Award coverage for church employees depends on:

• the industry or industries their employer operates in
• the specific duties and qualifications of the employee.

A church can be covered by more than one award.

Industry award coverage

An industry award covers a church employee if:

• their employer operates in the industry defined in the award
• there’s a classification which matches the employee’s duties and qualifications.

For example, a church employee may be covered by one of the following industry awards:

• Fast Food Award
• Restaurant Award
• Retail Award
• Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.

No industry award coverage

Church employees not covered by an industry award are:

• covered by an occupational award, such as the Clerks Award
• covered by the Miscellaneous Award, or
• award free.

Clerks Award

The Clerks Award can cover a church employee if their role is mainly clerical or administrative.

Employees are classified based on their duties, skills and training.

Miscellaneous Award

The Miscellaneous Award can cover a church employee if:

• they’re not covered by an industry or occupational award
• they’re not a managerial employee
• they’re not a professional employee.

An employee may be considered a professional employee if their role requires a degree qualification.

Example: groundskeeper in a church

Adam is employed by a church as a groundskeeper to maintain the church grounds.

No industry or occupational award covers the church, or the work that Adam does.

This means that Adam is covered by the Miscellaneous Award.

Award free

A church employee not covered by an industry award, occupational award or the Miscellaneous Award will be award free.

Award free employees are entitled to the national minimum wage and the National Employment Standards.

Religious leaders

Whether a religious leader is an employee will depend on the facts of the situation.

Religious leaders and churches should seek independent advice on their own particular situation to determine whether an employment relationship exists.