Close to $250 million in pay rises has now hit the pay packets of 2.7 million Australian workers earning award-reliant and minimum wages.
The wage increase stems from the Fair Work Commission lifting the minimum wage by 6 per cent and modern award wages by 4.75 per cent.
It has now been a fortnight since the annual wage rise kicked in on July 1 which followed the Albanese Labor Government’s advocacy for a real wage increase for low‑paid workers.
In the two weeks since the pay rises began, the 2026 AWR decision is estimated to have increased wages for all award-reliant workers by a total of $242.9 million dollars.
Since the Annual Wage Review decision came into effect on 1 July 2026, fortnightly full-time wages are up award-reliant workers by:
- almost $96.00 for shop assistants
- just over $101.00 for engineering/manufacturing tradespeople (level 1)
- nearly $114.00 for National Minimum Wage earners
- $148.00 for Registered Nurses (Level 3)
From 1 July, the National Minimum Wage rose by 6 per cent to $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week for a full‑time worker, taking the minimum wage above $1,000 a week for the first time.
The Albanese Labor Government is committed to getting wages moving again and making sure working people are better off.
This includes seeing the minimum wage boosted by more than $12,000 a year since we came to Government, working to create more than 1.2 million jobs, and investing in skills and education.
Quotes Attributable to Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations:
“Millions of Australian workers are now experiencing the tangible impact of minimum wage increases, with an additional quarter of a million dollars now in the pockets of hard working Australians.
“We backed a real wage increase because we are focused on supporting working people and easing cost‑of‑living pressures.
“These wage increases come on top of the Albanese Government’s tax cuts for every taxpayer and further improvements to Paid Parental Leave, providing additional cost‑of‑living relief for working families.”
