16/01/2026
Australia’s climate enables highly efficient salt production, but the work takes place in open, weather-exposed conditions shaped by heat, wind, and long daylight hours. The salt industry award sets fair standards for workers whose physical labour keeps an industry running that supports food supply, clean water, healthcare, and public safety nationwide.
The salt industry award covers the producing, gathering, extracting, harvesting, storing, distributing, packaging, manufacturing, treating, refining, brine handling, processing, transporting, shipping and conveying of salt, and incidental related work. It also covers the servicing, maintaining, or repairing of plant, equipment, and camp facilities used in these activities. It includes:
✅ Salt industry services employees
Employees performing general support work such as labouring, assisting crews, operating plant, maintaining facilities, and carrying out workshop, warehouse, laboratory, catering, cleaning, or security tasks.
✅ Salt industry production and haulage employees
Employees engaged in salt production, operating plant and mobile equipment, and handling, transporting, loading, and shipping salt.
✅ Salt industry processing employees
Employees operating and adjusting salt processing and refining equipment, including control panels and required permits.
✅ Salt industry maintenance trades employees
Trade-qualified employees responsible for maintaining and repairing plant, equipment, and facilities.
From sun and seawater to storage and shipment, salt production depends on weather-exposed labour and tightly coordinated operations. It is sustained by workers carrying out physically demanding work to keep an essential material moving through every stage.
(Visual reference sourced from Austockphoto)