From 1 April 2020 the adult minimum wage rate will increase to $18.90 an hour from the previous rate of $17.70 an hour. The starting-out and training minimum wage rate increases to $15.12 an hour from the previous rate of $14.16 an hour. The minimum wage is set to increase further from 1 April 2021 to $20.00. With these significant increases coming through, we strongly encourage you to review your pay rates particularly for salaried employees and ensure that you are not in breach of the new rates.
Below are some important reminders about applying the minimum wage rates:
- The adult minimum wage applies to all employees aged 16 and over who are not starting-out workers or trainees.
- The starting-out wage applies to workers aged 16 or 17 who have not yet completed six months continuous employment with their current employer, workers aged 18 or 19 who have received a specified social security benefit for six months or longer and have not yet completed six months continuous employment with their current employer, or workers aged 16 to 19 who are required to undertake industry training to become qualified.
- The training minimum wage applies to employees aged 20 and over who are doing recognised industry training to become qualified.
- There is no minimum wage for employees aged under 16 but all other employment rights and entitlements still apply.