2026年年度工资审查决定：FWC提高了国家最低工资和奖励率

FWC increases the national minimum wage and award rates Australia – June 2026 Under section 285 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act), the Fair Work Commission (FWC) isrequired to conduct an annual wage review. This year, the review has awarded nearly3 million Australian workers a wage increase of 4.75%. This is a significant increase, following the 3.5% increase implemented last July. And despite its sitting well above the currentinflation rate of 4.2%, it is considerably lower than the 6% increase that the unions had requested. By comparison, it is significantlyhigher than the 2% to 3.9% that employers had submitted was an appropriate increase given the current state of the economy. Modern award wage review Reasoning The FWC acknowledged a “challenging … degree ofcomplexity” this year. Taking into account an assortment ofmatters, such as accelerated inflation, partly due to the “wildcard of the Middle East conflict” and the Reserve Bank ofAustralia’s “tightened monetary policy”, the FWC’s hand wasforced to close the real wage gap that has continued to wideneven following the increase in wages last year. From 1 July 2026, most minimum wage rates under modernawards will be increased by 4.75%. This will accordingly increase the pay of 21.1% of Australia’sworkforce, creating implications for employers across thecountry. Additionally, the FWC announced that it will begin phasing outC13 classifications across modern awards, aiming to slowlyintroduce C12 as the new lowest level of pay. To implementthis, all workers on the C13 level will receive the 4.75% increaseas well as an extra third of the existing gap between the C13and C12 rates. This incremental alignment will continue forthe next three annual review cycles, until eventually, the gapbetween C13 and C12 is abolished with C12 becoming thelowest permanent rate. In bridging this gap, the FWC hopes there to be “somecontribution to reducing the gender pay gap”, noting that themajority of modern-award-reliant employees are female. Predicted impact for employers While the FWC is aware of the fluctuating economicconditions, it does not consider that the changes to the NMWand modern award wages will be detrimental to productivity,nor so burdensome as to obviously affect employment costsfor all employers. As for C14 classifications, which are limited to temporaryentry-level positions, they will be increased proportionately inline with the changes to the C13 classification – to AU$25.74per hour or AU$978.10 per week. This will occur immediatelyand not operate under the same phasing process as C13 will. It noted that the highest increased risk would sit withemployers in the accommodation and food servicesindustries, due to these sectors’ high reliance on modernawards. National minimum wage (NMW) From 1 July 2026, the NMW will be AU$26.44 per hour, orAU$1004.90 per week. This represents an increase to theNMW of 5.97%. Employers should be relieved the 6% sought from the unionsdid not eventuate, with the FWC deeming it “not … practicableor responsible” to completely close the current wage gap. Practically, the NMW review has limited impact. This is dueto the low number of employees who are paid at this level,and therefore this change will not have any “discerniblemacroeconomic effects”, according to the FWC. However, for employers paying employees at this rate orclose to it, it is essential they are aware of this change, as itmay cause them to revisit their wages for some employees. What do employers need to do now? From 1 July 2026, relevant employers under the FW Act will need to ensure they are able to implement these changes. •For employers paying the NMW or covered by an award, it is now time to revisit your current employees’ wages to ensurethey are aligned with the relevant rate. •Employers covered by an enterprise agreement need to ensure that any increases to pay rates tied to the NMW or awardrate increases are implemented. The base rate in an enterprise agreement is not permitted to fall below the applicablemodern award rate. •These reviews must include an audit of annualised salaries to ensure the salaries are sufficiently absorbing all modern awardor enterprise agreement entitlements. Increases will apply to an employer’s pay period starting before or on 1 July 2026. For pay periods that occur after that date,the requirement to pay these rates will commence then. If you require more information or assistance with implementing this review into practice, please contact our Labour &Employment team. Contacts Erin Kidd Nicola Martin Lucas Spicer Special Counsel, SydneyT +61 8248 7837erin.kidd@squirepb.com Law Graduate, PerthT +61 9429 7553lucas.spicer@squirepb.com