Annual Wage Review 2026-27 Decision Explained — What It Means for Your Pay

The Fair Work Commission's Expert Panel announces the Annual Wage Review 2026-27 decision in early June 2026. The new National Minimum Wage and updated Modern Award rates take effect from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.

This page is updated within hours of the FWC decision being announced. If you're reading this BEFORE the decision, see the FWM AWR Decision Tracker to track submissions, past decisions, and run impact scenarios on your rate.

Submissions to the 2026-27 review:

• ACTU (unions): +5.0%
• Australian Industry Group (employers): +2.5% cap
• ACOSS (small business): +2.0%
• Australian Government: "Real wage increase consistent with sustainable growth"

The 5-year average decision has been 4.2%, with the past 2 years at 3.75%. The midpoint of submissions sits around 3-4%.

Direct impact:

• National Minimum Wage employees (~70,000 workers, 0.7%): rate updates immediately
• Modern Award employees (~2.4 million, ~22%): all classification rates step up by the same percentage as the National Minimum Wage

Indirect impact:

• Enterprise agreement employees: depends on whether the agreement benchmarks against the award. Many do.
• Above-award salaried employees: employers often re-benchmark. Your nominal salary doesn't necessarily change, but the relative cushion shrinks.

The new rate takes effect from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. So:

• Weekly paid: usually the pay period starting Monday 7 July (or Tuesday 1 July if your pay week starts on a Tuesday)
• Fortnightly paid: usually the pay period starting in early-to-mid July
• Monthly paid: from the July monthly cycle

If you're paid for hours worked across the boundary, the OLD rate applies to hours worked before 1 July (or before your first new pay period), and the NEW rate applies after.

Your first July payslip should clearly show the new rate. If it doesn't, you have an underpayment from day one — see the next section.

Step 1 — Ask politely. Mistakes happen, especially in payroll systems that don't auto-update. Email or talk to payroll referencing the new National Minimum Wage / award rate and the date it takes effect.

Step 2 — If they decline or don't fix it within a reasonable time, calculate the back-pay owing. Use the FWM Back Pay Calculator. Even small per-hour shortfalls add up across the financial year.

Step 3 — Send a written request for back-pay. Use the FWM Underpayment Enquiry Letter generator for a hedged, professional letter that asks for confirmation without escalating.

Step 4 — If still unresolved, lodge a complaint with the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94 or fairwork.gov.au). FWO can investigate, recover wages, and seek civil penalties up to $93,900 per contravention.

You have 6 years to claim back-pay under section 544 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

Use the FWM Annual Wage Review Impact Calculator to see your exact new hourly, weekly, fortnightly, and annual pay. Just enter your current hourly rate and the actual % from this year's decision.

For a quick estimate: multiply your current hourly rate by (1 + decision%). E.g. a 3.5% decision on a $30/hr rate = $30 × 1.035 = $31.05/hr. Over a 38-hour week × 52 weeks, that's an extra $2,080 per year before tax.

If you're paid a casual loading (25%), the loading is calculated on the new base. So a casual on $30/hr base + 25% loading = $37.50/hr currently. After a 3.5% decision: $31.05 base × 1.25 = $38.81/hr.