolidated Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Quotations retain source wording; whitespace/table formatting is normalised for display. Personal/non-commercial or internal use only under the FWC copyright notice. Quick Award explanations are separate AI source-checked text; no government endorsement.

Official document
Poultry Processing Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman ↗
Version
This Fair Work Commission consolidated modern award incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 July 2026 (PR799280, PR799354 and PR799510). ↗
Citation verified
Operative note
Explains the current consolidated Award text incorporating amendments up to and including 1 July 2026, checked on 25 October 2026. The consolidation date is not a commencement date for these rules; historical work requires the text and variations applicable at that time.
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Current reference is available only while live source checks permit it. Complete references retain all qualifications and source wording.