How to Check You're Being Paid at Least the Minimum Wage
From 1 July 2026 the National Minimum Wage is $26.44 an hour. But most Australian employees are covered by an award, whose classification minimum is usually higher. Here is how to work out your real hourly rate and compare it to the floor that applies to you.
The National Minimum Wage from 1 July 2026
Following the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review 2026 ([2026] FWCFB 3500), from 1 July 2026 the National Minimum Wage is $26.44 per hour ($1,004.90 per week). This is the floor for employees who are award- and agreement-free — that is, not covered by any modern award or registered enterprise agreement.
There is also a lower entry-level rate for a limited period. The lowest entry-level rate — applying for a maximum of 6 months — is $25.74 per hour ($978.10 per week). Outside that narrow window, $26.44 is the hourly floor for award-free employees.
The Catch: Most Employees Are Award-Covered — and the Award Minimum Is Usually Higher
Here is the point that trips people up. The National Minimum Wage only applies to award- and agreement-free employees. Most employees are covered by a modern award, and each award sets its own classification minimums, which are usually higher than the National Minimum Wage.
Those award rates also moved: modern award wage rates were increased by 4.75% from 1 July 2026 (subject to a structural adjustment of the lowest classifications). So if you are award-covered, comparing your pay to $26.44 alone can give false comfort — your true floor may be the higher award classification rate. Working out which award covers you is a separate question, addressed in Which Modern Award Covers You?.
The Method: Work Out Your Effective Hourly Rate
The check itself is arithmetic. Take your total pay for a period and divide it by the hours you actually worked in that period:
Effective hourly rate = total pay ÷ hours actually worked
The critical word is actually. If your contract says 38 hours but you routinely work 45, use 45. A salary that looks fine against 38 hours can drop below the floor once the real hours are counted — this is where unpaid overtime and minimum-wage underpayment overlap.
Then compare your effective hourly rate against the floor that applies to you:
- Award- or agreement-free? Compare to the National Minimum Wage: $26.44/hour (from 1 July 2026), or $25.74 for the entry-level rate in its 6-month window.
- Award- or agreement-covered? Compare to your classification minimum in the applicable award or agreement — usually higher than the National Minimum Wage. If you are not certain of your classification, treat the National Minimum Wage as the absolute bottom and flag that your award rate is likely above it.
The Rate Is Versioned — Use the Right Year
Minimum rates are not fixed. The National Minimum Wage is set by an annual order of the Fair Work Commission and takes effect from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July each year. Award rates are revised too, notably at each Annual Wage Review. So when you check an old pay period, use the figure that applied then, not today's — each pay year has its own floor.
If You Were Paid Below the Floor
Underpayment below the applicable minimum is a recoverable claim. An application must be made within 6 years after the contravention occurred (art. 544), and each unpaid pay period runs its own six-year clock. The recovery route — written request, the Fair Work Ombudsman, then a court application if needed — is set out in How to Recover Unpaid Wages in Australia.
Cadre
Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Review 2026 — [2026] FWCFB 3500, [14]: "The National Minimum Wage, which is aligned to the C13 rate, will be increased to $1004.90 per week, or $26.44 per hour. This will also take effect from 1 July 2026." At [13], "modern award wage rates shall be increased by 4.75 per cent, effective from 1 July 2026" (subject to structural adjustment of the lowest classifications). The lowest entry-level rate (maximum 6 months) is "$978.10 per week or $25.74 per hour".
The National Minimum Wage applies only to award- and agreement-free employees; most employees are award-covered, where the classification minimum is usually higher.
Sources: Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Review 2026 Decision, [2026] FWCFB 3500 (fwc.gov.au); Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), art. 544 (compiled version, legislation.gov.au).
Read Next
CTA
Check your real hourly rate for free
The honest test of your pay is total pay divided by the hours you actually worked — not the hours in your contract. PayeMesHeures is an hours-audit tool that reconstructs your worked hours from your own records, compares them against your pay slips, and estimates the certain floor you are owed — unpaid hours at your ordinary rate, checked against the National Minimum Wage of $26.44/hour. Starting is free. Run your audit and find out whether your effective rate clears the floor.