What is the minimum adult wage in Australia?
The National Minimum Wage is the legal floor for employees not covered by an award or registered agreement. As of 1 July 2026, it is $26.44 per hour or $1,004.90 per week for a 38-hour week. Casual employees receive a 25% loading, bringing their minimum to $33.05 per hour. The Fair Work Commission reviews the rate each year as part of the annual wage review.
Most Australian employees are covered by an industry or occupation award, which sets higher minimum pay rates. Award minimums increased by 4.75% from 1 July 2026, with the lowest ongoing rate in any award now at least $1,004.90 per week. Entry-level rates for the first six months are at least $978.10 per week.
How does the minimum wage sit against the national full-time average?
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026 reports full-time adult ordinary-time earnings of $2,083.70 per week. That works out to about $108,352 per year. The minimum wage of $1,004.90 per week is less than half that figure. Even the full-time median – the midpoint of all full-time salaries – is about $90,532 per year, well above the minimum.
This gap reflects that the minimum wage is a safety net, not a typical wage. Most full-time workers earn above the minimum because they are covered by awards, enterprise agreements, or individual contracts that pay more.
What would move a worker's pay above or below the average?
Award coverage and classification
The single biggest factor is which award applies and what classification level a worker holds. For example, a retail employee at level 1 earns a different rate to a level 3 supervisor. Moving up classifications through experience or training lifts pay above the minimum.
Overtime and penalty rates
Awards and agreements often include overtime (time-and-a-half or double time), weekend penalties, and shift allowances. These can push weekly earnings well above the base rate. A worker on the minimum wage who regularly works overtime could earn more than the base rate, but still likely below the full-time average unless they work substantial extra hours.
Casual loading
Casual employees receive a 25% loading in lieu of paid leave. That brings the minimum casual rate to $33.05 per hour. For a full-time casual working 38 hours, that is about $1,255.90 per week – still well below the average.
Location
State and territory averages vary significantly. The Australian Capital Territory has the highest full-time average at about $119,090 per year, while Tasmania has the lowest at about $96,008. Workers in high-wage states like Western Australia ($115,825) or the ACT are more likely to be above the national average, while those in Tasmania or South Australia ($102,450) may be below.
See how your state compares on the line
Industry
Some industries pay well above the average. Mining, information media, and professional services have high averages. Retail, hospitality, and agriculture tend to be lower. A worker on the minimum wage in a low-paying industry is far below the average, while a worker in a high-paying industry may be above it even without overtime.
Gender
The ABS data shows men's full-time average ordinary-time earnings are about $113,412 per year, while women's are about $100,594. The gap persists across industries and occupations. A woman on the minimum wage is even further below the female average than a man on the minimum wage is below the male average.
Full-time vs part-time
The national average is for full-time adults. Part-time and casual workers typically earn less per week, even if their hourly rate is above the minimum. The all-employees average (including part-time) is about $1,579 per week, or $82,108 per year – still above the minimum wage but lower than the full-time figure.
Tax and take-home pay
For 2026–27, the tax-free threshold is $18,200. Above that, rates are 15% up to $45,000, 30% up to $135,000, 37% up to $190,000, and 45% above. The Medicare levy of 2% applies. A worker on the minimum wage of $52,255 per year would pay about $6,866 in tax plus $1,045 Medicare levy, leaving about $44,344 after tax. That is well below the after-tax income of someone on the average full-time salary.
How the figures are set
The national minimum wage is set by the Fair Work Commission each year. The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey is published twice a year, for May and November. The median figures come from the ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey, most recently for August 2025.
Learn more about how the figures are set
Putting your salary on the line
If you earn the minimum wage, you are well below the national full-time average. To reach the average, you would need to move into a higher-paying award classification, work in a high-wage state or industry, or take on overtime. The line on this site shows exactly where your pay sits relative to the average.