Australia raises minimum wage by 4.75%

It will take effect on 1 July.

The Fair Work Commission has announced a 4.75% increase to minimum wage rates under modern awards, effective July 1, 2026.

See excerpt of the decision from the Fair Work Commission below:

The decision we have made is as follows. First, modern award wage rates shall be increased by 4.75%, effective from 1 July 2026.

However, this is subject to a structural adjustment we have decided to make to the very lowest-paid classifications in modern awards, namely classifications paid at the C13 and C14 wage rates. The C13 rate is the lowest wage rate applicable to ongoing employment in the modern award system, and the C14 wage rate is a special entry-level wage rate applicable to a limited initial period of employment.

As foreshadowed in last year’s Review, we have decided to phase out classifications paid at the  C13 level and to make the next wage level up, the C12 level, the lowest wage rate for ongoing employment.

We will do this in three stages, with the first stage being implemented as part of this Review. This will involve the C13 rate being increased by an additional amount representing one-third of the difference between the C13 and the C12 rates. The C14 rate will be increased by the same percentage amount as the C13 rate to maintain its current relativity to C13.

These adjustments will result in the lowest wage rate in the modern award system applicable to ongoing employment being $1,004.90 per week or $26.44 per hour, and the lowest wage rate applicable to entry-level employment for a period of no more than six months being $978.10 per week or $25.74 per hour. Our estimate is that this will affect around 100,000 of the lowest-paid employees.

The National Minimum Wage, which is aligned to the C13 rate, will be increased to $1004.90 per week, or $26.44 per hour. This will also take effect from 1 July 2026.