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Journalists Published Media Award (MA000067)

Loren Mathewson
Updated
EH Content Team

This article provides guidelines for using the pre-built Journalists Published Media Award package. For further information about this industry award, refer to the Journalists Published Media Award.

Key updates

  See the current financial year tab to see award updates for the 2025/26 financial year.

Current financial year
October 2025

30th

We have introduced a new suite of configurations for Salaried Employment Agreements to allow the employers to manage the salaried employees, who are under Individual flexibility arrangements, directly within the award instead of having to remove them.

This introduction, which is an enhancement rather than a legislative update requirement, includes the items below if they do not already exist within an award:

  • Pay Categories (Salary and Salary - Public Holiday Not Worked).
  • Leave Allowance Templates for “No loading” and “With loading”.
  • Rule Set to disregard timesheets.
  • Pay Rate Templates.
  • Employment Agreements for all employee types (full-time, part-time, and casual).

For detailed information on the changes, please refer to our guide here. 

July 2025

2nd

The configuration of the pay category 'Casual - Ordinary Hours' has been updated to ensure the rounding of casual rates aligns with the pay guide.

1st

We have updated the award to reflect the Fair Work Commission's National Minimum Wage increase detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2024-25 decision and also includes updates to expense-related allowances. You can find more information on the Determinations here and here. 

These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after the 1st July 2025. Please install these updates after you have finalised your last pay run before the first full pay period beginning on or after the 1st July 2025.

Install and configure the pre-built award package

For details on how to install and configure this pre-built award template, please review the detailed help article here. While every effort is made to provide a high-quality service, Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for, guarantee, or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or up-to-date nature of the service. Before relying on the information, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness, and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.

The award default Rule Set Period is set to weekly, that ends every Sunday. If you follow a different work pattern or roster period, you can review and set the rule set period date that applies to your organisation.

Conditions of pay

Ordinary hours of work & overtime
Name Clause Conditions
Ordinary hours or work 12.1 Ordinary hours of work will be an average of 38 hours a week
Maximum daily hours 12.6

11 hours per day

12 hours with agreement with the employee
Maximum hours over a period 12.1

Average 38 hours per week

  • 38 ordinary hours over 5 days in a 7 day work cycle
  • 38 hours on 4 days in each 5 day work cycle
  • 152 ordinary hours over 19 days in a 20 day work cycle
  • 76 ordinary hours over 9 days in a 10 day work cycle

           
Maximum hours per day for casual employees 10.3
  • In the case of employees employed by a metropolitan daily newspaper, 10 hours in a day
  • In the case of employees employed by a magazine, regional daily newspaper, suburban newspaper, country non-daily newspaper or digital publication, 7.5 hours in a day
Overtime               18.3(e)            

Where mutually agreed, overtime may be paid as it is worked at the rate of 150% of the ordinary hourly rate for the first 2 hours and 200% of the ordinary hourly rate after 2 hours. Over time, Shiftwork, and Weekend Rates do not apply to employees classified below are exempted from award provisions              

  • Levels 12 or 13
  • Level 10 by a suburban newspaper
  • Level 9 by a country non-daily newspaper.

           
Overtime - Part-time employees               9.7(b)            

150% of the ordinary hourly rate for the first 3 hours

200% of the ordinary hourly rate after 3 hours
Overtime - Casual               10.3(b)            
  • 150% of the ordinary hourly rate for the first 2 hours
  • 200% of the ordinary hourly rate after 2 hours

NB: The ordinary hourly rate for the calculation of shiftwork rates, weekend rates, and overtime rates for casual employees does not include the casual loading.            
TIL 18.3
  • Overtime will be banked to be taken as time off instead at single time
  • Time off instead of overtime will be taken as mutually agreed, or by the employer rostering accrued overtime as time off instead
Ordinary hours of work & overtime - Distant engagements
Name Clause Conditions
Start of distant engagement 18.8(c)(ii) Where an employee is required to commence a distant engagement on a day on which the employee has commenced work but before the employee has completed 8 hours of duty, the distant engagement will commence 8 hours after the employee commenced work on that day, and the employee will be treated as having worked 8 hours on that day in addition to any time worked that day on the distant engagement.
Recall for distant engagement

18.8(c)(iv)

18.8(c)(vii)
  • If an employee is required to resume work within 12 hours of completing a distant engagement, the employee will be paid overtime in accordance
  • Called upon to resume duty within 12 hours of completion of a distant engagement, overtime will be paid at the rate of 150% of the ordinary hourly rate for all work done before the expiration of the 12 hour break.
Travel time 18.8(d)(i) Time spent travelling on any day where travel is by means approved by the employer will be deemed hours of duty on that day
Minimum hours 18.8(d)(ii) Each employee will be treated as working a minimum of 9 hours on any day
Maximum hours per day for casual employees 18.8(d)(iv) Work performed without any travel for more than 11 hours (irrespective of any meal break) on any day will be overtime.
Maximum hours over a period 18.8(d)(iii) Except as provided in clause 18.8(d)(iv), overtime will only occur where the hours of duty of an employee exceed 38 in 7 consecutive days
Overtime 18.8(d)(vi)
  • Paid at the rate of 150% of the ordinary hourly rate for the first 8 hours
  • 200% of the ordinary hourly rate after 8 hours
Penalties
Name Clause Conditions
              Shiftwork - Morning and afternoon shifts                           19.1            
  • 10% of the ordinary hourly rate for all ordinary hours worked on a shift
  • Any part of which falls between the hours of 6.00 am and 7.00 am Or that concludes between the hours of 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm.
Shiftwork - Night shifts                 19.2            
  • Falls between the hours of 8.30 pm and 6.00 am
  • Metropolitan daily newspaper, suburban newspaper, a magazine, or a wire service - 17.5%
  • Regional daily newspaper, country non-daily newspaper, or digital publication - 15%
Weekends 19.4               An employee who is rostered or required to perform and performs ordinary hours on a shift where the greater part of the shift falls between the hours of midnight Friday and midnight Sunday will be paid an additional 10% of their ordinary hourly rate for that shift.            
Public Holidays 25.2
  • (i) Paid at ordinary rates and provided with a day off instead
  • (ii) paid 250% of the ordinary hourly rate, with a minimum payment of 4 hours.
Work conditions
Name Clause Conditions
              Auto meal breaks                           13.1            
  • An employee must not be required to work more than 5 hours without a break of at least 20 minutes            
Auto meal breaks - country non-daily newspaper                 13.3            
  • Permitted a meal break of at least 30 minutes, the employer will be entitled to deduct the time for the meal break from the total time worked. If the break is less than 30 minutes no time will be deducted. Not more than one and a half hours will be deducted in any one day.
  • Where an employee is permitted a one-hour meal break, the employer will be entitled to deduct one hour from the total time worked. If the break permitted is less than one hour, no time will be deducted. Not more than one hour will be deducted in any one day.
Minimum shift engagement

12.6

9.2

10.1

25.2
  • Minimum of 4 hours per day
  • Part-time employees paid for a minimum of 4 consecutive hours on any day or shift
  • Casual employees paid for a minimum of 3 hours and 45 minutes on each occasion
  • Minimum of 4 hours on Public Holidays
Minimum shift engagement of distant engagement 18.8(d)(ii)
  • Each employee will be treated as working a minimum of 9 hours on any day            
Annual leave penalty - Christmas Day or Good Friday               20.4            
  • Where an employee is credited an additional amount of annual leave in accordance with clause 20.2(a), should Christmas Day or Good Friday fall during the employee’s annual leave, the employee will be allowed an extra day’s annual leave or paid 200% of the ordinary hourly rate for one day.            
Annual Leave Loading               20.5            
  • An employee who is entitled to annual leave in accordance with clause 20.5 will, in respect of the period of such annual leave, be paid a loading of 17.5% of the minimum rate of pay
Make-up time 12.7
  • Work make-up time where the employee takes time off during ordinary hours and works those hours at a later time            
Work on days off 12.9(f)
  •  
    • Employees who are not given their days off will be paid 200% of the ordinary hourly rate for all work done on any such day or days
    • Minimum payment of 4 hours
Insufficient break 18.7
  • The break is less than 8 hours, overtime will be paid at 200% of the ordinary hourly rate for all work done before the expiration of 11 hours break
  • The break is 8 hours or more, overtime will be paid at 150% of the ordinary hourly rate for all work done before the expiration of the 11 hour break;

Special notes

  • Clause 14.3 - Employees working on a higher position or award level for more than 2 weeks that employee will be paid the higher rate, please ensure employee's profile is updated to reflect this.
  • Clause 16.3(c)(iii) Meal Allowance - Employees are entitled to payment of meal allowance depending on how many agreed meal breaks they had worked through. Employees need to enter number of meal allowance they should be receiving, 1 unit equals 1 meal allowance.

Work types

The following lists out and explains the work types an employee can select on their timesheet.

A - E           
Work type Description
Annual Leave Taken Choose this work type when annual leave is taken.
Compassionate Leave Taken Choose this work type when compassionate leave is taken.           
Distant engagements Choose this work type if an employee is required to commence a distant engagement on a day.           
F - L
Work type Description
Leave Without Pay Taken Choose this work type when any unpaid leave is taken.
Long Service Leave Taken Choose this work type when any unpaid leave is taken.                         
M - R
Work type Description
Make-up Time Choose this work type if the employee takes time off during ordinary hours and works those hours at a later time.        
Maximum 12 hours per day Choose this work type if by agreement between employee and employer an employee can work 12 ordinary hours in a shift.            
Meal Allowance Requires them to take more than one meal a day away from their home, any meal or meals in excess of one a day will (unless otherwise paid for or reimbursed by the employer) be paid for such meal.
Metropolitan daily newspaper Suburban newspaper Magazine or Wire service Choose this work type if the employee works as Metropolitan daily newspaper Suburban newspaper Magazine or Wire service to receive 17.5% penalty rate for the night shift.            
Paid Community Service Leave Taken Choose this work type when community service leave is taken.            
Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave Taken Choose this work type when paid family and domestic violence leave taken.            
Personal/Carer's Leave Taken Choose this work type when personal and/or carer's leave is taken.            
Public Holiday not worked Choose this work type where a Permanent employee is not required to work on a shift falling on a public holiday that the employee would have otherwise worked had it not been a public holiday.            
Recall for distant engagement  Choose this work type if an employee is required to resume work within 12 hours of completing a distant engagement.            
Regional daily newspaper Country non-daily newspaper or Digital publication Choose this work type if the employee works as Regional daily newspaper Country non-daily newspaper or Digital publication to receive 15% penalty rate for the night shift.            
S - Z
Work type Description
Sub-editing allowance Choose this work type when the country non-daily newspaper or a regional daily newspaper employee who works a full shift as a sub-editor.
Time In Lieu Taken Choose this work type when time in lieu is taken.            
TIL of OT Choose this work type if the employee elects to accrue time in lieu rather than be paid overtime for a shift.            
Travel Time Choose this work type if time spent travelling on any day where travel is by means approved by the employer will be deemed hours of duty on that day.            

Shift conditions

Shift Conditions are further details you can add to a shift where perhaps more than one condition applies to your shift. Shift conditions are selected when you edit a timesheet record, or when clocking on using the ClockMeIn Time and Attendance or Swag apps. The following is a list of Shift Conditions employees can select on their timesheet, and the meaning of each item.

A - Z
Shift condition Description
TIL of OT Choose this work type if the employee elects to accrue time in lieu rather than be paid overtime for a shift.

Tags

Employee Tags are specific conditions typically related to the employee’s agreement. These are often conditions negotiated and agreed between the employer and the employee, or unique characteristics of the employee’s role. Payment of these provisions is usually of a recurring and ongoing nature.

Tag
Tag Description
Country non-daily newspaper or a regional daily newspaper Assign this tag if an employee works for country non-daily newspaper or a regional daily newspaper.
Metropolitan daily newspaper Suburban newspaper Magazine or Wire service Assign this tag if an employee works for metropolitan daily newspaper suburban newspaper magazine or wire service
Credit Additional Annual Leave Assign to employees required by their employer to work public holidays at ordinary hourly rates of pay to be credited with additional annual leave
Maximum 12 hours per day Employees' maximum working hours would be 12 hours per day
Regional daily newspaper Country non-daily newspaper or Digital publication Employees employed by Regional daily newspaper Country non-daily newspaper or Digital publication
TIL of OT The employee elects to accrue time in lieu rather than being paid overtime for a shift.            

System limitations

Please note that rules will not be able to interpret or calculate the below clauses due to system limitations and will require manual intervention.

System limitations
Clause number Clause name Details
12.9(b) Days off Where employees working under an arrangement to bank up to 5 additional days off, this requires additional set up to allow accrual of the additional days off. 
18.3 Overtime

● (c) time off instead of overtime not taken within 4 months of the overtime being worked must be paid out in the next pay period following those 4 months, at the overtime rate applicable to the overtime when worked;

● (d) on termination of an employee’s employment, all untaken time off instead of overtime will be paid out at overtime rates prescribed in clause 18.3(e), subject to the forfeiture for inadequate notice as provided for under clause 29.2
18.4 Accurate record for Overtime

● (a) overtime worked and banked as time off instead of overtime under clause 18.3(a);

● (b) time taken off as time off instead of overtime under clause 18.3(b);

● (c) time off instead of overtime that is paid out at overtime rates under clause 18.3(c); and

(d) time off instead of overtime that is paid out on termination of employment under clause 18.3(d).
20.4 Annual Leave and Public Holidays

Where employees are credited an additional amount of annual leave in accordance with clause 20.2(a), it is set up on default that employees will be allowed an extra day’s annual leave should Christmas Day or Good Friday fall during the employee’s annual leave. 

The option to be paid 200% of the ordinary hourly rate for one day requires manual intervention. 

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