“What level am I on?” is one of the most common questions on an Australian construction site, and one of the most commonly guessed at. The answer sits in Schedule A of the Building and Construction General On-site Award (MA000020), which sorts on-site work into levels from CW 1 to CW 8. Your level sets your minimum rate, and getting it wrong costs someone — the worker in underpaid hours, or the builder in back-pay.
Here’s what each level actually means, in the award’s own terms.
First, what CW means
CW stands for Construction Worker. In the award the levels are written as CW/ECW because the same structure covers Engineering Construction Workers on civil and engineering work. The general on-site stream runs CW 1 through CW 8. There is a level 9, but it is ECW only — there is no CW 9.
One term worth knowing: the award’s “standard rate” is the rate for a Level 3 (CW/ECW 3) employee. A lot of allowances in the award are calculated as a percentage of that standard rate, which is why CW 3 turns up in clauses that have nothing to do with tradespeople.
CW 1: the entry level, in four steps
A CW 1 works under general supervision. What surprises people is that CW 1 is not one rate — it has four progression points, and they are based on time in the industry, not on paperwork:
- CW 1 (level a) — new entrant, on commencement in the industry
- CW 1 (level b) — after 3 months in the industry
- CW 1 (level c) — after 12 months in the industry
- CW 1 (level d) — on meeting the substantive CW 1 requirements (a construction skills test, a relevant structured training program, or recognised equivalent skills through experience)
This is the step most often missed. If you started as a new entrant and you’re still on the level (a) rate a year later, you are on the wrong point of the scale. Progression to (b) and (c) is automatic with time served in the industry — not time served with one employer.
Typical CW 1 roles named in the award include builders’ labourer, bitumen worker, concrete floater, chainperson, assistant rigger and bar bending machine operator.
CW 2: limited supervision, and some plant
A CW 2 works under limited supervision, can interpret plans and drawings relevant to their work, and may be responsible for supervising one or more CW 1 employees.
The award lists roles here that a lot of people assume must be higher: scaffolder, powder monkey, hoist or winch driver, concrete finisher, concrete batching plant operator, landscaper, spotter, and forklift over 4500 kg.
CW 3: the trade level
CW 3 is where trades sit. An employee qualifies at this level by completing a relevant trade apprenticeship or its AQF equivalent — or by recognised equivalent skills assessed against the same standard. A CW 3 works individually or in a team, and may supervise CW 1 and CW 2 employees.
Roles named at CW 3: carpenter, bricklayer, boilermaker and structural steel tradesperson, air-conditioning tradesperson, bridge and wharf carpenter, bitumen sprayer.
If you have finished your apprenticeship, CW 3 is your floor, not your ceiling.
CW 4 to CW 6: post-trade skills and bigger plant
From CW 4 up, two things push a classification higher: structured training beyond the trade, and the size of the machine being operated. The award is specific about plant, and the thresholds are worth knowing because they move an operator up a level:
- CW 4 — excavator up to and including 0.5 cubic metres; forklift up to 48 kW; grader below 35 kW; concrete paver; electrician special class
- CW 5 — excavator above 0.5 cubic metres; hydraulic telescopic boom excavator; mobile crane over 10 and up to 100 ton; forklift from 48 kW to 220 kW; dumper up to 100 ton
- CW 6 — dumper from 100 ton struck capacity; electronics tradesperson; instrumentation and control tradesperson
Note how narrow the line is between CW 4 and CW 5 on an excavator: half a cubic metre of bucket capacity is the difference between two pay levels for the same operator on the same site.
CW 7 and CW 8: supervision and the heaviest lifts
CW 7 covers the sub-foreperson, the dogger-crane hand on fixed cranes, and mobile crane operators above 220 ton lifting capacity. CW 8 covers the foreperson (as defined in the award) and the carpenter-diver, and expects cross-skilling across technical fields.
Why this matters to builders
Classification is not a formality. It determines the minimum rate, and the minimum rate determines whether an invoice is compliant. Three practical checks:
- Plant size decides the level. Putting a CW 4-rated operator on a machine that sits at CW 5 is a classification problem the moment the machine changes, not at the end of the job.
- CW 1 is not static. A labourer who has been in the industry more than 12 months should be at level (c) at minimum.
- The title on the docket isn’t the classification. “Labourer” covers CW 1 and CW 2 roles with different rates. The work performed decides it.
Rates change every 1 July, so don’t work from a rate you wrote down last year. The Fair Work Pay Calculator gives the current figure for a given level and state.
Getting the classification right, before the invoice
When you engage through a labour hire provider, the classification sits with the provider — but the exposure doesn’t disappear from your site. It’s a fair question to ask what level the workers arriving tomorrow are being paid at, and why.
DL Aus Group classifies against MA000020 before anyone is deployed, across QLD, NSW, VIC & WA. Licensed labour hire in Queensland (LHL-04372-G3F0N) and Victoria (VICLHL03363).
See our skilled workforce, general labourers and plant operators — or tell us what the job needs.
No minimum contract — book one worker for a single shift or a full crew for the length of the job. Need someone on site today? Call +61 415 540 088; same-day starts are available when you ring through your request.
