23 June 2026
June 2026 employment update: wage increases, FWC reform and Victoria's new work from home rightRead moreLucienne MumméAlexis AgostinoJan DransfieldCharlotte FentonRuveni KelleherLachlan DaniellIsabelle Messenger
The start of the new financial year brought about a number of changes to employment law monetary requirements in Australia, including with respect to superannuation, civil penalties and minimum thresholds. These changes came into effect on 1 July 2026 and are set out below.
Employers face maximum civil penalties of up to $5.46 million under the Fair Work Act, and for underpayment contraventions, potentially far more. The 1 July 2026 changes also mark the first full pay cycle under Australia's new payday superannuation regime, meaning businesses that have not updated their payroll systems now risk superannuation charges.
Key monetary changes
| Penalties under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) | The value of a penalty unit increased from $330 to $364. This means that the maximum penalties under the FW Act for selected civil remedy provisions applicable to corporations have increased to $546,000 or $5,460,000 for serious contraventions. Where the contravention involves an underpayment, the maximum penalty is the greater of $5,460,000 or three times the amount of the underpayment. |
| Superannuation | The superannuation guarantee percentage remains at 12 per cent. The maximum contribution base for superannuation guarantee purposes has changed from $62,500 per quarter to $270,830 per year. |
| High income threshold and compensation Limit | The high income threshold has increased from $183,100 to $190,100. The compensation limit for unfair dismissal claims is now $95,050. |
| Tax-free component of genuine redundancy payments | The base tax-free limit for genuine redundancy payments has increased from $13,100 to $13,598 and from $6,552 to $6,801 for each completed year of service. |
| Modern Award minimum wage | The minimum wage under modern awards has increased by 4.75 per cent. |
| National minimum wage | The national minimum wage has increased to $26.44 per hour and $1,004.90 per week. |
| National minimum wage: casual employees | The national minimum wage for casual employees has increased to $33.05 per hour. |
Additional superannuation reforms
In addition to the above, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 (Cth) has amended the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to require employers to make Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions every pay cycle and ensure they are received by the fund within seven business days of each employee's (or deemed employee’s) “payday” (with limited exceptions, such as, for example, when paying a new employee), instead of the previous quarterly contribution system. Employers who fail to make the minimum SG contributions in full within the specified period will be liable to pay the SG charge. Minimum SG contributions are now calculated on “qualifying earnings”, which includes “ordinary time earnings”. The main addition is that qualifying earnings includes commission for work done entirely outside ordinary hours.
Furthermore, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Act 2026 (Cth) has increased flexibility for employers when making requests to the Australian Taxation Office for stapled fund details by allowing such requests to be made before, at, or after issuing a standard choice form to employees. This Act also introduced a prohibition on advertising superannuation products to new employees during onboarding, with limited exceptions (for example, for the employee’s stapled fund and the employer’s default fund).
If you would like further information on how these changes might impact you or your business, please reach out to a member of our Employment team.