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Award wage increase
calculator 2026 (Australia)

Work out what the 1 July award and minimum wage rises add to your annual wage bill, super and on-costs included.

Your numbers

2026: 4.75% award minimums, 5.97% NMW
Added annual wage cost
 
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When does the 2026 award wage increase take effect?

The new rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. The National Minimum Wage rose 5.97% and award minimums rose 4.75%.

How we calculated this

We multiply your award wage bill by the percentage increase you apply, pre-filled at 4.75% for modern award minimums from 1 July 2026, then add superannuation on that increase at the 12% guarantee rate. The total is the recurring annual cost of the rise, and we divide it by your award employees for a per-person figure. It does not add payroll tax or the other on-costs on the increase, so the fully loaded cost is higher again. Override the percentage for National Minimum Wage employees (5.97%) or an enterprise agreement. The working, the assumptions and the sources are below.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of modern awards in the HR Glossary.

Your working
Assumptions
  • One percentage across the whole award wage bill. The 2026 review lifted award minimums by 4.75%, but the lowest classifications (C13 and C14) rose further under a structural adjustment, and the National Minimum Wage rose 5.97% to $26.44 an hour. If you employ people at those levels, the real cost is a little higher than the flat rate shows.
  • Only the wage bill you enter is affected. Employees paid above award are excluded, though many businesses lift them too to preserve relativities, and annualised salaries and set-off arrangements have to be rechecked against the new minimums.
  • Superannuation flows on at 12% of the increase. Payroll tax, workers compensation premiums, leave loading and the leave provision all rise with the wage bill and are not included, so treat the total as a floor.
  • The rise applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026, so a budget set before the decision will absorb it mid-year.
Sources

What to do about it

The rise is not optional and the date has passed. What is still open is whether it landed correctly in payroll and whether the extra spend buys anything beyond compliance. These steps are for whoever runs payroll or the wage budget, whether or not they approved it.

1

Confirm it landed by classification, from the right pay period

The 4.75% applies to each award rate, and the lowest classifications moved further. Check a sample of payslips from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 against the current award rate for that classification. A flat percentage applied to last year's payroll is the most common way this goes wrong.

2

Recheck everyone paid above award

Annualised salaries and set-off clauses cover less when minimums rise, and above-award buffers narrow. A salary that comfortably covered the award plus overtime and penalties last year may not this year. Recalculate the buffer for each of those roles and write down the result.

3

Add the on-costs and give finance a recurring line

Take the total above, add payroll tax and workers compensation on the increase, and present it per month and per employee. This is a permanent step up in the wage base, so it belongs in the baseline, labelled as the cost of the award rather than of any decision made in the building.

4
Where a tool helps

Look at who the rise reaches and who it does not

Award-reliant staff got the increase by law. The people paid just above them got nothing unless you chose to act, and they notice. Decide deliberately, team by team, where a matching adjustment protects the people you cannot afford to lose, and where it does not.

The rise is compulsory.
Staying is not.

Compono Engage is an employee engagement platform that reads culture and climate alongside work personality, so you can see which teams are under strain and where a pay decision will actually change whether people stay. Most engagement surveys arrive once a year and after the fact. Most payroll systems can tell you who got the increase and nothing about how it landed.

Step 4 asks where a matching adjustment protects the people you cannot afford to lose. Engage shows you which teams those are, and whether pay is the reason they are restless or a distraction from it. The number above is what the award costs you. Engage tells you where spending a little more, or nothing more, is the defensible call.

See how it works
Compono Engage
8%+
reduction in turnover

Common questions

Does the calculator include superannuation?

Yes. It adds flow-on super at the 12% rate on top of the wage increase, plus on-costs, so you see the full cost to employ rather than the pay figure alone.

What is the difference between the National Minimum Wage and award minimums?

The National Minimum Wage is the floor for employees not covered by an award or agreement. Award minimums are set per modern award and usually sit above the NMW. The 2026 review lifted them by different percentages, so we let you apply each one.

How accurate are the default percentages?

The defaults reflect the Fair Work Annual Wage Review 2026 figures (5.97% NMW, 4.75% award), effective 1 July 2026. You can override them if your enterprise agreement sets a different rate.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the Fair Work Ombudsman or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.

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