Australia Minimum Wage to Rise by 5.97%, Affecting Millions

Australia's minimum wage will increase by 5.97 per cent, and minimum award workers will get a 4.75 per cent pay boost, in the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) annual wage review.

The new national minimum wage will be $26.44 per hour (up from $24.95), and $1,004.90 per week (up from $948), based on a full-time 38-hour week.

The pay increase will begin from July 1. The pay increases will affect millions of low-paid workers.

While the national minimum wage covers a very small proportion of the workforce, roughly 21 per cent of all employees in Australia are paid at a minimum award rate, amounting to almost 2.8 million people.

According to the FWC, because of the part-time and low-paid characteristics of the modern award-reliant workforce, the wages paid to them constitute only about 11.2 per cent of the national "wage bill".

And workers who are reliant on award wages are disproportionately female, more than two-thirds work part-time hours, more than a half are casual employees, and more than a third are low-paid.

Four industry sectors — accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and administrative and support services — account for more than two-thirds of all modern award-reliant employees.

Each year, the FWC takes submissions from government, business groups and unions before making its own wage determination.

The Albanese government had pushed for an above-inflation pay rise for the national minimum wage and modern award wages.

Headline inflation is currently running at an annual pace of 4.2 per cent.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) asked for 3.5 per cent. Peak union the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) asked for 5 per cent.