Minimum Wage for a 15, 16, 17 or 18 Year Old in Australia (2026-27 Rates)

Australia does not have one minimum wage for teenagers. Almost every junior job is covered by a modern award, and each award sets its junior rates as a percentage of the adult rate for the job. The national minimum wage only applies to the small number of award-free jobs. From 1 July 2026 the national minimum wage is $26.44 an hour ($1,004.72 a week), and the junior percentages of it start at 36.8% for under-16s.

In practice, most 15 to 18 year olds work in retail, fast food, hospitality or supermarkets, so the award rate is the number that matters. This table puts the three side by side, per hour, for a permanent (full-time or part-time) Level 1 employee. Casuals get 25% on top.

*Retail Award: a 20 year old employed by the same employer for more than six months is paid the adult rate ($27.81). Figures are award minimums from the Fair Work Commission's pay database, operative 1 July 2026, hourly = weekly ÷ 38. Your award may differ; check the age pages for 15, 16, 17 and 18 year olds across every industry.

Most first jobs are casual, and the 25% casual loading applies to junior rates in the same way it applies to adults. A 16 year old casual at a supermarket on the Retail Award, Level 1, is on $13.91 plus 25% = $17.39 an hour for ordinary hours. A casual 15 year old at a fast food outlet is on $11.12 plus 25% = $13.90. Weekend, evening and public holiday penalties then apply on top of the loaded rate under most awards. Use the casual loading calculator for your own numbers.

Two rules that catch employers out: the rate goes up on the employee's birthday, from the first full pay period after it, and a junior who is classified above Level 1 gets the junior percentage of that level, not of Level 1.

The Fair Work Commission has decided that employees aged 18 to 20 under the Retail, Fast Food and Pharmacy Awards will be entitled to the adult rate for their classification once they have been with their employer for more than six months. Pay for 18 to 20 year olds with less than six months' service does not change, and there is no change for anyone under 18. On 26 August 2026 the Commission fixed the timetable ([2026] FWCFB 222). From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026, eligible workers move up 5 percentage points: 18 year olds from 70% to 75% of the adult rate, 19 year olds from 80% to 85%, and 20 year olds from 90% to 95% (Retail 20 year olds with more than six months' service are already on the adult rate). Under the Retail and Fast Food Awards, rates then rise 5 points each July and December. 20 year olds reach the adult rate from 1 July 2027, 19 year olds from 1 July 2028 and 18 year olds from 1 July 2029. The Pharmacy Award reaches the same end dates in larger July steps. The decision covers Retail levels 1 to 3, all Fast Food levels and pharmacy assistants levels 1 and 2. It does not cover hospitality (Fair Work Ombudsman).

For a 19 year old on Retail Level 1 with more than six months' service, the first step is from $22.25 to about $23.64 an hour, about $53 more a week full-time. The full adult rate ($27.81 at today's rates) arrives from 1 July 2028. Our junior rates change calculator works through each step for your age and award. Updated 3 October 2026 with the FWC's final timetable.

The Hospitality Award and the Restaurant Award use their own junior percentages and levels, and the big supermarket and fast food chains mostly pay under enterprise agreements that sit above the award. Check the employer page before the award page: Woolworths, Coles, McDonald's, KFC and Bunnings each have their own page, and the hospitality and retail award pages carry every level.

Superannuation is the other junior rule: under-18s only earn super in a week when they work more than 30 hours; 18 and over earn it from the first hour. And no award allows an "unpaid trial" beyond a short, genuine demonstration of skills for the job.

Ask for the payslip, which must be given within one working day of payday. It should show the award or agreement, the classification, the hourly rate and each type of hour worked. Compare the rate with the table above or the age page, check that a casual's rate includes the loading, and check that Saturday and Sunday hours are paid at the higher rate. If something looks wrong, the payslip checker does the comparison, and the Fair Work Ombudsman's junior pay rates page is the official reference. Underpayments to juniors are among the most common the Ombudsman recovers, and they can be recovered for up to six years.