Gym Staffing in Australia: Employees, Contractors and Rostering Done Right
The Short Answer
Most Australian gyms run on a mix of employed and contracted coaches. Employees suit fixed class timetables and reception cover; contractors suit personal training sessions where the coach builds their own client base. The difference is legal, not just administrative: genuine control over hours, tools and exclusivity decides which one applies, and the Fitness Industry Award sets minimum pay and conditions for employees. Wages typically run 25 to 40% of revenue in a staffed model. Get advice from an employment lawyer or accountant before you lock in your structure.
Employee or Contractor: Why the Difference Is Legal, Not Just Convenient
Many first-time gym owners default to treating everyone as a contractor because it looks simpler on paper: no superannuation, no leave entitlements, no award obligations to track. In Australia, that decision is not really yours to make by choosing a label. Whether someone is a genuine contractor or an employee comes down to the real nature of the working relationship: who controls their hours, who supplies the equipment, whether they can subcontract the work to someone else, and whether they are running their own business or working inside yours.
A front-desk staff member who works set shifts on your roster, uses your equipment and reports to your manager is almost always an employee, whatever the paperwork says. A personal trainer who builds their own client base, sets session prices within your gym's guidelines, brings their own programming, and could reasonably train clients out of two different gyms in the same week looks more like a genuine contractor. Group class instructors sit in between, and are the group most often misclassified.
Getting this wrong is expensive after the fact: unpaid superannuation, back pay, penalties, and a difficult conversation with the Fair Work Ombudsman. This section gives you the general shape of the decision. It is not a substitute for advice: talk to an employment lawyer or your accountant before you lock in a staffing model, especially if you plan to run a mixed roster, which most gyms do. For the broader legal groundwork, see our legal basics for gym owners guide.
What the Fitness Industry Award Covers
If you employ staff, rather than genuinely contracting them, the Fitness Industry Award sets the floor for pay rates, casual loading, minimum engagement periods and break entitlements for roles like gym instructor, group exercise instructor and duty manager. Award coverage depends on the actual work being done, not the job title on the contract, and rates are indexed and change periodically. Do not rely on a number in an article, including this one, for a current rate: check the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay tables or ask your accountant before you build a roster or an offer letter.
What the award does for planning purposes: it tells you the minimum shift length you can roster someone for, so you are not offering a 45 minute early morning class shift for less than the minimum engagement period; it sets casual loading if you use casual staff for a variable class timetable; and it gives you a consistent base to build role descriptions and pay bands around as you hire your second, third and tenth staff member.
What Wages Typically Cost as a Share of Revenue
| Model | Typical wage cost as % of revenue | Who is usually on payroll |
|---|---|---|
| PT studio, contractor-led | 5 to 15% | Studio manager or owner-operator only; PTs are contractors |
| Staffed group training or hybrid gym | 25 to 40% | Coaches, front desk, duty manager |
| 24/7 access gym | 10 to 20% | Part-time cleaning, maintenance, occasional group class coaches |
The number moves with your model. A pure 24/7 access gym with no staffed hours can run on a fraction of the wage cost of a staffed group training gym, because the access control system and the equipment do the work a receptionist would otherwise do. A gym with a full group training timetable and PTs on payroll rather than contract sits at the high end. Neither is wrong: it is a trade-off between staff cost and the member experience and price point you are selling. Build your wage percentage into your break-even numbers before you set a roster. If you have not run those numbers yet, the free financial planner tool (sign up with your email) will do the maths with you, alongside our gym business plan and break-even guide.
Plan Your Team Around Your Floor
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Request Your Free DesignRostering: Staffed Hours vs 24/7 Access
How you roster depends entirely on your access model. A staffed model, with attended reception and timetabled classes, means every open hour carries a wage cost, so you roster tightly to actual demand: busy early morning and evening blocks get full coaching cover, quiet mid-afternoon slots run with one person on the floor, or unstaffed if your access system allows it. A 24/7 access model instead concentrates staff hours where they add the most value: cleaning and maintenance, one or two group classes for those who want them, and a duty manager during business hours to run sales and handle equipment issues face to face.
Most Australian gyms that thrive land somewhere in between: staffed peak hours, typically 5:30 to 9am and 4:30 to 8pm on weekdays, with 24/7 swipe access outside those windows. That structure lets you offer the coaching experience your marketing sells during peak times while keeping the wage bill sane across the full week the doors are technically open. Build your roster around a week-by-week grid before you hire: block out every open hour, mark which need a coach on the floor, which need reception only, and which can run on swipe access alone. That grid becomes your hiring brief.
Hiring for Culture, Not Just Qualifications
Certifications get someone in the door for an interview. What keeps a coach on your floor for years, and keeps your members coming back to see them, is fit: do they show up early, do they remember members' names and goals, do they coach the way your brand wants to be experienced. A gym with five great coaches who all coach differently feels chaotic to a member who trains three days a week. A gym with five coaches who share a coaching style and genuinely enjoy working together builds a floor members want to be on.
Practical hiring filters that matter more than the certificate on the wall: get every serious candidate to run a real session, either with you or a current staff member, before you offer them anything. Watch how they talk to a nervous beginner, not just how they coach an advanced lifter. Check how they talk about their last workplace; everyone has a bad boss story, but a pattern of blaming every previous employer is a signal worth noting. And be upfront in the interview about what the job actually pays and the actual roster, early mornings and split shifts included: mismatched expectations are the single biggest driver of early staff turnover.
Keeping Your Coaches: Why Turnover Costs More Than It Looks Like
Replacing a coach costs more than the recruitment ad. There is the gap in coverage, the retraining time, and the member relationships that walk when a popular coach leaves, sometimes literally, if members follow them to another gym. Retention starts with the basics: pay at or above award rate even when you are not legally required to, contractors included, a roster that respects people's lives outside the gym, and a real path for a group coach to move into a PT role, a duty manager role, or eventually a stake in the business if that is on the table.
A regional Queensland gym owner who started with one room and has expanded four times since did not get there by replacing staff every six months: the same core coaches grew with the business, took on more responsibility as new rooms opened, and became a big part of why members stayed loyal through each expansion. Culture and retention are not a soft add-on to a staffing plan, they are the plan.
Building Your Team as You Grow
You do not need a full staff structure on day one. Most founders start solo or with one or two casual coaches covering peak classes, then add a part-time front desk role once member numbers justify staffed hours, then a duty manager once they are ready to step back from the floor themselves. Build your hiring plan in the same stages you build your membership base: hire one role ahead of demand, not five.
Get Your Team's Space Right
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Request Your Free DesignFrequently asked questions
Are gym coaches usually employees or contractors in Australia?
Both, depending on the role and how much control the gym has over their work. Group class instructors and reception staff are commonly employees; personal trainers who build their own client base and set their own hours are more often genuine contractors. The classification depends on the real working relationship, not the label in the contract, so confirm with an employment lawyer or accountant.
What is the Fitness Industry Award?
It is the Australian award that sets minimum pay rates, casual loading and conditions for employed roles in the fitness industry, including gym instructors and duty managers. Rates change periodically, so check the Fair Work Ombudsman's current pay tables or ask your accountant rather than relying on a fixed figure.
What percentage of gym revenue typically goes to wages?
Roughly 25 to 40% of revenue in a staffed group training model, 10 to 20% in a mostly 24/7 access gym, and 5 to 15% in a contractor-led PT studio. Your model and how many staffed hours you run drives the number.
How do I roster a 24/7 gym with a small team?
Staff the peak hours your members actually use, typically early morning and early evening on weekdays, and let swipe access cover the quiet overnight and midday hours. Add a duty manager during business hours to run sales and handle issues face to face.
How many staff do I need to open a gym?
Most independent founders open with one or two casual coaches covering the busiest classes and grow the team in stages as membership numbers justify staffed hours. Build your roster grid first, hour by hour, then hire to fill the gaps.
How do I reduce coach turnover?
Pay at or above award rate, build a roster that respects people's lives outside the gym, and give coaches a visible path to more responsibility, whether that is a duty manager role or, eventually, a stake in the business. Turnover costs more in lost member relationships than in recruitment ads.
Should I use an employment lawyer to set up gym contracts?
Yes. Getting employee versus contractor status wrong is one of the more expensive mistakes a new gym owner can make, with unpaid superannuation and back pay both possible outcomes. It is worth the cost of proper advice before your first hire.