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New national minimum wage rates for 2025–2026

From 1 July 2025, the national minimum wage and all modern award minimum wage rates will increase by 3.5%. This comes after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) Expert Panel released the results of its annual wage review last week on 3 June 2025.  

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) requires the FWC to conduct an annual wage review each financial year. The process involves submissions from a number of parties such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association, and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Review functions

There are two main functions of the review:

  1. Review the current national minimum wage order and make a new order.
  2. Review the minimum wage rates under the modern awards and consider whether they should be adjusted.

The national minimum wage applies to the small number of workers in the national industrial relations system who are not covered by a modern award or an enterprise agreement. The adjustment of the minimum wage rates under the modern awards is likely to have a bigger impact, affecting approximately 20% of the Australian workforce.

Review considerations

The FWC considers several elements when conducting the review, including:

  • the performance and competitiveness of the national economy;
  • the need to achieve gender equality;
  • promoting social inclusion through increased workforce participation; and
  • relative living standards and the needs of the low paid.

Review outcome

The 2025–2026 increase of 3.5% to the national minimum wage will constitute a rise of $32.10 in weekly income for full-time employees. This will see:

  • the current weekly minimum wage increase from $915.90 to $948 per week (an increase of $32.10 per week); and
  • the current hourly minimum wage increase from $24.10 per hour to $24.95 per hour (an increase of $0.85 per hour).

The increases will also apply to casuals and part-timers.

These adjustments will also impact the minimum wages set out in modern awards across all classification levels, taking effect from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2025.

Get set for the change

Employers should:

  • assess minimum pay rates, conditions and entitlements for award-covered staff, and implement any necessary adjustments from the first full pay cycle in July;
  • examine the salary of award-covered employees whose entitlements are being offset, to ensure they continue to receive more than the minimum required under the award; and
  • check that the base pay rates in any enterprise agreements are at least equal to the updated award minimums.

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