Minimum Wages Increased; Fair Work Commission Splits the Difference

On Monday, June 3, 2024, the Fair Work Commission announced a 3.75% increase to Australia’s minimum wages for both award-free and award-covered employees. This change will take effect from July 1, 2024. To help you navigate these changes, we provide a few explanations to the most common queries, below:

For Award-Free Employees

The new minimum wage for award-free employees will be $915.90 per week (based on a 38-hour work week), equating to $24.10 per hour.

Don’t forget – casual employees have their 25% loading on top of minimum rates.

For Award-Covered Employees

The new minimum wages for award-covered employees will increase by 3.75% – and soon, will be detailed in the Modern Awards themselves. The Fair Work Ombudsman will typically update the Pay Guides for each award in the coming weeks, which can also be viewed online. Even these pay guides can be difficult to interpret – so, speak to the experts for help.

Hint*** believe it or not, the Fair Work Ombudsman aren’t exactly “the experts”. 

Effective Date and Pay Periods

These changes take effect from the first full pay period on or after July 1, 2024. For example, if your pay period starts on July 1, the new rates will apply from that date. If your pay period is fortnightly (for example) and runs from Monday 8 July 2024, changes will not apply to your payroll until this (full) pay period.

Do You Need to Increase Pay Rates?

If you are already paying rates above the new minimum wage, generally, your existing pay rates will absorb the 3.75% increase, and no changes are required.

Where the new wage levels go beyond your existing pay rates, you will be obliged to update those pay rates accordingly.

Enterprise Agreements

Enterprise agreements replace the modern awards that would otherwise apply. These agreements are required to provide assurances that base rates of pay are not lower than the applicable rates in modern awards.

Any business with an Enterprise Agreement will need to conduct an annual audit to ensure they still comply with their legal obligations.

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or need further assistance, our team is here to help. Don’t hesitate to call us on 1300 138 211 or visit our contact page to get in touch. We’re looking forward to connecting with you!