Pastoral Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman

FWC · MA000035 · Clause 55

55. Special conditions relating to shed employees

55.1 Mess and cook

(a) If a mess is established for found employees, not found employees may, with the approval of the employer, join the mess and provide their own food and related items (joint mess).

(b) The employer will, however, have the right to supply a sufficient quantity of food to start the mess, the food to be paid for by the persons comprising the mess.

55.2 Where there is a joint mess

(a) The employer must engage a competent cook for the mess on terms not less advantageous to the cook than those prescribed by this award.

(b) The employer may charge each not found employee the amount of their share of the wages actually payable to the cook. The amount charged must not exceed the rate per day per member of the mess prescribed in this award.

(c) If an employer elects to supply food and like items, the employer may deduct the price of the items from the wages of those supplied with the items.

(d) If the employer discharges a not found member of the mess who does not have sufficient credit to satisfy what that employee owes to the mess account, the employer will make up the deficiency, except so far as the employee’s share of the mess account has been increased by goods purchased elsewhere than from the employer.

55.3 Condition of sheep

The employee may refuse to shear sheep without any responsibility for delay in the following circumstances:

(a) Wet sheep

(i) if the overseer and the shed representative agree that the sheep are too wet to shear or crutch; or

(ii) if in the employee’s honest opinion, the sheep are so wet as to be likely to injure the employee, and the employee informs the overseer to that effect; or

(iii) if in the honest opinion of a majority of Shearers (or Crutchers) excluding any learner by vote on a secret ballot it is determined that the sheep are too wet to shear or crutch.

(iv) The supervisor may request that the vote be delayed until after the Shearers (or Crutchers) have shorn (or crutched) 2 sheep each and that the ballot papers have been counted in the presence of the supervisor. The supervisor may request that further votes be taken in relation to sheep which have been voted wet in the same day.

(b) Infected sheep

(i) The employee may refuse to shear (or crutch) sheep where the sheep are:

 cancerous;

 suffering from scabby mouth;

 suffering from any wound or sore other than maggots;

 suffering from a disease communicable to the employee; or

 affected by prickly pear, unless the employer provides the employee with such basil or other gloves and coverings as are necessary.

(ii) The employee will put any affected sheep appearing on the board down the chute.

55.4 Conditions of sheep—employer requirements

(a) The employer will so far as is practicable and reasonable in the particular circumstances prevent from entering the shed:

(i) any cancerous sheep;

(ii) any sheep that has an offensive wound or sore, other than from maggots (unless properly treated with antiseptic);

(iii) any sheep suffering from scabby mouth;

(iv) any sheep suffering from any disease communicable to the employee.

(b) The employer need not pen sheep for shearing (or crutching) which in the honest opinion of the employer should not be shorn or crutched because they are too wet to be shorn (or crutched), without responsibility for any delay.

(c) The employer may also withdraw sheep which have been penned for shearing (or crutching) when, in the employer’s honest opinion, the wool is too wet for pressing, without responsibility for any delay.

55.5 Transport to be provided in certain circumstances

(a) If the employees sleep at the employer’s premises and the shearing shed is one kilometre or more walking distance from the employee’s sleeping quarters, the employer must provide transport for the employees between the shed and sleep quarters before the start of the day’s work and at the end of the day’s work.

(b) In all cases where the shearing shed is half a kilometre or more walking distance from the employees’ huts, the employer must provide transport from the shed to the huts and from the huts to the shed for the midday meal.

55.6 Combs, cutters and handpiece

(a) It will be the responsibility of the employee to provide themselves with combs and cutters and a suitable handpiece.

(b) If a Shearer chooses to use a handpiece supplied by the employer or a contractor, the employer or contractor may make a charge to the Shearer for the use of the handpiece equivalent to the amount the Shearer is reimbursed for the handpiece through the shearing formula (see clause A.1).

(c) Where combs or cutters are damaged or broken during shearing operations due to contact with tags or foreign matter, the employer will replace or provide compensation for such combs and cutters on a fair wear and tear basis.

55.7 Allotment of stands

(a) The employer may nominate the stand or stands to be occupied by learners.

(b) Subject to clause 55.7(a) lots will be drawn for the stands in the presence of the overseer before work is commenced at a shearing or crutching, and the employees will abide by the result of the drawing.

55.8 Provision of sheep

(a) The total number of sheep to be shorn (or crutched) at the shearing (or crutching) will not be more than the maximum number agreed upon nor less than the minimum number agreed upon nor will the number of Shearers employed exceed the number agreed upon.

(b) Subject to other conditions in the award concerning the provision of sheep, the employer will be ready to commence shearing (or crutching) on the date appointed and will keep the Shearers (or Crutchers) fully supplied with sheep until the completion of the shearing (or crutching).

(c) The employer, however, will not be bound to furnish the agreed minimum number of sheep or to be ready or to keep the employee fully supplied if prevented by any cause unavoidable by them. The employer will inform the employee, as soon as is reasonably possible, whether, and to what extent, the employee will be or is likely to be so prevented.

(d) When the employer is a contractor shearing or crutching sheep under contract with an owner or the owner’s agent, the failure of the owner or agent to keep the contractor supplied with sheep for shearing (or crutching) will not be deemed to be a cause unavoidable by the contractor unless the owner or agent is prevented from supplying sheep because of any unavoidable cause.

55.9 Yarding sheep for shearing

(a) At shearing operations the employer will, unless prevented by any cause unavoidable by the employer, yard the sheep for shearing at least 4 hours before the time of their being shorn so as to overcome any fullness or sweat in the sheep and the employee will shear the sheep without delay.

(b) Clause 55.9 will not apply in the case of:

(i) ewes within 2 months of lambing;

(ii) ewes with lambs up to 3 months old; or

(iii) sheep which have previously been yarded for shearing but have been turned out because they are too wet to shear.

55.10 Posting of tallies

Each day, the employer will make available to each employee the employee’s tally or bale weight for each run worked in a day.

Complete top-level clause extracted from the checked official consolidated text, including the available subordinate paragraphs and tables. Source wording and official numbering retained; whitespace/table layout normalised. AI source-checked for this user-authorised local release; no human professional review.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2026. Fair Work Commission. Consolidated Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Quotations retain source wording; whitespace/table formatting is normalised for display. Personal/non-commercial or internal use only under the FWC copyright notice. Quick Award explanations are separate AI source-checked text; no government endorsement.

Official document

Pastoral Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman ↗

Version

This Fair Work Commission consolidated modern award incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 July 2026 (PR799280, PR799316 and PR799473). ↗

Citation verified

25 Oct 2026

Operative note

Based on the current consolidated Award text incorporating amendments up to and including 1 July 2026. That consolidation date is not the commencement date of every provision; check the relevant variation and operative conditions when assessing an earlier period.