Minimum Wage in Victoria 2026–27

The minimum wage rate in Victoria

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.

Is there a Victorian minimum wage?

Victoria is the clearest case of a single national wage: most Victorian employees, including state government employees apart from exceptions such as senior public servants, are in the national system. There is no Victorian state minimum wage.

Fair Work Ombudsman: “Most employees in Victoria are covered by the national system. This includes state government employees with some exceptions such as senior public servants.”

No. Victoria referred its industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth, so the Fair Work Commission sets the minimum wage and award rates for almost everyone who works in the state. A Melbourne cafe, a Geelong factory and a Victorian state government department all start from the same $26.44 floor.

What Victoria does regulate itself, through the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria, is long service leave, the employment of children under 15 (child employment permits) and owner-driver and forestry contractor laws. Those are the Victorian rules that sit around a minimum-wage job.

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 Victoria.

Under-21s and apprentices in Victoria

Victoria has its own child employment laws for children under 15, administered by the Workforce Inspectorate Victoria. Pay for 15-year-olds and older follows the national junior percentages or your award.

Apprentice wages are set by the award or agreement that covers the trade, not by Victoria.

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.

VIC public holidays in the 2026-27 minimum wage year

14 whole-day public holidays fall between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027 in Victoria. 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 VIC 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 Victoria: when employing minimum-wage staff triggers it

Victoria payroll tax for 2026-27 starts at $1,000,000 of annual taxable wages, with a headline rate of 4.85%, administered by State Revenue Office Victoria. The $1 million threshold applies in full up to $3 million of Australian wages. Between $3 million and $5 million it is reduced by 50 cents for every dollar over $3 million, and above $5 million there is no threshold at all. Interstate employers get the Victorian share.

On wages alone, $1,000,000 is about 20 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 VIC 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 Victoria on the minimum wage

Under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic), 7 years of continuous service qualifies you to take 6.0667 weeks of leave. Victoria has one of the shortest qualifying periods in the country: 7 years of continuous employment with one employer, at which point about 6.07 weeks has accrued. Leave accrues at one week for every 60 weeks of employment, and once you pass 7 years the whole unused balance is paid out however the employment ends — resignation included. At the full-time minimum wage ($1,004.90 a week) 6.0667 weeks is worth about $6,096. Full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal and fixed-term employees are all covered where the employment has been continuous. For casuals and seasonal workers, an absence of more than 12 weeks between engagements can break continuity unless one of the Act's exceptions applies. Work out your own entitlement with the VIC long service leave calculator.

Where to check or complain in Victoria

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

• Workforce Inspectorate Victoria (Victorian Government)
• Business Victoria (Victorian Government)

Minimum wage in other states

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

• Minimum wage in New South Wales: NSW state awards rose 4.75% in the 2026 State Wage Case.
• 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