Australian Hospitality Industry (General) Award, also known as HIGA. The Hospitality Award, (HIGA) is a set of legal minimum standards that apply to employees working in the Hospitality Industry in Australia. This award includes annual leaves, sick leaves, minimum wages, working hours, overtime, and other entitlements related to employees working in the industry. These employees are mainly the Chefs, waiters, housekeeping staff, bartenders, etc. The sole purpose of this award is to ensure that every employee in the hospitality industry is treated on a fair basis, and is entitled to a reasonable salary with a comfortable working environment.
What Sectors Does The Hospitality Award Cover:
Every employer working in the hospitality industry is covered by the Hospitality Award, along with employees working for their employers. The Hospitality Industry is classified into:
- All Hotels, Motels, residential, and tourist accommodations come under the Hospitality Industry.
- Taverns, wine bars, and wine saloons.
- Caterers providing services for events and functions.
- Casinos and Clubs.
- Restaurants, fine dining, nightclubs, convention facilities, and function areas (Where employers are covered by the Hospitality Award).
The Hospitality Award specifically covers:
The Hospitality Award specifically covers holiday apartment complexes, catering employees, pub owners, waiters and waitresses, kitchen hands, cooks and chefs, apprentice chefs, leisure attendants, maintenance and gardening staff, managerial staff who are not senior management, casino staff including gaming staff, equipment technicians, security and finance officers, housekeepers, doorpersons and concierge staff, front office, clerical and reception staff, gaming attendants, security officers, and store persons
All the above roles and positions specifically fall under the Hospitality Award (HIGA).
Who the Hospitality Award doesn't cover?
The following businesses and employees working for these businesses are not included in the hospitality award:
- Catering for airlines in-flight.
- Clubs registered under the state or territory legislation.
- Hospitals.
- Residential Colleges or Boarding Schools.
- Catering Services inside a restaurant business or aged care facilities.
- Security Services, Gardening or Maintenance.
- Theme parks and contract cleaning businesses.
- Local councils.
- Dancers and musical bands perform in restaurants or hotels.
- Strata management businesses.
Types of Employment Involved in the Hospitality Award:
Employees who fall in the Hospitality Award (HIGA) are the following:
- An employee who is working full-time for a business for approximately 38 Hours per week.
- An employee who is working as a part-time employee for at least 8 hours a week. The employee works a minimum of 6 hours a week and less than 38 ordinary hours a week.
- A temporary worker who works irregularly or periodically and has no hope of permanent employment.
How Shift Workers Are Entitled to Work in the Hospitality Industry Award?
There are no provisions in the hospitality industry award specifically for shift workers. Employees working in the morning are not considered shift workers as they are also entitled to penalty rates.
How To Calculate Wages and Allowances in the Hospitality Industry Award?
Rates For Overtime:
The overtime rates depend on the time for which the employee has worked overtime.
Penalty Rates:
The following penalty rates apply to employees who work regular hours on the following days.
How To Manage Leave in The Hospitality Industry Award?
National Employment Standards (NES) along with the classification of the employees are the parameters that determine the leave entitlements for employees.
Annual Leaves:
Annual leaves do not apply to casual employees and NES is the regulatory body to determine the annual leave of employees working in the hospitality industry.
- Under article 30.2 of the NES, shift workers who work seven days a week and frequently on Sundays and public holidays in a company that is open around the clock are entitled to an additional week of paid annual leave.
- Both during annual leave and when an employee leaves the company with unused leave, employers must pay them an additional 17.5% of their regular salary as annual leave loading.
Personal Leaves:
- 10 paid leaves per year are provided to full-time employees.
- pro rata 10 days each year; are provided to part-time employees.
- Causal employees are not provided with paid leaves but they can acquire unpaid carers leave.
Public Holidays under the Hospitality Industry Award:
The NES includes provisions for public holiday entitlements. Under the National Employment Standards (NES), businesses and employees can agree to swap a public holiday for another day or a partial day.
A full-time employee's employer is required to provide them with an additional day's salary, an alternative day off within 28 days, or an extra day of annual leave if their rostered or accrued day off occurs on a public holiday.
If a public holiday falls on a part-time employee's planned workday, they are entitled to leave and must be compensated for the regular hours they were supposed to work.
Conclusion: How To Maintain Compliance With Hospitality Industry Award?
Maintaining compliance with the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (HIGA) is a non-negotiable requirement for operational success and institutional reputation. In 2026, regulatory bodies like the Fair Work Ombudsman and ASQA place a high premium on accurate, real-time documentation. To pass a compliance audit and ensure fair treatment for your workforce, businesses and RTOs should focus on accurate employee classification, real time roster management, automated payroll verification, documentation continuity & proactive evidence gathering.
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