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Minimum Wage in Australia: What It Pays Each Week and Fortnight
Australia's national minimum wage for adults without an award or agreement is $26.44 an hour from 1 July 2026, or $1,004.90 for a 38-hour week, before tax. Adult casuals on it get $33.05 an hour. Most jobs are covered by an award, which sets its own minimum for that work, so your rate can be higher, or lower if you're under 21.
By MarnixPublished Sources
A job ad says "$26-something an hour", or a first payslip shows a rate you've never had to think about before. Is that the least anyone is allowed to pay you? And what does an hourly rate actually come to when the rent is due?
Most jobs use an award rate, which depends on your work and sometimes your age. The national minimum applies to adults without an award or agreement.
The national minimum wage is $26.44 an hour
From 1 July 2026, the national minimum wage is $26.44 an hour, or $1,004.90 for a full-time week of 38 hours, before tax. It's the ordinary adult minimum where no award or enterprise agreement applies. Separate rates apply to apprentices, juniors and some workers with disability. If you want to compare typical earnings rather than the legal minimum, our guide to average salaries explains the difference.
Casual workers get a casual loading on top, an extra 25% of the hourly rate. Casuals don't get most kinds of paid leave, and the loading helps make up for that. At the national minimum, it brings the hourly rate to $33.05. If you're weighing a casual job against a part-time one, our guide to casual loading and part-time pay compares the two over a year.
Most jobs have their own minimum, set by an award
Most employees in Australia are covered by an award, a legal document that sets the minimum pay and conditions for a type of work, such as retail, hospitality or hairdressing. Some workplaces have an enterprise agreement instead, negotiated for that employer. Either one sets a minimum for your job, based on the work you do and your level, and it's often higher than the national minimum wage. Awards also add penalty rates for things like weekends, late nights and public holidays.
The quickest way to find yours is the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool. You choose your industry, job and employment type, and it shows the minimum hourly rate for that award, including casual and weekend rates. If you're not sure which award applies, it can search by job title. Our guide to award and penalty rates walks through checking a payslip against them.
If you're under 21, your award may pay a junior rate, a percentage of the adult rate that rises with each birthday. Not every award has junior rates: in building, plumbing or security work, for example, juniors get the adult rate. In a restaurant, bar or hotel, a junior who serves alcohol is paid the adult rate too. Apprentices have their own rates, covered in our guide to apprentice wages.
What the minimum wage pays each week and fortnight
An hourly rate is hard to plan around, so here's the national minimum wage turned into a pay. Leo is made up: he's 22, works 38 hours a week in a job with no award, claims the tax-free threshold and has no student loan.
Each square is an hour's pay. 2026–27 PAYG withholding, made-up example.
Tax is taken out of each pay before it reaches him, so about five hours of Leo's week goes to tax. Paid fortnightly instead, $1,731.80 would land every two weeks. Across a full year he earns about $52,255 before tax, and his final tax is settled when he lodges his tax return. His employer also pays 12% super on top, about $120 a week, into his super fund rather than his bank account. The take-home pay calculator gives an estimate for other hours and rates.
For part-time or casual work, the total depends on the hours you get. Twenty hours at the casual rate of $33.05 is $661 before tax, for example, and a quieter week brings less.
Junior rates rise for 18 to 20 year olds from December 2026
Some 18 to 20 year olds in retail, fast food and pharmacy will get higher junior rates from December 2026. From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026, the Retail (levels 1 to 3), Fast Food and Pharmacy (assistant levels 1 and 2) awards start moving 18 to 20 year olds up to the adult rate, finishing on 1 July 2029. The change applies once you've worked for your employer for more than six months. Time at a different employer doesn't count, and there's no change for under-18s.
Rates for 18-year-olds in Fast Food or Retail levels 1–3, over six months' service. Under six months: 70% at age 18.
The Fair Work Ombudsman's page on the change has the full tables for each age and award, and the Pay and Conditions Tool already shows the new rates if you pick a date from December.
Plan each pay around what lands
$1,731.80 a fortnight has to cover rent, food, transport and bills that don't all arrive on payday. A useful way to start is to list what's due before the next pay and set that aside first, so you know what's free to spend. Our guide to fortnightly pay and monthly bills shows how to line up a monthly rent or phone bill with a pay that comes every two weeks.
If your hours change from week to week, plan around a quieter pay you can rely on and give the extra a job when it arrives. Our casual pay planner lets you try that with your own pays, and the guide to budgeting on an irregular income explains the method.
We are building Clova, a budgeting app for planning each pay.
If your pay looks lower than your minimum
Start with your payslip. It should show your hourly rate, the hours you were paid for and any loading or penalty rates, and our guide to reading your payslip shows where each one sits. Then compare the rate with what the Pay and Conditions Tool gives for your award, age and job.
If they don't match, you can ask your employer or payroll which award and level they've used. It can be a simple mix-up, such as the wrong level or a birthday that hasn't been applied yet. If it doesn't get sorted, the Fair Work Ombudsman gives free help and can step in when an employer owes you money.
Knowing your minimum doesn't make rent any cheaper, but it does mean you can check your pay with confidence and plan from the amount you're actually owed.
A note from us
Clova helps you plan from the pay that reaches your account, with room for bills and everyday spending.