A 3.0% increase to minimum wages was announced by the Fair Work Commission today.

The new national minimum wage will be $740.80 per week, or $19.49 per hour, with the increase applying from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July, 2019.

The 3.0% increase applies to employees that get their pay rates from:

• the national minimum wage
• a modern award

The national minimum wage applies to employees who aren’t covered by an award or agreement.

For employees covered by an award, award rates will increase by 3.0%. If you’re not sure which award applies, use Find my award.

If you’re covered by a registered agreement, you should check it to see whether this increase affects you.

The increase doesn’t affect employees who already get paid more than the new minimum wage.

Some penalty rates are changing too.

There will be further changes to certain penalty rates in some hospitality and retail awards from 1 July 2019, following a Commission decision in 2017.