Wage Increase from 1 July 2025: What Employers Need to Know

The Fair Work Commission has announced that from 1 July 2025, both the National Minimum Wage and minimum award wages will increase by 3.5%. This change is part of the Commission’s annual wage review, which considers economic conditions and cost-of-living pressures.

As an employer, it’s important to understand how this increase applies to your workforce—particularly if your employees are covered by a modern award or rely on the national minimum wage.

What’s Changing?

The national minimum wage is the base pay rate for employees not covered by an award or enterprise agreement. It will increase from:

Pay Type	Current Rate (2024–25)	New Rate (from 1 July 2025)
Hourly Rate	$24.10	$24.94
Weekly Rate	$915.90 (based on 38 hrs)	$948.00 (based on 38 hrs)

This increase also applies to minimum award wages, meaning employees covered by a modern award will see their base pay rise by 3.5% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025.

Understanding Awards

Most employees in Australia are covered by an industry or occupation-specific award, which sets out minimum pay rates, penalties, and conditions.

If you're unsure whether your employees are covered by an award—or which award applies—you can:

• Use the Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) on the Fair Work website to identify the correct award based on the role, industry, and employment type.

• Refer to the List of Awards page to browse and search by job title or sector.

What Employers Should Do

To prepare for the new wage rates:

• Review your employees' current pay and classifications

• Update payroll systems to apply the new minimums from 1 July 2025

• Communicate changes to your staff, especially if their pay is linked to award conditions or the national minimum wage

• Reassess staffing budgets if you employ multiple award-covered or minimum-wage staff

  
  

Tip: If we manage your payroll, the new rates will be applied automatically. If you handle it in-house, now’s the time to review awards and pay rates before 1 July.

Understanding award changes and new pay rates can be complex—but you don’t have to manage it alone.

At Vivid Enterprise Solutions, we’ll help you get it right from the start. If you’d like us to review your payroll setup or confirm award coverage for your team, get in touch today.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide general guidance and is not specific advice. We encourage you to seek tailored advice for your circumstances.