Minimum Wage in New South Wales 2026–27

The minimum wage rate in New South Wales

The Fair Work Commission set the National Minimum Wage in the Annual Wage Review 2026, and it applies to employees in the national system from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. That is the same figure in every state. For the full rate history, junior table and what the award floors are, see minimum wage in Australia.

After-tax figures use the 2026-27 resident tax rates and the Medicare levy for a full-time adult, with the tax-free threshold claimed and no HECS-HELP debt. Income tax is set by the Commonwealth, so the take-home figure is identical in every state. Your employer also pays about $6,271 a year in super on top. Run your own hours through the take-home pay calculator.

NSW state awards: the 2026 State Wage Case

Almost every private-sector employee in NSW is in the national system, so the National Minimum Wage and modern awards apply. NSW state public sector and local government employees are the main group left in the state system.

Fair Work Ombudsman: “State public sector and local government employees aren't covered by the national system and remain under the state system.”

NSW has no minimum wage of its own that differs from the national one for private-sector employees. What NSW does have is a state Industrial Relations Commission that sets rates in NSW state awards, which cover state public sector and local government work and a handful of industries.

In the State Wage Case 2026 ([2026] NSWIRComm 16, 25 August 2026) the Full Bench of the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW adopted the Fair Work Commission's 4.75% increase and applied it to the minimum rates in several state awards, including the Kindergartens and Child Care Centres (State) Award, the Health, Fitness and Indoor Sports Centres (State) Award and the Transport Industry (State) Award from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Some awards, including the Local Government, Aged, Disability and Home Care (State) Award and the Live Theatre and Concert (State) Award, move from the first full pay period on or after 1 September 2026.

If your pay is set by a NSW state award, read the award itself on the Industrial Relations Commission site for the exact classification rate. The 4.75% figure is the size of the increase, not a new rate.

Most people are paid above the minimum anyway, under a modern award. Check your award’s rates or the pay rates by job, which apply the same way in New South Wales.

Under-21s and apprentices in New South Wales

Under-21 and apprentice rates for NSW private-sector employees come from the same national sources as everywhere else: the National Minimum Wage junior percentages if no award applies, or the junior and apprentice scales in the award that covers the job.

Where a NSW state award applies, its own junior and apprentice provisions govern, not the national table.

These percentages apply only to employees with no award or agreement (National Minimum Wage Order 2026, cl 8.2). Awards set their own junior scales; see minimum wage by age, or go to a 16, 17 or 18 year old. Apprentice rates are covered in apprentice electrician pay.

NSW public holidays in the 2026-27 minimum wage year

13 whole-day public holidays fall between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027 in New South Wales. A full-time or part-time employee who has the day off on a day they would normally work is paid their base rate for those hours: at the minimum wage and a standard 38-hour week that is about $200.94 for the day. If you work the day, your award sets the penalty rate. Dates are from the state government’s own list; the NSW public holiday pay page has 2026 and 2027 in full, plus part-day and regional holidays.

The list shows whole-day, state-wide holidays only. Check the pay page for any regional or part-day holidays that apply to your workplace.

Payroll tax in New South Wales: when employing minimum-wage staff triggers it

New South Wales payroll tax for 2026-27 starts at $1,200,000 of annual taxable wages, with a headline rate of 5.45%, administered by Revenue NSW. The $1.2 million annual threshold does not phase out, however large the payroll. An employer that also pays wages interstate gets the NSW share of it: $1.2m × NSW wages ÷ Australian wages. In a group, only one member (the designated group employer) claims it.

On wages alone, $1,200,000 is about 23 full-time adult employees on the minimum wage ($52,255 each). That is our own arithmetic: super and other taxable wages also count, and groups and interstate apportionment change the test, so a real business reaches the threshold sooner. Use the NSW payroll tax page or the payroll tax calculator for a proper estimate, and the employer cost calculator for the full cost of a worker.

Long service leave in New South Wales on the minimum wage

Under the Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW), 10 years of continuous service qualifies you to take 8.67 weeks of leave. Ten years of continuous service with one employer earns 8.67 weeks — two months — of paid long service leave, then 4.33 weeks for every further 5 years. Between 5 and 10 years a pro-rata payment is owed only if the employer ends the job for something other than serious and wilful misconduct, or you resign because of illness, incapacity or pressing necessity. Past 10 years it is paid out however the job ends. At the full-time minimum wage ($1,004.90 a week) 8.67 weeks is worth about $8,712. The Act covers full-time, part-time (including part-timers with fluctuating hours), casual, piecework, commission and outworker employees. Work out your own entitlement with the NSW long service leave calculator.

Where to check or complain in New South Wales

National-system employees can ask the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94). For the state-system and state-run matters on this page:

• NSW Industrial Relations (NSW Government)
• State Wage Case 2026 (Industrial Relations Commission of NSW)

Minimum wage in other states

The national rate is the same, but the state rules differ:

• Minimum wage in Victoria: Victoria is almost entirely in the national system.
• Minimum wage in Western Australia: WA is the only state with its own State Minimum Wage.
• Minimum wage in South Australia: SA payroll tax phases in between $1.5 million and $1.7 million.
• Minimum wage in Tasmania: Tasmanian local government is in the national system.
• Minimum wage in Queensland: QLD set its own state minimum from 1 September 2026.
• Minimum wage in Australian Capital Territory: The ACT is wholly in the national system, with a lower payroll tax threshold from 1 July 2026.
• Minimum wage in Northern Territory: The NT is wholly in the national system, with the highest payroll tax threshold.

Frequently asked questions