Adult employees
Employees who are 21 years of age or over, and employees under 21 who are paid at the full adult rate for their occupation.
Average (mean) total earnings
The amount obtained by dividing the total earnings of a group (e.g. full-time employees) by the number of employees in that group.
Average (mean) total hours
The amount obtained by dividing the total hours of a group (e.g. full-time employees) by the number of employees in that group.
Awards
Legally enforceable determinations made by federal or state industrial tribunals that set the terms of employment (pay and/or conditions) usually in a particular industry or occupation.
Collective agreements
Agreements between an employer (or group of employers) and a group of employees (or one or more unions or employee associations representing the employees). They set the terms of employment (pay and/or conditions) for a group of employees, and may be either registered or unregistered.
Employees
Persons who worked for a public or private employer, and received pay for the reference period in the form of wages or salaries, a commission while also receiving a retainer, tips, piece rates or payment in kind. Persons who operate their own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees are also included as employees.
Employees whose pay is set by awards only
Employees who are covered by awards and who were not paid more than the award rate of pay in the survey reference period.
Employees whose pay is set by collective agreements
Employees who had the main part of their wages or salaries paid in the survey reference period set by registered or unregistered collective agreements or enterprise awards.
Employees whose pay is set by individual agreements
Employees who had the main part of their wages or salaries paid in the survey reference period set by individual agreements. This group mainly consists of employees whose pay is set by an individual common law contract, employees receiving overaward payments by individual agreement, and working proprietors of incorporated enterprises who set their own rate of pay.
Employer size
A measure of the size of the business in terms of the number of employees within that business. The employer size reflects the size of the business in each state or territory and not necessarily the size of the business Australia-wide.
Full-time employees
Employees who normally work the agreed or award hours for a full-time employee in their occupation. If agreed or award hours do not apply, employees are regarded as full-time if they usually work 35 hours or more per week. Employees who work variable hours are classified as full-time if they worked 35 hours or more in the reference week.
Individual agreements/contracts
Set the terms of employment (pay and/or conditions) for an individual employee and are agreed to by the individual rather than on behalf of the individual. Individual agreements/contracts may be either registered or unregistered.
Industry
Classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 1993 (cat. no. 1292.0).
Junior employees
Employees who are under 21 years of age and are not paid at the adult rate for their occupation.
Managerial employees
Employees who are in charge of a significant number of employees or have significant responsibilities in the conduct or operations of the organisation and usually do not receive payment for overtime. Includes professionally qualified staff who primarily perform managerial tasks in conjunction with utilising their professional skills. Working proprietors and working directors of own incorporated businesses are regarded as managerial employees.
Method of setting pay
How the main part of an employee's pay was set in the reference period. The mechanisms for setting an employee's pay can include awards, collective agreements or individual agreements.
Median earnings
The amount of earnings which divides employees into two groups containing equal numbers of employees, one half with earnings below the median and the other half having earnings above the median.
Non-managerial employees
Employees who are not managerial employees as defined above, including non-managerial professionals and some employees with supervisory responsibilities.
Occupation
Classified according to the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO), Second Edition (cat. no. 1220.0).
Ordinary time earnings
Payment attributable to award, standard or agreed hours of work, calculated before taxation and any other deductions have been made. Included are agreed base rates of pay; penalty payments; shift and other taxable allowances; commissions and retainers; bonuses related to the reference period; payments under incentive or piecework; payments for leave taken during the reference period; all workers’ compensation payments made through the payroll; and salary payments made to directors. Excluded are non-cash components of salary packages, salary sacrificed, overtime payments, retrospective pay, pay in advance, leave loadings, severance pay, and termination and redundancy payments.
Ordinary time hours paid for
Award, standard or agreed hours of work, paid for at the ordinary time rate. Included are stand-by or reporting time which are part of standard hours of work, and that part of annual leave, paid sick leave and long service leave taken during the reference period. For employees who began or ceased work, or were absent without pay for any reason during the reference period, only the hours actually paid for are included. Note: Ordinary hours paid for was not collected for managerial employees.
Overtime earnings
Payment for hours in excess of award, standard or agreed hours of work.
Overtime hours paid for
Hours in excess of award, standard or agreed hours of work, paid for and reported as overtime hours. Note: Overtime hours paid for was not collected for managerial employees.
Part-time employees
Employees who normally work less than the agreed or award hours for a full-time employee in their occupation. If agreed or award hours do not apply, employees are regarded as part-time if they usually work less than 35 hours per week.
Percentiles
Any of a hundred divisions of an earnings or hours distribution. For example:
- 25% of employees earn less than or equal to the 25th percentile
- 75% of employees earn less than or equal to the 75th percentile.
Reference period
The survey refers to the last pay period ending on or before 17 May 2002. All estimates of earnings and hours in the publication are weekly, therefore for employees paid other than weekly, hours and earnings have been converted to a weekly basis.
Sector
Public sector comprises local government authorities and all government departments and agencies created by, or reporting to, the Commonwealth, or state/territory Parliaments. The private sector comprises all organisations not classified as public sector.
Total earnings
Equal to ordinary time earnings plus overtime earnings.
Total hours paid for
Equal to ordinary time hours paid for plus overtime hours paid for. Note: Total hours paid for was not collected for managerial employees.
Weekly Total Earnings
Weekly total earnings of employees is equal to weekly ordinary time earnings plus weekly overtime earnings.
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