New-Grad Wage Calculator
What a new grad will cost you
The new award rates phase in to 2030. A graduate you hire later starts on a higher rung than one you hire now. Pick the profession, set the year, the hours, and your wage-review assumption.
Hourly rate
Per week
Per year (base)
It is the award minimum for a first-year clinician
A new graduate sits in the "1st year" band. The rate they start on depends on when you hire them, because the new structure climbs in five steps from 1 October 2026 to 30 June 2030 — and each step lands on 30 June, so a July hire starts one step higher than a January hire in the same year. Hire in early 2027 and they start on the first step. Hire in 2031 and they start on the last.
We start from what is locked in
The base is the published 1 October 2026 rate with the confirmed 4.75% annual review applied. From there, each year adds the next phase-in step plus your assumed annual review. The 4.75% is real. Everything past it is your assumption — drag the slider to test it.
The 2028, 2029 and 2030 steps are interpolated between the two figures the Commission has actually published (1 Oct 2026 and 30 Jun 2030). They will firm up as each year's determination lands.
These are base wages, before on-costs
The hourly and weekly figures are the award minimum, exclusive of super. The headline cost adds 12% super. It does not include leave loading, workcover, weekend or evening penalties, or any bonus — those sit on top.
That's the number. Now design it.
The calculator shows you what a grad costs. Building the pay structure on your actual team — your roles, your margins, your hires — is the work that protects the profit. That's what the advisory is for.
Fix My WagesAbout this information
These figures model a new graduate starting on the first-year rate — don't use them to set pay for anyone already on your team, because an existing employee keeps their old rate as a floor where it's higher, and this calculator doesn't check that.
Culture of One is a business advisory firm, not a law firm. This is general information about the Health Professionals and Support Services Award — not legal or workplace-relations advice — and it doesn't take account of your clinic, your contracts, or any individual's circumstances. Forward dollar figures are estimates, not final rates: the FY2027–FY2029 figures are interpolated, and every figure firms up only when the Fair Work Commission publishes its determination after each year's annual wage review. Before you change anyone's classification or pay, get advice on your own situation.
Current as at 28 July 2026.
Pay great wages and run a great business. — Culture of One