Minimum wage decision announcement

Disputes, Liabilities, Case Law

The Fair Work Commission’s Minimum Wage Panel has announced that, effective July 1st, the national minimum wage and Modern Award minimum rates are to be increased by 3.5%. In short, what does this mean?

  • the National Minimum Wage increases to $719.20/ week or $18.93/hour
  • National Minimum Wage or Modern Award rates compliance is to apply for the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2018
  • Enterprise Agreements need to reflect new minimum base rates in existing EAs
  • For new EAs, the new minimum base rates are a baseline for “better off overall” (BOOT) testing
  • Some allowances may also need to increase

Other threshold changes

  • The high income threshold, which limits an employee’s eligibility to pursue an unfair dismissal claim, increases to $145,300, from $142,000. The exception is if they are under an award or agreement
  • Unfair dismissal compensation is now &72,650, capped at half the high income threshold.
  • The Eligible Termination Cap (ETP) threshold will increase to $205,000