Junior Minimum Wage by Age
These are the rates for award and agreement free employees, set by the National Minimum Wage Order 2026 (PR799279). They apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.
| Age | % of adult rate | Hourly | Casual hourly | Weekly (38 hrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 16 | 36.8% | $9.73 | $12.16 | $369.80 |
| 16 | 47.3% | $12.51 | $15.64 | $475.32 |
| 17 | 57.8% | $15.29 | $19.11 | $580.83 |
| 18 | 68.3% | $18.06 | $22.58 | $686.35 |
| 19 | 82.5% | $21.82 | $27.28 | $829.04 |
| 20 | 97.7% | $25.84 | $32.30 | $981.79 |
| 21 and over | 100.0% | $26.44 | $33.05 | $1,004.90 |
Hourly and casual hourly figures match those published by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Fair Work publishes no weekly junior column: the weekly amounts above are our calculation, being the percentage applied to the $1,004.90 weekly National Minimum Wage.
The percentages come from cl 8.2 (Special National Minimum Wage 3), which stops at age 20. The final row is not part of that table: at 21 an employee simply stops being a junior and moves onto cl 4.1 (the National Minimum Wage), which applies from age 21.
Which Junior Rate Actually Applies to You?
The junior minimum wage table above covers only award and agreement free employees, a minority of young workers. Most people under 21 in paid work are in retail, fast food or hospitality, all award-covered. An award sets its own junior percentage, and applies it to the award classification rate, not to the National Minimum Wage. Both numbers change.
So there are three questions, in order: does an award cover your job; what classification level are you; and what percentage does that award set for your age. Getting the first one wrong is the expensive mistake.
What Do McDonald's, Kmart, Woolworths and Coles Pay Juniors?
As a casual on a weekday, a 16-year-old gets $17.39 an hour at McDonald's, $17.48 at Kmart, $17.66 at Woolworths and $18.13 at Coles. A 15-year-old gets $13.90, $15.73, $17.66 and $16.53. McDonald's pays under the Fast Food Industry Award; the other three pay under their own enterprise agreements.
| Employer (casual, weekday) | Age 15 | Age 16 | Age 17 |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald'sFast Food Industry Award 2020 | $13.90 | $17.39 | $20.86 |
| KmartKmart National Agreement 2024 | $15.73 | $17.48 | $20.98 |
| WoolworthsWoolworths Australian Food Group Agreement 2024 | $17.66 | $17.66 | $21.20 |
| ColesColes Retail Enterprise Agreement 2024 | $16.53 | $18.13 | $21.68 |
The table shows entry-level base rates including the 25% casual loading, before evening, weekend and public holiday penalties. Each employer page lists every level, penalty rate and the agreement it comes from.
Junior Rates by Award
There is no single national junior scale. These three awards cover a large share of young workers and they disagree with each other at almost every age.
General Retail Industry Award (MA000004)
cl 17.2, Table 5: The retail junior scale covers retail employee levels 1 to 3 only. A 20-year-old with more than 6 months' service gets the adult rate.
| Age | % of adult rate |
|---|---|
| Under 16 | 45% |
| 16 | 50% |
| 17 | 60% |
| 18 | 70% |
| 19 | 80% |
| 20 (6 months or less) | 90% |
| 20 (more than 6 months) | 100% |
Fast Food Industry Award (MA000003)
Table 4: The fast food junior scale reaches the adult rate at 21. From 1 December 2026, 18 to 20-year-olds with more than 6 months' service move towards it in stages (PR813654).
| Age | % of adult rate |
|---|---|
| Under 16 | 40% |
| 16 | 50% |
| 17 | 60% |
| 18 | 70% |
| 19 | 80% |
| 20 | 90% |
| 21 | 100% |
Hair and Beauty Industry Award (MA000005)
Table 5: The hair and beauty junior scale reaches the adult rate at 18, the earliest of any common award.
| Age | % of adult rate |
|---|---|
| Under 17 | 50% |
| 17 | 75% |
| 18 and over | 100% |
Three differences worth knowing. Retail and fast food pay differently at under-16 (45% against 40%) while matching exactly at 16 through 19. Retail’s 20-year-old band splits on service, reaching the adult rate only after more than six months with the same employer, where fast food currently holds 20-year-olds at 90% until they turn 21 (that changes from 1 December 2026 for those with more than six months’ service; see below). And Hair and Beauty reaches the full adult rate at 18, the earliest of any common award.
Full classification tables are on our retail award rates and hospitality award rates pages. Hospitality is a fourth scale again, paying 85% at 19 where retail pays 80%, and it has a separate table for office employees. The dated steps of the retail, fast food and pharmacy 18 to 20 phase-in are on the pay and tax changes calendar.
Other awards with a junior scale
Each of these award pages prints its own junior table, worked out from that award’s classification rate, with the age the full adult rate starts:
- Cleaning Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Clerks Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Commercial Sales Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Fast Food Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Fitness Industry Award junior rates: adult rate from 20
- Hair and Beauty Award junior rates: adult rate from 18
- Horticulture Award junior rates: adult rate from 20
- Legal Services Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Local Government Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Manufacturing Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Meat Industry Award junior rates: adult rate from 20
- Miscellaneous Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Pastoral Award junior rates: adult rate from 20
- Pharmacy Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Real Estate Award junior rates: adult rate from 21
- Restaurant Award junior rates: adult rate from 20
- Road Transport Award junior rates: adult rate from 20
Apprentices are not on junior rates
An apprentice under a training contract is paid the award’s apprentice percentages, which step up by year rather than by age, and the National Minimum Wage order does not bind them. First-year minimums for an apprentice who has completed Year 12, from 1 July 2026: carpenter $19.05, bricklayer $18.73, painter $18.23, plumber $18.11, mechanic $16.20, hairdresser $16.20, chef $16.20, boilermaker $16.20 and butcher $16.20. Every trade side by side, with a wages calculator, is on apprentice pay rates.
Some Awards Have No Junior Rates At All
A junior rate only exists where the instrument covering you contains one, and several major awards do not. The SCHADS award (social, community, home care and disability services) has no junior rates clause. An 18-year-old disability support worker is entitled to the full adult rate for their classification.
Two further limits are easy to miss. Under the retail award, junior percentages apply only to employee levels 1 to 3; a junior doing level 4 work is entitled to the full level 4 rate. And in hospitality, juniors with a trade qualification, and any junior working as a liquor service employee, must be paid the adult rate whatever their age.
Are Junior Rates Changing? Yes, for 18 to 20 Year Olds from 1 December 2026
Decided, starting 1 December 2026, and phased in over years
On 26 August 2026 the Fair Work Commission ([2026] FWCFB 222, following [2026] FWCFB 75) varied the General Retail Industry Award, Fast Food Industry Award, Pharmacy Industry Award so that 18 to 20-year-olds who have worked for their employer for more than 6 months move to the adult rate in stages. The first stage applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026. Until then, the current rates on this page apply.
It is not a jump to the adult rate. On 1 December 2026 an eligible 19-year-old moves from 80% to 85%, not to 100%. Employees with 6 months or less stay on 70%, 80% and 90%, and rates for under-18s do not change.
Why some sources still say “could start”. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s explainer, published 8 April 2026, says the changes “could start from 1 December 2026”. That was written before the Commission’s 26 August 2026 decision, which at paragraph [263] says the transitional arrangements should commence on 1 December 2026 for the retail and fast food awards, and adopted the Pharmacy Guild’s agreed transition for pharmacy. The new percentages do not apply to any pay period before that date. We re-read this section against the decision on 14 October 2026.
General Retail Industry Award 2020 (PR813655)
Retail employee levels 1, 2 and 3. Employees with more than 6 months’ service, % of the adult rate.
| From first full pay period on or after | Age 18 | Age 19 | Age 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now (to 30 November 2026) | 70% | 80% | 100% |
| 1 December 2026 | 75% | 85% | 100% |
| 1 July 2027 | 80% | 90% | 100% |
| 1 December 2027 | 85% | 95% | 100% |
| 1 July 2028 | 90% | 100% | 100% |
| 1 December 2028 | 95% | 100% | 100% |
| 1 July 2029 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Fast Food Industry Award 2020 (PR813654)
All fast food classifications. Employees with more than 6 months’ service, % of the adult rate.
| From first full pay period on or after | Age 18 | Age 19 | Age 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now (to 30 November 2026) | 70% | 80% | 90% |
| 1 December 2026 | 75% | 85% | 95% |
| 1 July 2027 | 80% | 90% | 100% |
| 1 December 2027 | 85% | 95% | 100% |
| 1 July 2028 | 90% | 100% | 100% |
| 1 December 2028 | 95% | 100% | 100% |
| 1 July 2029 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Pharmacy Industry Award 2020 (PR813656)
Pharmacy assistants levels 1 and 2. Employees with more than 6 months’ service, % of the adult rate.
| From first full pay period on or after | Age 18 | Age 19 | Age 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now (to 30 November 2026) | 70% | 80% | 90% |
| 1 December 2026 | 75% | 85% | 95% |
| 1 July 2027 | 85% | 95% | 100% |
| 1 July 2028 | 95% | 100% | 100% |
| 1 July 2029 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Retail 20-year-olds with more than 6 months’ service already receive the adult rate, so the retail change affects 18 and 19-year-olds only. Pharmacy follows a different, annual schedule agreed by the union and the Pharmacy Guild. Service with the old employer counts towards the 6 months if there has been a transfer of business.
In the determinations’ own words: “This determination comes into operation on 1 December 2026. In accordance with ss 165(3) and 166(5) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) this determination does not take effect in relation to a particular employee until the start of the employee's first full pay period that starts on or after 1 December 2026.”
The change does not touch the National Minimum Wage junior scale or the hospitality award.
Minimum Working Age by State
There is no national minimum working age. It is set by each state and territory, and the differences are large. Separately, every jurisdiction prohibits work during school hours for children of compulsory school age.
| State or territory | Minimum age | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | No minimum age | NSW Industrial Relations states there is no minimum legal age to start work. Separate rules apply to under-16s in still photography, modelling, promotional work, performance and public speaking, but not to retail or hospitality. |
| VIC | 13, or 11 for deliveries | 11 to deliver newspapers and advertising material; 13 for other work including retail and hospitality. No age limit in entertainment. An employer usually needs a licence to employ someone under 15. Work is generally limited to 6am to 9pm, 3 hours a day and 12 hours a week during term. |
| QLD | 13, or 11 for supervised deliveries | 13 generally, lowered to 11 for supervised delivery work between 6am and 6pm. No work between 10pm and 6am, and a maximum of 4 hours on a school day. |
| WA | No flat minimum: restricted by job type under 15 | Any age in a family business, professional performance or for a charity. 10–12 may deliver newspapers or advertising material. 13–14 may work in a shop, fast food outlet, cafe or restaurant, or collect trolleys, with written parental permission, outside school hours and between 6am and 10pm. |
| SA | No minimum age | SafeWork SA states there is no minimum working age in South Australia, so a child of any age may undertake paid employment. Children of compulsory school age cannot be employed during school hours. |
| TAS | No minimum age | Generally no minimum age for casual or part-time work, though age restrictions apply to certain types of work. Work during school hours requires an approved exemption. |
| ACT | No minimum age stated; hours capped by age | ACT government pages set hour limits without stating a floor: no more than 10 hours a week under 15, and daily caps rising from 3 hours under age 3 to 6 hours at ages 12 to 15. |
| NT | No flat minimum: restricted roles under 15 | Under 15s are limited to roles such as babysitting, helping in a family business or delivering newspapers. From 15 a wider range of work is allowed. No work during school hours, and none between 10pm and 6am under 15. |
Each state name links to that jurisdiction’s own government page.
You will often see it said that the standard minimum working age in Australia is 15. No government page states that. It appears only in media and secondary sources, and it is wrong for at least six of the eight jurisdictions above.
How Junior Rates Are Calculated
The percentage is applied to the weekly rate, and the hourly figure is that weekly amount divided by 38 ordinary hours. The order is not cosmetic. Applying the percentage to the hourly minimum instead gives a figure one cent lower at ages 17, 19 and 20. For a 19-year-old working 20 hours a week that is about $10 a year, and it is the difference between matching Fair Work’s published figure and not.
The casual rate is then the rounded junior hourly rate plus the 25% loading. At 19 that gives $27.28; deriving it from the unrounded figure would give a cent less. Every hourly and casual figure in the first table matches Fair Work’s published dollars exactly, and automated tests hold them there.
To see what a junior rate leaves after tax, enter it in our take-home pay calculator. Most junior earnings fall under the $18,200 tax-free threshold. If you claim that threshold with your employer, the answer is often that no income tax is withheld at all. Our first job guide covers tax file numbers, super and reading your first payslip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Junior pay rate questions and answers
What is the junior pay rate in Australia?
A junior pay rate is a set percentage of the adult minimum wage paid to workers under 21. With no award, it runs from 36.8% ($9.73 an hour) under 16 to 97.7% ($25.84) at 20. Most young workers are covered by an award, which sets its own percentages against the award rate instead.
What is the minimum wage for a 16 year old in Australia?
For an employee covered by no award or agreement, a 16-year-old receives 47.3% of the National Minimum Wage: $12.51 an hour, or $15.64 an hour as a casual. Most 16-year-olds, though, work in retail or fast food and are covered by an award, which sets its own junior percentage against the award classification rate rather than against the National Minimum Wage. Under the General Retail Industry Award a 16-year-old gets 50% of the adult rate; under the Fast Food Industry Award, 50%. Check which award covers you before using the national figure.
What is the minimum wage for a 15 year old in Australia?
A 15-year-old falls in the "under 16" band: 36.8% of the National Minimum Wage, which is $9.73 an hour, or $12.16 as a casual. That is the award-free rate. If an award applies, the under-16 percentage of the award rate applies instead: 45% under the General Retail Industry Award and 40% under the Fast Food Industry Award, one of the few junior rates where those two awards differ.
What is the minimum wage for a 14 year old in Australia?
The same "under 16" band applies: $9.73 an hour award-free, or $12.16 casual. There is no separate 14-year-old rate. The bigger question for a 14-year-old is whether they can legally be employed at all, and that depends on the state or territory. There is no national minimum working age. NSW, SA and TAS set no minimum age; the ACT states no minimum age but caps working hours by age; Victoria and Queensland set 13 for most work; Western Australia and the Northern Territory restrict what under-15s may do rather than setting a floor. Every jurisdiction separately prohibits work during school hours.
What is the minimum working age in Australia?
There is no national minimum working age. The Fair Work Ombudsman says directly that the minimum age depends on the state or territory. NSW, SA and TAS set no minimum age at all, and the ACT states none but caps working hours by age. Victoria sets 13 for most work and 11 for delivering newspapers or advertising material; Queensland sets 13, or 11 for supervised delivery work. Western Australia and the Northern Territory instead restrict which jobs under-15s may do. In WA a 13 or 14-year-old may work in a shop, cafe or fast food outlet with written parental permission. The often-repeated claim that "the minimum age in Australia is 15" appears only in secondary sources and is not stated on any government page.
What are the junior pay rates for 2026-27?
For award-free employees, as a percentage of the National Minimum Wage: under 16 36.8% ($9.73/hr), 16 47.3% ($12.51), 17 57.8% ($15.29), 18 68.3% ($18.06), 19 82.5% ($21.82) and 20 97.7% ($25.84). From 21 the full National Minimum Wage of $26.44 an hour applies. These come from the National Minimum Wage Order 2026 (PR799279) and apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.
What is the casual minimum wage in Australia?
For an adult award-free employee, $33.05 an hour: the 25% casual loading on top of the $26.44 National Minimum Wage. For juniors the loading applies to the junior rate, giving $12.16 under 16, $15.64 at 16, $19.11 at 17, $22.58 at 18, $27.28 at 19 and $32.30 at 20. The loading compensates for having no paid annual leave, personal leave or notice of termination. If an award covers you, the loading applies to the award rate instead.
At what age do you get full adult pay in Australia?
The age for full adult pay depends on which award or agreement covers you, if any. Under the National Minimum Wage the full adult rate applies from 21. Awards set their own ages, and they differ sharply: the Hair and Beauty Industry Award reaches the adult rate at 18, the earliest of any common award; the Hospitality Industry (General) Award pays 100% from 20; the General Retail Industry Award reaches 100% at 20 but only after more than six months with the same employer; and the Fast Food Industry Award currently holds 20-year-olds at 90% until 21. From 1 December 2026, 18 to 20-year-olds with more than 6 months with their employer under the retail, fast food and pharmacy awards start moving to the adult rate in stages. There is no single national answer.
Do junior rates apply to every job?
No. A junior rate applies only where the award, agreement or National Minimum Wage Order covering you contains one. Some awards have no junior rates at all. The SCHADS award, which covers social, community, home care and disability work, contains no junior clause, so an 18-year-old disability support worker is paid the full adult rate for their classification. Under the retail award junior rates are confined to employee levels 1 to 3, so a junior doing level 4 work gets the full level 4 rate. And juniors in hospitality with a trade qualification, or working as liquor service employees, must be paid the adult rate regardless of age.
Are junior rates being abolished?
Junior rates are being phased out gradually for 18 to 20-year-olds with more than 6 months with their employer, under the Retail, Fast Food and Pharmacy awards only. The Fair Work Commission made the determinations on 26 August 2026 ([2026] FWCFB 222), and the first step applies from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026. It is a phase-in, not a jump to the adult rate: on that date an eligible 19-year-old moves from 80% to 85%. Under the retail and fast food awards, rates then rise five percentage points every 1 July and 1 December, reaching the adult rate from 1 July 2027 for 20-year-olds in fast food (retail 20-year-olds with more than 6 months already get it), 1 July 2028 for 19-year-olds and 1 July 2029 for 18-year-olds. Pharmacy moves in larger annual steps on a different timetable. Employees with 6 months or less with their employer, and all under-18s, keep the current rates.
How are junior rates calculated?
The percentage is applied to the weekly rate, and the hourly figure is then that weekly amount divided by 38 ordinary hours. The order matters: applying the percentage directly to the hourly minimum instead produces a figure a cent lower at ages 17, 19 and 20. The casual rate is then the rounded junior hourly rate plus the 25% loading. At 19 that gives $27.28, where working from the unrounded figure would give a cent less. Every award-free junior hourly and casual rate on this page matches Fair Work's own published dollars exactly.
Can an employer pay a junior less than these rates?
No. These are legal minimums, not guidelines, and paying below them is underpayment regardless of whether the employee agreed to it. Since 1 January 2025 intentional underpayment has been a federal criminal offence. Check the classification as well as the age: an employee wrongly placed a level down, or given a junior rate under an award that has none, is underpaid for every hour they work. Underpayments can generally be recovered for up to six years.
How much do McDonald's, Kmart, Woolworths and Coles pay juniors?
As a casual on a weekday, a 16-year-old gets $17.39 an hour at McDonald's, $17.48 at Kmart, $17.66 at Woolworths and $18.13 at Coles. A 15-year-old gets $13.90, $15.73, $17.66 and $16.53. McDonald's pays under the Fast Food Industry Award; the other three pay under their own enterprise agreements.
How these rates were verified▼
Junior percentages come from the National Minimum Wage Order 2026 (PR799279, made 19 June 2026), read from the order itself. The 6 junior bands are set by cl 8.2 (Special National Minimum Wage 3), which stops at age 20; the adult row comes from cl 4.1 (the National Minimum Wage), which applies from age 21. Award scales are quoted from the consolidated award texts.
Hourly and casual figures are regression-tested against the twelve dollar amounts the Fair Work Ombudsman publishes, so a rounding change cannot pass silently. Weekly junior amounts are our own derivation and labelled as such, because Fair Work publishes no weekly junior column. The 18 to 20-year-old transition schedules are transcribed from the three determinations themselves (PR813655, PR813654 and PR813656, made 26 August 2026) and shown as future rates until they take effect. Minimum working ages are taken from each jurisdiction’s own government page.
Sources & References
- 1National Minimum Wage Order 2026 (PR799279), Fair Work Commission
- 2Award and agreement free wages and conditions, Fair Work Ombudsman
- 3Junior pay rates, Fair Work Ombudsman
- 4Minimum working age, Fair Work Ombudsman
Last verified: 9 October 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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