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Some junior wage rates to be abolished: The impact for your business

04/05/2026 11:11 AM

Some junior wage rates to be abolished: The impact for your business

“Q: What’s happening with junior wage rates? Have they been amended?”

Back in February 2026, we mentioned that junior wage rates may be changing, due to an ongoing legal case brought by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA or ‘Shoppies’) against the Fair Work Commission.

The basic premise of the case was that younger workers – those aged 18, 19 and 20 years old – should earn the same pay rate as their older 20+ colleagues, and that it was unfair that younger workers did the same work but did not get the same pay.

“A: In short, yes, junior rates for workers under certain rewards are to be abolished.”

Following the success of the SDA campaign and legal action, the Fair Work Commission has announced upcoming changes to junior wages under the:

Retail Award
Fast Food Award
Pharmacy Award.

Under the old rules, if your business has workers under the age of 21 covered by the three awards, these workers would be paid a percentage of the adult pay rate for their classification.

Under the new changes to junior wage rates, employees between the ages of 18 and 20 will be entitled to the adult pay rate for their classification if they’ve been employed by their employer for more than 6 months.

Workers aged 18 to 20 won’t change their wage rate if they’ve been employed for less than 6 months with their employer. And workers under the age of 18 also won’t see any change to their wage rate. They will remain at the junior rate for employees who are younger than 18.

These changes to junior wage rates are to be gradually introduced. Further hearings will be held to determine exactly how wage rates will change and the plan for implementation. However, the Commission has said that the changes could start from 1 December 2026.

How could a change to junior rates affect your business?

If you employ a large number of younger workers between the ages of 18-20, the abolishment of junior rates could have a significant impact on your payroll.

With the junior rates removed, all workers in that age range would be paid at the same standard rate as their older colleagues. This would increase your payroll costs and impact your cashflow.

Talk to us about the impact of a change to junior wage rates

If you’re worried about the potential impact of the removal of junior rates, and the subsequent increase in wage costs, book some time for a chat with our team.

We can run scenarios to outline the potential costs and the overall impact on your cashflow.

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