The Federal Minimum Wage (FMW) (for persons aged 21 years and over) was established by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) in its April 1997 Safety Net Review - Wages decision.
The Australian Federal Minimum Wage has long historical roots going back to the 1907 Harvester Decision which established a 'fair and reasonable' wage to meet the needs of a working man and his family.
The national minimum wage increase
Following the Fair Work Commission (FWC) Annual Wage Review 2022-23, the Australian national minimum wage has now increased to $23.23 per hour. This increase will come into effect from the first full pay period commencing on or after 1 July 2023.
Then, two trade union backed MPs moved that minimum rates should apply not just to the most vulnerable, but to all workers. This motion passed, and this implemented the first legal compulsory minimum wage anywhere in the world – right here in Australia in 1896.
Wages in Australia averaged 553.70 AUD/Week from 1969 until 2022, reaching an all time high of 1378.60 AUD/Week in the fourth quarter of 2022 and a record low of 59.10 AUD/Week in the third quarter of 1969.
Now in September 1967, the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission decided to remove the racially discriminatory clause from the Federal Pastoral Industry Award, and equal wages for Aboriginal pastoral workers were phased in from December 1968 in the Kimberley region in the far north of Western Australia.
Australians are also earning a lot more now than we were back then; the average full time earnings in 1975 was $7,600 per year, today the annual average earnings exceed $72,000 per annum.
As the times have changed, so too has the minimum wage. Ten years ago, it was $14.31 per hour — and in 1966, it was under a single dollar an hour!
The average wage in the mid 1970s was around $6,000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, so the median Sydney house price was almost six times' the value of the average annual income.
The current minimum wage is $21.38 per hour, but the new minimum wage will be $23.23 per hour, which represents an increase of $1.85 an hour (+8.65 per cent).
Can you live on the minimum wage in Australia? The general consensus is that today, it is very difficult to live on the minimum wage in Australia. In 2021, the minimum wage was $3,090.40 per month. In 2019, the living wage was estimated to be $1,180 to $1,900 per month for a single adult.
Luxembourg. Luxembourg offers the highest minimum wage of any country worldwide at US$3,169 (EUR 2,936) per month for skilled talent over the age of 18. Unskilled talent, or talent under the age of 18, receive a lower monthly minimum wage: Unskilled workers 18 years of age and older: US$2,641 (EUR 2,447)
As of 1 July, workers on the national minimum wage will have a pay rise of 8.6 per cent and those on Award wages will have a pay rise of 5.75 per cent. Around 2.6 million workers across the country will receive these pay rises.
The average yearly salary in Australia is 90,800 AUD (USD 60,355). Let's go through a few key indicators of the average earnings in Australia so you can fully understand salary statistics and trends in the country.
The national minimum wage is $812.60 per week, for a 38 hour week, or $21.38 per hour. The national minimum wage provides a starting point to calculate your employees' wages, however most employees are covered by an award.
6302.0 - Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, Sep 1980.
The post-war economic boom ended with "stagflation" in the early 1970s. This was primarily caused by developments in the international economy; the Oil Crisis, Britain's entry into the E.E.C., and growing economic competition in Australia's traditional export markets.
The average annual salary in Australia is $68,900 and $35.30 per hour. It is just the average salary for basic workers but skilled and experienced workers also earn around $108,980 annually.
£300 a year in 1920 (= $21,300) £376 in 1940 (= $32,400) £433 in 1950 (= $22,800)
The average earnings for a week's work in 1965-66 was $57 (around $740 in today's dollars), and minimum wages for women were set around 30 per cent lower than for men. We measure average wages slightly differently now, but the newest data on average weekly earnings for Australia is $1160 per week.
6302.0 - Average Weekly Earnings, Dec 1972.
If you dreamed of making the white picket fence a reality, a new house would've cost approximately $6,296–about $95,017.97 today.