Australia raises minimum wage 4.75% to $26.44 per hour

Australia's industrial umpire has approved a pay rise for millions of the nation's lowest-paid workers, delivering an increase above the current inflation rate. The Fair Work Commission announced on Tuesday that minimum award wages will increase by 4.75 per cent, effective July 1.

The decision directly affects approximately 2.8 million workers, or about one in five employees. The national minimum wage will rise to $26.44 per hour, up from $24.95, equating to $1004.90 for a standard 38-hour week. The commission also implemented a structural adjustment for the lowest pay classifications, aligning the base award wage with the new national minimum wage. This separate adjustment is expected to benefit around 100,000 of the very lowest-paid workers.

In handing down the ruling, Fair Work Commission President Adam Hatcher described the economic circumstances as unusually complex. He cited the outbreak of war in the Middle East and its subsequent pressure on inflation as a key factor, noting it was not practical or responsible to award a pay rise above five per cent, which would have been needed to fully close the real wage gap that opened after the COVID-19 pandemic.