The national minimum wage will increase to $812.60 per week (or $21.38 an hour) from 1 July 2022. The weekly rate is based on a 38-hour week for a full-time employee. This constitutes an increase of 5.2%, which is $40 per week or $1.05 an hour.
Additionally, minimum wages in modern awards will increase by 4.6% subject to a minimum increase for adult award classifications of $40 per week. This means that the modern award minimum wage rates will increase by 4.6% for wage rates above $869.60 per week, or by $40 per week for wage rates below $869.60.
The increase will operate from 1 July 2022 in most modern awards. However, there are ten (10) modern awards in the aviation, tourism and hospitality sectors that will receive the increase from 1 October 2022.
Employers should check the updated wage rates in the applicable modern award, including when it will become effective.
The increase will also apply to:
- junior employees
- employees to whom training arrangements apply
- employees with a disability.
Employers should check if there are any additional costs to any piece rates or allowances that use the base rate of pay in the modern award for calculation.
For those employers utilising the annualised wage provisions that exist in some modern awards, now would be an appropriate time to review whether the annual wage being paid still satisfies the requirements of the award, or whether your employees need to be notified in writing of any change to the number of overtime hours that can be worked by an employee in a pay period.
Information about the minimum wage increases, including a breakdown of the dates the increase will come into effect for each modern award, is available from: https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/wage-reviews/2021-22/decisions/2022-fwcfb-3500-decision.pdf
