Queensland
Rail & bus pay — current classifications, rates, penalties & allowances
Roles & Wages
| Role | Pay Point | Sept 2023 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2026 | Mar 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trainee Guard South East Queensland (SEQ) Guard undergoing initial training in SEQ suburban operations; the full flat rate is the salary actually paid. | Base rate | $71,582.52 | $78,740.77 | $83,071.51 | $85,979.01 | $88,558.38 |
| Full flat rate | $95,588.85 | $105,147.74 | $110,930.87 | $114,813.45 | $118,257.85 | |
Guard South East Queensland (SEQ) Qualified suburban guard; the full flat rate folds weekend, shift and allowance loadings into one salary. | Base rate | $81,344.61 | $89,479.07 | $94,400.42 | $97,704.43 | $100,635.56 |
| Full flat rate | $108,625.15 | $119,487.67 | $126,059.49 | $130,471.57 | $134,385.72 | |
Tutor Guard South East Queensland (SEQ) Guard delivering on-the-job tuition to trainee guards. | Base rate | $86,443.76 | $95,088.14 | $100,317.99 | $103,829.12 | $106,943.99 |
| Full flat rate | $113,969.8 | $125,366.78 | $132,261.95 | $136,891.12 | $140,997.85 | |
Tutor Guard Team Leader South East Queensland (SEQ) Leads the SEQ tutor guard team. | Base rate | $91,995.05 | $101,194.56 | $106,760.26 | $110,496.87 | $113,811.78 |
| Full flat rate | $119,785.11 | $131,763.62 | $139,010.62 | $143,875.99 | $148,192.27 | |
Trainee Driver South East Queensland (SEQ) Driver under training; the schedule prints this classification at the same rate as a qualified SEQ Guard in every column. | Base rate | $81,344.61 | $89,479.07 | $94,400.42 | $97,704.43 | $100,635.56 |
| Full flat rate | $108,625.15 | $119,487.67 | $126,059.49 | $130,471.57 | $134,385.72 | |
Driver South East Queensland (SEQ) Qualified suburban train driver. | Base rate | $86,538.47 | $95,192.32 | $100,427.9 | $103,942.88 | $107,061.17 |
| Full flat rate | $115,562.03 | $127,118.23 | $134,109.73 | $138,803.57 | $142,967.68 | |
Tutor Driver South East Queensland (SEQ) Driver delivering on-the-job tuition to trainee drivers. | Base rate | $96,745.65 | $106,420.22 | $112,273.33 | $116,202.9 | $119,688.99 |
| Full flat rate | $126,030.63 | $138,633.69 | $146,258.54 | $151,377.59 | $155,918.92 | |
Tutor Driver Team Leader South East Queensland (SEQ) Leads the SEQ tutor driver team. | Base rate | $102,216.31 | $112,437.94 | $118,622.03 | $122,773.8 | $126,457.01 |
| Full flat rate | $133,093.78 | $146,403.16 | $154,455.33 | $159,861.27 | $164,657.11 | |
Train Operations Guard (TOG) South East Queensland (SEQ) The TOG classification for SEQ train operations; paid above the tutor guard team leader rates. | Base rate | $101,583.91 | $111,742.3 | $117,888.13 | $122,014.21 | $125,674.64 |
| Full flat rate | $127,874.1 | $140,661.51 | $148,397.89 | $153,591.82 | $158,199.57 | |
Train Operations Inspector (TOI) South East Queensland (SEQ) Train Operations Inspector; the schedule prints the SEQ and Regional TOI at identical rates in every column. | Base rate | $113,155.56 | $124,471.12 | $131,317.03 | $135,913.13 | $139,990.52 |
| Full flat rate | $142,440.27 | $156,684.3 | $165,301.94 | $171,087.51 | $176,220.14 | |
Driver in Charge — Heritage South East Queensland (SEQ) Driver in Charge of heritage-fleet operations; same base rate as a TOI with a slightly lower full flat rate because the heritage loading mix differs. | Base rate | $113,155.56 | $124,471.12 | $131,317.03 | $135,913.13 | $139,990.52 |
| Full flat rate | $141,634.9 | $155,798.39 | $164,367.3 | $170,120.16 | $175,223.76 | |
Trainee Driver Regional Driver under training; the schedule prints this classification at the same rate as a Regional Driver's Assistant in every column. | Base rate | $84,964.24 | $93,460.66 | $98,601 | $102,052.04 | $105,113.6 |
| Full flat rate | $116,309.49 | $127,940.44 | $134,977.16 | $139,701.36 | $143,892.4 | |
Driver's Assistant Regional Assists the driver on regional services. | Base rate | $84,964.24 | $93,460.66 | $98,601 | $102,052.04 | $105,113.6 |
| Full flat rate | $116,309.49 | $127,940.44 | $134,977.16 | $139,701.36 | $143,892.4 | |
Driver Regional Qualified regional train driver; the Regional full flat rate already assumes driver-only operation. | Base rate | $90,389.51 | $99,428.46 | $104,897.03 | $108,568.43 | $111,825.48 |
| Full flat rate | $123,735.29 | $136,108.82 | $143,594.81 | $148,620.63 | $153,079.25 | |
Tutor Driver Regional Regional driver delivering on-the-job tuition to trainee drivers. | Base rate | $100,150.04 | $110,165.04 | $116,224.12 | $120,291.96 | $123,900.72 |
| Full flat rate | $133,495.82 | $146,845.4 | $154,921.9 | $160,344.17 | $165,154.5 | |
Train Operations Inspector (TOI) Regional Train Operations Inspector; the schedule prints the Regional and SEQ TOI at identical rates in every column. | Base rate | $113,155.56 | $124,471.12 | $131,317.03 | $135,913.13 | $139,990.52 |
| Full flat rate | $142,440.27 | $156,684.3 | $165,301.94 | $171,087.51 | $176,220.14 | |
Driver in Charge (DIC) Regional Driver in Charge — the highest-paid traincrew classification in the schedule. | Base rate | $117,136.26 | $128,849.89 | $135,936.63 | $140,694.41 | $144,915.24 |
| Full flat rate | $150,482.3 | $165,530.53 | $174,634.71 | $180,746.92 | $186,169.33 |
Allowances
| Allowance | Unit | Mar 2024 | Nov 2024 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2026 | Mar 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Meal allowance (cl 74) Paid when working 10+ hours away from the depot, when detained more than 2 hours past rostered sign-off, or when called in for emergency work at short notice; repeats every 4-8 hours up to 3 meals per 24 hours, and the three categories cannot be combined for the same period. Meal allowances are the one monetary allowance NOT built into the full flat rate. | Per meal | $44.73 | — | $46.74 | $48.38 | $49.83 |
Regional relief pool — breakfast (cl 72.1) Working-away payment for the Regional Traincrew relief pool. | Per meal | $35.16 | — | $36.74 | $38.03 | $39.17 |
Regional relief pool — lunch (cl 72.1) Working-away payment for the Regional Traincrew relief pool. | Per meal | $38.19 | — | $39.91 | $41.31 | $42.55 |
Regional relief pool — dinner (cl 72.1) Working-away payment for the Regional Traincrew relief pool. | Per meal | $58.10 | — | $60.71 | $62.83 | $64.71 |
Regional relief pool — daily incidentals (cl 72.1) Working-away payment for the Regional Traincrew relief pool; printed flat across all four rate dates. | Per day | $20.60 | — | $20.60 | $20.60 | $20.60 |
Regional Retention and Productivity payment (cl 66.11) Payable to all Regional Traincrew each fortnight; printed at $275.00 from the commencement of the Agreement, rising with the wage-increase schedule to the dated figures shown. | Per fortnight | $287.38 | — | $300.31 | $310.82 | $320.14 |
Cancelled tuckerbox (cl 75) Payable when rostered away from the home depot for more than 18 hours but actually back within 12, with less than 8 hours notice before signing on; scales with the employee's own full flat rate. | Formula | — | 2 hours at the full flat rate | — | — | — |
Route tuition allowance (cl 76) Drivers and Guards undertaking tuition duties; paid for a minimum of 6 hours or the duration of the shift. | Formula | — | 4% of the hourly full flat rate | — | — | — |
Mortality benefit (cl 77) Lump sum paid to the nominated next of kin on the death of an employee during the performance of their duties; flat figure with no escalation clause. | Per occasion | — | $5,000.00 | — | — | — |
Penalty Rates
All time credited beyond ordinary hours in the 4-week work cycle (a guaranteed 160 paid hours) is paid at 170% of the full flat rate at the end of the cycle; the same rule applies to part-time employees beyond their agreed cycle hours (cl 27.13).
All time worked on a Saturday (excluding leisure periods) attracts an additional 50% penalty on top of full-flat-rate pay, paid at the end of the pay fortnight.
All time worked on a Sunday (excluding leisure periods) attracts an additional 100% penalty on top of full-flat-rate pay.
The weekend penalties only apply to a Regional employee's Saturday or Sunday work after they have worked 26 qualifying Saturday (or Sunday) shifts in the 12-month period commencing 1 September.
Weekend penalties are still paid for projected Saturday/Sunday hours in the Master Roster during annual leave, and for rostered available/AFD days not actually worked (calculated on the average depot shift length).
Time worked on a public holiday is credited to the work cycle plus an additional 50% of the full flat rate for all time worked; weekend penalties are paid in addition where the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday (cl 67.5). Labour Day has its own higher rule.
Hours worked on a nominated leisure period that is also a public holiday (other than Labour Day) are paid at 175% of the full flat rate as a stand-alone payment, not credited to the work cycle.
Time worked on Labour Day is credited to the work cycle plus an additional 150% of the full flat rate for all time worked.
Hours worked on Labour Day that also fall on a nominated leisure period are paid at 250% of the full flat rate as a stand-alone payment, not credited to the work cycle.
All time worked during a designated leisure period is paid at 175% of the full flat rate as a stand-alone end-of-fortnight payment; where the leisure period coincides with a weekend penalty day, only the higher of the two rates applies (cl 67.10).
Introducing driver-only operation at a depot adds 5% to that depot's full flat rate, retained even if DOO later ceases; Regional full flat rates already assume DOO, so no further bump applies there.
Notes
- •Figures are the annual salaries printed in Schedule 2 of the agreement, in Australian dollars. Each classification shows two rows: the annual base rate, and the annual "full flat rate" (FFR) — the salary traincrew are actually paid, which already folds in shift and weekend penalty loadings, annualised annual-leave loading, traction, driver-only-operation and single-driver loadings, and all monetary allowances except meal allowances.
- •Queensland Rail publishes these rates as fortnightly amounts alongside the annual figures; the fortnightly figures are the same schedule expressed per fortnight and are not repeated here.
- •Rates rose 10% from 1 March 2024 (a 4.5% general increase plus a 5.5% technology-and-operations loading), then 5.5% from 1 March 2025, 3.5% from 1 March 2026 and 3% from 1 March 2027, applied to both the base and full flat rates. The 1 September 2023 column is the pre-increase baseline printed in the schedule.
- •Traincrew are guaranteed payment for 160 hours per four-week work cycle (an average of 40 hours per week, used for the hourly conversion on this page) regardless of hours actually worked; time beyond that is "excess time" paid at 170% of the full flat rate.
- •A conditional cost-of-living adjustment (clauses 62.6-62.17) can add a one-off lump sum in years where CPI outruns the scheduled increase; because it is a one-off top-up rather than a change to the rate schedule, it is not shown here.
- •The agreement covers Queensland Rail traincrew — train drivers, guards, tutors, train operations inspectors and drivers in charge — across South East Queensland (SEQ) suburban and Regional operations. Some classifications are printed with identical rates (for example SEQ Trainee Driver and Guard), exactly as published; the Regional schedule lists no Guard-family classifications.
- •Queensland Rail station staff (porters, platform supervisors and station masters) are covered by the separate Queensland Rail Station Operations Enterprise Agreement 2023 (AE522979), which publishes fortnightly-only rates and is not included on this page.
- •Source: Queensland Rail Traincrew Enterprise Agreement 2024 (AE526610), Fair Work Commission.
Calculate Your Pay
Download MyRoster to automatically calculate your wages with all penalties and allowances included.
Transport wages in other states
Compare transport worker pay rates, penalties and allowances across every Australian state and territory.
