Important: 1 July 2023 wage increases

For employers, incorrectly calculating wages is not portrayed as a mistake, it’s “wage theft.” Beyond the reputational issues of getting it wrong, the Fair Work Commission backs it up with fines of $9,390 per breach for a corporation. In 2021-22 alone, the Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $532 million in unpaid wages recovered for over 384,000 workers.

On 1 July 2023, award rates of pay and the National Minimum Wage increased by 5.75%.

It is critically important that all employers review their payroll systems and ensure they are applying the correct rates and Awards.

The National Minimum Wage applies to workers not covered by an Award or registered agreement. From 1 July 2023, the National Minimum wage has increased to $23.23 per hour ($882.80 per week for a full-time employee working a standard 38 hours per week).

For casuals, the minimum wage, including the 25% casual loading, is a minimum of $29.04 per hour.

For workers under an Award, adult minimum award wages increase by 5.75% applied from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2023. Proportionate increases apply to junior workers, apprentices and support wages.

In addition, the superannuation guarantee increased from 10.5% to 11% on 1 July 2023.

If the employment agreement with your workers states the employee is paid on a ‘total remuneration’ basis (base plus SG and any other allowances), then their take-home pay might be reduced by 0.5%. That is, a greater percentage of their total remuneration will be directed to their superannuation fund. For employees paid a rate plus superannuation, then their take-home pay will remain the same and the 0.5% increase will be added to their SG payments.

If you have any queries about the impact of these changes to you and your business, please reach out to our team here.