Millions of Australians to get pay rise
Millions of workers on minimum wages and industry awards will get a 4.75 per cent annual pay rise after a Fair Work Commission decision.
Almost three million Australian workers will receive a 4.75 per cent pay boost after the industrial umpire’s annual minimum and award wage review.
The Fair Work Commission’s decision on Tuesday to lift the minimum wage to $1004.90 a week followed the federal government’s call for a “sustainable” real wage rise.
The decision came amid ongoing uncertainty around the Middle East conflict and how long the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut, keeping upwards pressure on inflation.
Headline inflation was 4.2 per cent in the year to April, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, but the Reserve Bank has forecast inflation to rise to 4.8 per cent by the end of June.
Fair Work Commission president Adam Hatcher said it was not practical or responsible to award a pay rise above five per cent needed to close the real wage gap that had opened up since the COVID-19 pandemic.
You might like
“However, we consider that we should at least ensure that modern award relied employees generally are not worse off in real terms than they were as at 1 July, 2025,” he said.
The commission also made a structural adjustment to the lowest pay classifications to effectively raise the minimum wage relative to the rest of the system.
The decision fell in between the range of suggestions made by unions and business groups.
In its submission to the commission’s review, the Australian Council of Trade Unions called for a six per cent increase, arguing workers were still behind in real terms following the post-COVID inflation spike.
Stay informed, daily
But employer body Australian Industry Group called for a lower rise of 3.9 per cent, arguing the union body’s claim would stoke inflation.
The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association said the figure “falls dangerously short of balance between business and employee needs”.
“The hardest truth in hospitality is that restaurants do not print money — they create jobs,” chief executive Wes Lambert said in a statement.
“When minimum wages rise … but productivity, consumer spending and operating conditions do not rise alongside them, the result is fewer opportunities, fewer trading hours and fewer businesses able to survive the next financial year.”
While the federal government does not nominate an exact figure, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said workers deserved a decent real wage increase.
“We want to see it go up further today, and that’s because we recognise that higher wages and lower taxes are the best way to help working people with the cost of living,” he told ABC TV ahead of the decision.
The decision covers about one in five employees, but given they tend to be lower paid, it only amounts to 11.2 per cent of the national wages bill, according to commission estimates.
But economists say the decision influences pay rise claims in occupations across the economy, and therefore results in broader flow-on effects.
The pay rise will kick in from July 1.
-with AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
