Minimum Wage To Increase To $1,004.90 Per Week From 1 July 2026

The Fair Work Commission has handed down its annual wage review decision for 2026. From 1 July 2026, the national minimum wage will increase to $1,004.90 per week, or $26.44 per hour.

What are the minimum wage increases for 2026?

From 1 July 2026, the national minimum wage will increase by approximately 6% to $1,004.90 per week, or $26.44 per hour. The weekly rate is based on a 38-hour week for a full-time employee.

Additionally, minimum wage rates in all modern awards will also increase by 4.75%, effective from 1 July 2026.

This year’s increase is higher than the 3.5% increase that occurred in 2025. In this regard, the Commission cited several factors, including:

• the accelerated rate of inflation
• real wages for award-reliant employees remaining lower than they were in 2021 due to the rate of inflation
• economic uncertainty caused by the Middle East conflict.

Employees will be entitled to the increased rate from their first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.

The pay increase will apply to all employees on a minimum wage rate. This includes junior employees, employees performing work under a training arrangement and employees with a disability.

Award classification structural reforms

The Commission also announced further structural reforms to classifications in modern awards. The C13 classification level, which is currently the lowest rate for ongoing award-covered employees at $948 per week, will be phased out of the modern awards framework. The comparable C12 classification level will then eventually become the lowest rate applicable to ongoing employees, except when an introductory classification remains in the award for an employee’s first six months of employment. This change will impact employee rates of pay at the lowest classification level in a significant number of modern awards.

Effectively, this means that the rates of pay for ongoing employees paid in accordance with the current C13 classification level will have a more significant increase than other award-covered employees, with their wages increasing in line with the national minimum wage by 6% to $1,004.90 per week.

These changes to the lowest classification levels in the affected modern awards will require employers to review and, if necessary, update their relevant employees’ employment contracts and payroll systems to ensure ongoing compliance with their obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The Fair Work Commission will provide more information about these changes in due course, and we recommend all employers familiarise themselves with the specific modern awards amendments that apply to their business before 1 July 2026 to ensure compliance.

Next steps for employers

In light of the upcoming increase, employers must take steps to ensure that they are paying employees at the correct rates.

If employers do have employees engaged on the minimum wage rate, they will need to increase their weekly rates by 6%. In all other cases, minimum rates of pay under the modern awards will increase by 4.75% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.

This decision only applies to those employees who are paid at the minimum rates payable under a modern award. However, where annualised wage arrangements are being used or employees covered by a modern award are paid a higher hourly rate, employers should be assessing whether these arrangements will still satisfy the minimum award requirements.

If employers have enterprise agreements that provide for wage increases in line with the annual wage review, these will also need to be increased.

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