As of 1 January 2025, intentional underpayment of wages is a criminal offence (“Wage Theft”). As discussed in our article in January 2024 (The Closing Loopholes And Other Reforms: The Many Changes To IR Laws That Will Impact Business In 2024 | Sasphire Legal), the criminalisation of wage theft is a major change to workplace laws introduced by amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“Act”), passed in late 2023 under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 (Cth) (“Closing Loopholes Act”).
The Fair Work Commission (“FWC”) has recently published its Annual Wage Review. The FWC have announced:
• The National Minimum Wage will increase to $23.23 per hour, or $882.80 per week based on a 38 hour week.
• There will be a 5.75% increase to minimum modern award wages.
• The increase will commence from the first pay period following 1 July 2023.
The FWC’s decision will greatly impact many businesses given the current economic climate and struggles faced by companies over the past 12 months. As such, we have set out the changes and what employers need to know moving forward.