The Call Centre Award sets out the minimum employment standards and remuneration for call centre workers in Australia.
The rate that someone gets paid at is determined by which one of seven classification levels their job is aligned to:
| Customer Contact Trainee |
| Customer Contact Officer Level 1 |
| Customer Contact Officer Level 2 |
| Principal Customer Contact Specialist |
| Customer Contact Team Leader |
| Principal Customer Contact Leader |
| Contract Call Centre Industry Technical Associate |
In Australia, the call centre award also provides rules for ‘Penalty Rates’, a supplementary payment made for working hours considered outside of normal office hours.
The call centre award in Australia also provides guidance on the minimum number of hours to work, overtime rates etc.
Note that many companies are paying above the call centre award – it is a very competitive market in Australia to attract call centre employees which is driving salaries and conditions up.
Common questions about the Australian Call Centre Award
How much do call centre workers in Australia get paid?
It ultimately depends on the classification level of their job but as an example, a Customer Contact Officer Level 1 (base position) gets paid $22.46 AUD per hour and a Contact Centre Team Leader gets paid $25.83 AUD per hour.
According to the latest industry survey, however, the average annual salary for a customer service agent is $53,066 + Superannuation and an average bonus of $1,999 meaning most call centre workers are being paid more than the minimum salaries set out in the award.
How many hours do call centre workers in Australia have to work?
The contact centre award defines a full-time employee as someone who works on average 38 hours per week.
Do call centre workers in Australia get paid overtime?
Yes! if a worker works beyond their scheduled shift they are entitled to a loading on top of their normal hourly rate of:
- Monday to Saturday—first 3 hours – 150% Loading
- Monday to Saturday—after 3 hours – 200% Loading
- Sunday – all-day – 200% Loading
Where to learn more:
- Read our article on Australian Call Centre Salaries that contains everything you need to know including the current rates, the definition of each of the classifications, benchmarking data and lots more!
- View the Call Centre Award (it’s known as the Contract Call Centre Award)
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