ARTICLE · 08 JUNE 2010

Fair Work Australia Increases National Minimum Wages: Practical Detail and Implications

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On 3 June 2010, Fair Work Australia’s Minimum Wage Panel released its decision on the first Annual Wage Review conducted under the Fair Work industrial relations framework. This decision is the first adjustment to wages in Australia’s national industrial relations system since October 2008.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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By Andrew Tobin, Partner; Rebekah Fryer, Associate and Jessica Paten, Solicitor.

On 3 June 2010, Fair Work Australia's Minimum Wage Panel released its decision on the first Annual Wage Review conducted under the Fair Work industrial relations framework. This decision is the first adjustment to wages in Australia's national industrial relations system since October 2008.

The panel's decision increases all modern award pay rates by a flat $26 per week, and the full time national minimum wage by almost five percent. It also increases the default casual loading for award and agreement free employees from 20 percent to 21 percent, with the result that the minimum hourly rate for this group increases by almost six percent.

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