Minimum Wage Rise of 5.2% coming July 1

The Fair Work Commission has handed down a 5.2% minimum wage rise, equating to $40 per week. The national minimum wage will now be $812.60, or $21.38 per hour (up from $20.33 per hour), with the rise expected on 1 July.

Award wage earners will have a 4.6% increase from October 1. 

• ACTU reaction:
  • “ACTU secretary Sally McManus says she is “really happy” with the Fair Work Commission’s 5.2 minimum wage rise decision. “We think it is going to make a significant difference to the pressures that low-paid workers are under with cost of living rising,” she told reporters in Melbourne.
• Treasurer:
  • Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomes the decision to lift the minimum wage by 5.2 per cent “so that Australia’s low paid workers don’t go backwards”.
• ACCI reaction:
  • “The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says the Fair Work Commission’s minimum wage decision will cost businesses an additional $7.9 billion in the year ahead.”
• COSBOA reaction:
  • “The 5.2 per cent minimum wage rise will leave small businesses concerned about the viability of their businesses, according to the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia.
  • “CEO Alexi Boyd has told Sky News “most small businesses, when they hear this news, will be disappointed”.
• Ai Group reaction:
  • Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox says the decision “will add fuel to the inflation fire”.
  • “There is a major risk that the 5.2 per cent increase that has been awarded to the national minimum wage, with increases of between 4.6 per cent and 5.2 per cent to award rates, will fuel inflation and lead to even higher interest rates,” he said.
• Delays for tourism and hospitality sectors:
  • Wage rises announced by the Fair Work Commission will be delayed until October for the aviation, tourism and hospitality sectors. “We are satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist such as to warrant a delayed operative date for certain modern awards,” commission president Iain Ross said, naming aviation and tourism. The variants in those modern awards will come into operation from October 1.”

FWC Panel’s Deliberations

“In the Panel’s view awarding an increase in all modern award minimum wages of the magnitude proposed by Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (6.5 per cent) and the ACTU (5.5 per cent), in the present economic circumstances, would pose a real risk of significant adverse effects to the national economy.”

“The Panel acknowledged that the increases determined will mean a real wage cut for some award-reliant employees but noted that this is an issue that can be addressed in subsequent Reviews.

“The Panel was satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist such as to warrant a delayed operative date for modern awards in the aviation, tourism and hospitality sectors. The variation determinations in respect of the following awards will operate from 1 October 2022:

• Aircraft Cabin Crew Award 2020
• Airline Operations – Ground Staff Award 2020
• Air Pilots Award 2020 • Airport Employees Award 2020
• Airservices Australia Enterprise Award 2016
• Alpine Resorts Award 2020
• Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020
• Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award 2020
• Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2020
• Restaurant Industry Award 2020.

“The Panel acknowledged that an operative date of 1 July 2022 will mean that some businesses covered by these modern awards will face 2 minimum wage increases within a 12-month period.

Read full decision and full summary here

Fair Work Commissionminimum wagewage rise