New Minimum Wage: What Does It Mean For Your Business?

The New Minimum Wage

The Fair Work Commission has announced the largest Minimum Wage percentage increase since 2011. The decision will have a significant impact on businesses, industries and more than 2.3 million employees who are paid at the National Minimum Wage or minimum Modern Award rates.

The Outcome

The outcome of the annual wage review has delivered the following changes, effective from 1 July 2018:

• A 3.5% increase to all Modern Award rates (with weekly wages rounded to the nearest $0.10)
• A 3.5% increase to the National Minimum Wage, taking it to $18.93 per hour (and $719.20 per week for a full-time employee), an increase of $0.64 per hour

The Commission’s decision only confirms the basic increase in minimum rates while confirmation of the specific rates (including new allowance rates) for each individual Award has not been released. These will be released before 1 July 2018.

If you need any advice on understanding and implementing these changes to wages please call us on 1300 651 415 to discuss.