Important Update: Minimum Wage and Modern Award Rates Increasing from 1 July 2025

Posted on 6 June 2025 | by Allan Hall

The Fair Work Commission has announced a 3.5% increase to the National Minimum Wage and all Modern Award minimum wage rates, effective from 1 July 2025.

What This Means for You

Now is the time to assess award coverage and classification levels for your workforce to ensure compliance
For employees who are not covered by an award, you must ensure their pay meets or exceeds the new National Minimum Wage
In Australia, it is unlawful to pay any employee less than the national minimum, regardless of whether they’re covered by an award
New rates must be applied from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025

A Quick Refresher on Modern Awards

Each year, we use this opportunity to remind our clients about the existence and relevance of modern awards, and how they can impact your business.

There are currently 121 modern awards in Australia. These set out minimum terms and conditions of employment and typically apply based on:

Industry (e.g. Retail, Hospitality, Building & Construction), or
Occupation (e.g. admin/clerical under the Clerks Award, or personal services under the Hair and Beauty Award)

While these are just a few examples, the system is designed to cover the vast majority of employers within the national workplace relations system.

Understanding which award applies is just the first step. Once confirmed, employers must ensure each employee is correctly classified to determine the appropriate rate of pay. Classification levels (and their corresponding rates) are based on factors such as duties performed, level of responsibility, required skills or licences (e.g. forklift), experience, and in some cases, age.

Now is an ideal time to reassess whether any of your employees may be covered by a modern award and to ensure they are accurately classified. Misclassification can result in underpayments and compliance issues, so it’s important to regularly review award coverage and classification descriptions, especially in light of updated minimum wage rates.

What You Need To Do

Review the modern award classifications applicable to each member of your workforce
Ensure your non-award covered employees meet or exceed the new National Minimum Wage
Update minimum rates in your payroll systems by 1 July 2025
Pay particular attention to casual, part-time, and minimum-wage employees, especially in award-reliant sectors like retail, hospitality and care services

Note: The Fair Work Commission typically publishes updated wage tables toward late June. In the meantime, you can estimate new rates by applying a 3.5% increase to current rates. We are happy to assist with these preliminary calculations if needed.

What If I Already Pay Above Award Wages

If your employees already receive above-award pay, you may not need to increase their rates, however, this depends on how they are engaged and what is clearly outlined in their written employment agreement.

Over-award payments can often be used to absorb the increase, provided the employee’s base pay still meets or exceeds the new minimum.
For those on annualised wage arrangements, ensure their total yearly pay still covers all entitlements (like overtime, penalties, and allowances) under the new rates.
If you use individual flexibility arrangements, enterprise agreements, or salaried contracts, it’s essential to check that employees remain better off overall compared to the updated award rates.

How We Can Help

Navigating award coverage, wage updates and compliance obligations can be complex. If you are unsure where to start or want peace of mind that your business is meeting its obligations, please reach out to our team at Allan Hall HR.

We can assist you with:

Interpreting and/or identifying your award obligations
Calculating new minimum rates, including casual loadings, overtime, and allowances
Reviewing over-award payments, salaried agreements, and annualised arrangements
Auditing your payroll to ensure full compliance with updated minimums
Providing tailored guidance specific to your industry and workforce

Our team at Allan Hall HR will continue to monitor the release of updated wage tables and can provide further guidance as needed. In the meantime, please contact us on 1300 916 764 or contact us here if you would like assistance in reviewing your payroll and preparing for the changes.

HR Support Centre Demo

We invite all our clients to explore our complimentary HR Support Centre, designed to help you navigate your employee obligations and stay updated on legislative changes. This valuable resource offers ready-to-use HR templates, best practice guidance, checklists, and access to a vast library of articles on compliance and employee management. Book in a free demo today.

awards, compliance, employees, human resources, staffing, wages

Getting Ready for the Festive Season

Posted on 4 November 2024 | by Allan Hall

What Businesses Need to Know

As we quickly approach the end of year, it is important that Employers begin preparing for their end of year shutdown period.

Over recent years there have been a number of changes to employment legislation that apply during this period, and it is important that Employers are aware of these changes.

1. Managing Employee Leave

If Employers are planning to shut down over the December/January period, managing Employee leave balances should be considered. As of 1 May 1 2023 both Award-covered and award-free Employees can be directed to take accrued annual leave during a ‘shut down’ period, such as between Christmas and New Year.

However, for any Employee who does not have accrued annual leave to cover the shut-down period, they cannot be directed to take unpaid leave.

An employer and employee can:

agree in writing for an employee to take a period of unpaid leave; or
come to an arrangement, agreed in writing, for an employee to take annual leave in advance, resulting in a negative annual leave balance.

If an employee does not agree to either of the above, they should either be paid their salary/wages based on their employment contract during the shut-down period, or alternatively, you could allow them to work during the shut-down period.

What can Employer’s do to avoid this? Employers should be conscious of whether or not to approve annual leave requests prior to the shutdown period, to ensure that there is a sufficient balance to cover the shutdown period. If required and agreed to, employees could take a period of unpaid leave throughout the year at their request.

2. Notice of Shut Down

In addition to the changes above, there are also updated rules in many Awards regarding the notice to Employees of an upcoming shut down. Employers must provide at least 28 days’ written notice of the temporary shutdown period to all impacted employees.

Employers should check the relevant Award and communicate the planned shut down in line with the Award guidelines.

3. Working on Public Holidays

For Employers that continue to operate over the festive season, the Fair Work Act stipulates that Employers are obligated to ‘request’ Employees to work on a public holiday before requiring them to do so. Failure to adhere to this requirement could lead to unlawful work assignments and violation of the Fair Work Act.

For an Employee to work on a public holiday, one of these conditions must be met:

an Employer has requested the Employee to work the public holiday, and the Employee has agreed to work; or
the Employee’s refusal to work a public holiday is deemed unreasonable.

Employers shouldn’t rely solely on standard rostering practices for public holidays and the following actions are recommended:

Issue a ‘draft roster’ for periods including public holidays, or issue specific requests to team members to work on upcoming public holidays
Provide an explanation as to why you believe the need for the team member to work on the public holiday is reasonable
Provide Employees with the opportunity to agree to work or state their reasons for refusal
Finalise the roster based on Employee responses and consider reasons for refusals
Communicate with Employees if their reasons for refusal are considered unreasonable.

4. Penalty Rates

If Employees agree to working on public holidays, it is important for Employers to be aware of the penalty rates and entitlements that apply to them under the relevant Award. This may include:

Additional pay (different to their standard hourly rate)
An additional day off or additional annual leave
Minimum shift lengths on public holidays
Options for Employees to request to substitute a public holiday for another day.

Employers should review the relevant Award and ensure all entitlements and correct rates are paid to Employees. We also have included below the 2024 public holiday dates that apply in all states and territories:

Christmas Day – Wednesday 25th December
Boxing Day – Thursday 26th December
New Year’s Day – Wednesday 1st January

Need assistance

At Allan Hall HR, we have a team of experienced HR consultants. Please call us on 1300 916 764 or contact us here. to discuss any questions you may have regarding the shutdown period and managing your business during this period.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL HUMAN RESOURCES

awards, employees, employer, employment, HR Services, human resources, leave entitlements, payroll, small business

Allan Hall named Best Business Advice Firm 2024

Posted on 20 March 2024 | by Allan Hall

Beaton announces winners of 20th annual Client Choice Awards!

Allan Hall named Best Business Advice Firm (<$30M revenue) in Accounting & Consulting Services Specialist Awards category.

In another highly competitive year, an incredible 250 firms from across Australia and New Zealand entered the 2024 awards program, with Beaton analysing more than 16,000 client ratings that were submitted to the judging process.

Director Scott Jago expressed his delight at the recognition stating, “Receiving a Client Choice Award is a testament to the dedication of our team and reaffirms our ability to serve our dynamic clientele with excellence.”

SEE ALL 2024 WINNERS

Dr George Beaton, Executive Chairman of Beaton added, “The number and calibre of entrants to the Client Choice Awards have improved again this year. Firms that win are those who meet clients’ expectations of more-for-less, earn and maintain their clients’ trust and best differentiate their client experience.

“It is striking to watch and absorbing to see the heights to which firms are going soar by listening to client feedback and drawing on benchmarks to produce excellent client service. Congratulations to all finalists and winners!”

This marks another milestone in Allan Hall’s achievements, being previously named as the Client Choice Awards’ Best Business Advisory Firm in 2023 and again as multi-award-winners in 2022.

About the awards

The Client Choice Awards, now in its 20th year, celebrate best practices in the professional services sector. Unlike traditional awards, these accolades are based solely on client feedback, independently researched by Beaton. Over the past two decades, more than 750 firms in Australia and New Zealand have participated in the awards, contributing to a wealth of over 400,000 pieces of client feedback.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL BUSINESS ADVISORS

accountants, awards, business advice

Allan Hall named Financial Planning High Achievers

Posted on 29 September 2023 | by Allan Hall

Consultum Announces Winners of 2023 Reward & Recognition Program

Consultum Financial Advisers, a full-service licensee providing support to a national network of financial advisers across Australia, announced the distinguished recipients of their 2023 Reward & Recognition program, unveiled during the National Conference ‘Connect 2023’ held in Auckland, New Zealand this month.

The Consultum Reward & Recognition awards program is a testament to excellence and dedication within the Consultum community. They spotlight the outstanding achievements and contributions of individuals and practices that have consistently excelled throughout the year.

This year’s program witnessed an exceptional level of competitiveness, featuring an array of nominations that showcased Consultum’s member talent pool. This year’s Consultum’s High Achieving members were recognised with 10 Financial Planning firms across Australia.

Allan Hall Financial Adviser Rob Bell expressed congratulations to all who participated, underscoring the spirit of collective recognition within the network.

“We remain grateful for the ongoing dedication and passion of our team, whose collective efforts propel our performance to new heights,” Rob said.

Last year, Allan Hall Financial Planning was recognised by Consultum by naming Laura Staddon Support Person of the Year 2022.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL FINANCIAL PLANNING

Allan Hall name Business Advisory Firm of the Year

Allan Hall named 2023 Accounting Award Winners

Posted on 3 July 2023 | by Allan Hall

Allan Hall wins Business Advisory Firm of the Year at the 2023 Australian Accounting Awards

Allan Hall Business Advisors is proud to announce that it has been awarded the prestigious title of Business Advisory Firm of the Year at the 2023 Australian Accounting Awards.

Allan Hall has continued to excel in its commitment to supporting and servicing clients.

Director Scott Jago expressed his delight at receiving this esteemed accolade.

“Receiving this award creates a sense of achievement and deep satisfaction, validating that Allan Hall is on the right path,” he said.

Allan Hall’s success can be attributed to its ‘One Allan Hall’ multiservice approach, which provides clients with a comprehensive range of services under one roof. Recognising that clients desire more than just compliance-related assistance, the firm has continuously adapted and expanded its service offerings, ensuring it remains well-positioned to give clients what they want.

This notable recognition reaffirms Allan Hall’s dedication to delivering exceptional business advisory services and its ongoing commitment to supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Sydney’s Northern Beaches and beyond.

Allan Hall named 2023 Accounting Award Winners 1

Allan Hall named 2023 Accounting Award Winners 2

The Business Advisory Firm of the Year award highlights outstanding performance and acknowledges the firm in the accounting industry that effectively showcased its business advisory services and client impact. See the full list of 2023 Winners and Finalists here: https://www.accountantsdaily.com.au/australian-accounting-awards/winners/2023-winners-and-finalists

In addition to this recent accolade, Allan Hall was also named Multiservice Firm of the Year and SMSF Firm of the Year Finalists in 2023. The firm’s previous achievements include being named the Best Business Advisory Firm by the 2023 Beaton Client Choice Awards and winning the Australian Accounting Awards for Wellness Program of the Year (2022) and Firm of the Year (2021). These accolades reflect Allan Hall’s consistent dedication to innovation, client service and community involvement.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL BUSINESS ADVISORS

National Minimum Wage rise effective 1 July 2023

Posted on 5 June 2023 | by Allan Hall

The Fair Work Commission has announced this year’s Annual Wage Review Decision

National Minimum Wage Increase

Effective from 1 July 2023, the National Minimum Wage will increase by 5.75%.

In addition to the percentage increase, the Commission has also increased the wage level that the minimum wage had traditionally been based on under certain Modern Awards.

Together these two changes mean that those employees in receipt of the minimum wage will receive the following rates before tax:

$23.23 per hour, and
$882.80 per week (based on a 38-hour week for a full-time employee).

This increase will see an extra $70.20 ‘in the pocket’ each week.

Modern Award Rate Increase

Similar to the National Minimum Wage increase, all 121 Modern Awards will also increase by 5.75% on 1 July 2023.

The Fair Work Commission will release updated Pay Guides in line with the effective date.

Modern Awards can be complex. If you need help determining if a Modern Award applies to your employees or you understand what Awards apply but you need assistance understanding the specific Classification they fall under, contact the Allan Hall Human Resources Team on 1300 675 393.

Non-Award Employees

It is important to note that if you have non-award covered employees receiving payment which is above the national minimum wage, you are not obliged to increase their salary/wages. However, with the current Australian job market being so competitive and a shortage of potential employees available, it may be worth undertaking a salary benchmarking exercise and considering if an increase would be suitable during your next salary review.   

At Allan Hall HR we can provide you with Salary Benchmarking reports, based on data from a range of current and reputable reporting sources. If you want to know what the market is doing, contact us to gain access to salary insights based on a range of factors such as industry, turnover, headcount and location!

Changes to Superannuation from 1 July 2023

As a reminder, the Super Guarantee rate will rise from 1 July 2023. This will rise by another half per cent, taking the minimum super guarantee from 10.5% to 11%.

The Super Guarantee rate will continue to rise by an additional 0.5% at the start of each financial year until it reaches 12% in 2025.

Next Steps

Check if your employees are covered by the national minimum wage or a Modern Award.  
Should a Modern Award apply to your employees, ensure you have correctly classified your employees under the relevant award, and confirm the minimum rates of pay that will apply.   
Review the current rates of pay for your employees and, if required, adjust their pay rates from their first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2023.
Ensure you start applying the new Superannuation Guarantee rate of 11% from 1 July 2023.

Our experienced HR Consultants at Allan Hall HR are available to answer your queries regarding the wage rise and assist you with clarification of awards, salary benchmarking or any other employee-related matters. Feel free to get in touch with us today on 1300 675 393.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL HUMAN RESOURCES

Allan Hall named Best Business Advisory Firm

Posted on 29 March 2023 | by Allan Hall

Beaton Client Choice Awards 2023

Allan Hall has been named Best Business Advisory Firm (<$30M revenue) in the Accounting & Consulting Services Specialists category.

This was a highly competitive year that saw 276 firms benchmarked from across Australia and New Zealand.

A total of 17,413 individual client ratings were submitted to Beaton for benchmarking and analysed to determine the best firms in each category, with strong competition and incredibly tight margins between overall client service scores.

SEE ALL 2023 WINNERS

Allan Hall Director Scott Jago said, “Following our prior success as 2022 Winners in three Client Choice Award specialist categories for firms with up to $30M revenue — Best Business Advice Firm, Best Self-Managed Super Fund Firm and Best Auditing Firm — we are delighted to be recognised for another year.”

“These awards benchmark some of the best talent and professional firms in the country. To come out with a Business Advisory award is an achievement that we are extremely proud of, and reflects the hard work that has been put in by our Director Group, Client Managers and all of our wonderful staff this past 12 months and beyond.”

Chairman of Beaton, George Beaton added, “The number and calibre of entrants to the Client Choice Awards continues to improve year on year. For 20 years, Beaton has watched the professional services industry drive up client service standards in every sector.”

“It is impressive and fascinating to see the heights to which firms can soar by listening to client feedback and drawing on benchmarks to produce excellent client service.”

Allan Hall was also a Finalist in the Best Accounting and Consulting Services Firm (<$30M revenue) in the 2023 Client Choice Awards program.

About the Client Choice Awards

The process of choosing winners in Client Choice Awards is objective and data-driven, based on client feedback submitted directly to Beaton in the entry process. For more information on how this benchmarking process is conducted, click here »

CONTACT ALLAN HALL BUSINESS ADVISORS

Allan Hall Top 100 Accountants in 2022

Posted on 9 November 2022 | by Allan Hall

Allan Hall named a Top 100 Accounting Firm by Australian Financial Review (AFR)

Brookvale accountants and business advisers Allan Hall have made the Australian Financial Review’s (AFR) Top 100 Accountants list for another year!

Allan Hall are award-winning Chartered Accountants and specialist business advisors. With nine Directors and around 90 staff, Allan Hall has become one of Australia’s largest non-CBD integrated firms offering tax, accounting and compliance plus a range business advisory services.

Allan Hall has carved a reputation for creating opportunity and growth that positively impacts staff, clients and the local Northern Beaches community with a focus on technology improvements.

The results speak for themselves, with Allan Hall clients recommending the firm for three Client Choice Awards in April. Then in June the Allan Hall team were recognised with a Wellness Program of the Year win at the Australian Accounting Awards.

This year, Allan Hall is one of only 18 ‘Top 100’ independent Sydney accounting firms to make the cut, ranked again in the top 50. Director Scott Jago said they were thrilled once again to be recognised amongst the very best accounting firms in the country.

“This is a culmination of hard work, perseverance, a dynamic director group, wonderful staff and, very importantly, great clients.”

About the AFR Top 100 Accounting Firms

Each year the AFR surveys Australian public practice accountants and compiles their rank of top-performing firms across the country. The AFR invites comment on financial performance and demographic changes over the past year, along with other business and economic-related questions. This year the AFR survey focussed on workforce issues, regulatory red tape and the challenges of running a business.

Review the AFR’s Top 100 Accounting Firms 2022 here — please note this is subscriber-only content.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL

Closing for a well-deserved end of year break?

Posted on 19 October 2022 | by Allan Hall

It’s time to let your clients and employees know

Act now to ensure your client expectations and employee legislative requirements are met.

Informing Clients of Business Shutdowns

It is common for a workplace to shut down its operations over the Christmas-New Year period because of a reduction in business activity or because the majority of employees request to take annual leave.

It’s up to businesses to determine closure dates and ensure these are clearly communicated to clients as early as possible, so that reasonable expectations are set and deadlines are met without creating any unnecessary worry. Recommended communication includes separate emails to clients, newsletter footers, invoice footers, notes on email signatures or any combination of the above.

To assist with planning your shutdown period, the NSW gazetted public holidays for the upcoming holiday season are:

Christmas Day: Sunday 25 December 2022
Boxing Day: Monday 26 December 2022
Additional Public Holiday for Christmas Day: Tuesday 27 December 2022
New Year’s Day: Sunday 1 January 2023
Additional Public Holiday for New Year’s Day: Monday 2 January 2023
Australia Day: Thursday 26 January 2023

Get ahead of the game. Download our Business Shutdown Client Email template to send to your clients.

Employee Notifications

Employers planning to close over the Christmas-New Year period need to also correctly inform employees from now. Employers are obligated to formally confirm business closure dates and notify staff in accordance with award requirements.

Most awards will contain terms which allow employers to shut down the business for a period and send employees on designated annual leave. This is usually subject to an employer providing at least 4 weeks’ notice of the intention to do so, however certain awards may require a greater notice period.

It’s never too early to start planning. Download our Business Shutdown Employee Notice template.

Employee Leave Considerations

Annual Leave Requests

With the Christmas and Summer Holiday period fast approaching, you may also notice an increased number of annual leave requests waiting for your approval. For those businesses that shut down over this period, approving annual leave is usually a joyous task. However, for smaller businesses continuing to trade during this period, it can be a difficult juggling act to ensure you have enough employees on board to meet your customers’ needs while also ensuring employees receive a well-deserved break.

When reviewing annual leave applications, it is important to remember that you cannot unreasonably refuse to authorise an employee’s request to take annual leave. If you need assistance with understanding the rules surrounding ‘reasonableness,’ please do not hesitate to make contact with our HR team.

Can employees refuse to work on Public Holidays?

Employers can request that employees work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable. Likewise, an employee can refuse to work on a public holiday if the employer’s request is not reasonable. In determining whether the employer’s request is reasonable, under the Fair Work Act a broad range of factors are taken into account. These include:

The nature of the employer’s workplace and the nature of the employee’s work
The employee’s personal circumstances
Whether the employee could reasonably expect the employer might request work on the public holiday
Whether the employee is entitled to receive overtime or other penalty payments that reflects the expectation to work public holidays
The type of employment of the employee (eg whether full-time, part-time, casual or shift work)
The amount of notice in advance of the public holiday given by the employer to the employee
The amount of notice given by the employee when refusing a request to work on a public holiday

Unsure of what applies or what steps to take? Don’t guess – seek advice.

Our team at Allan Hall Human Resource Services have years of first-hand experience to guide you and your business to a safe, enjoyable, and carefree festive season.

If you require advice on the conditions relating to your Employer rights or obligations, please get in touch with our highly experienced HR team on (02) 8978 3752 or simply contact us below.

CONTACT ALLAN HALL HR