New (Financial) Year, New You: What you need to know from 1 July 2023

Minimum wage

The national minimum wage will increase to $23.23 per hour (up from $21.38 per hour for the 2022/2023 financial year) and $882.80 per week (up from $812.60 per week for the 2022/2023 financial year) based on a work week of 38 ordinary hours.

The national minimum wage applies to all award or enterprise agreement free employees with the exception of junior employees, employees to whom a training arrangement applies and some employees with a disability (to whom different minimum wage rates will apply).

Award minimum wages

Award minimum wages will increase by 5.75%.

High income threshold

The high-income threshold will increase to $167,500 (up from $162,000 for the 2022/2023 financial year).

Compensation Cap

The maximum compensation cap for unfair dismissal claims will increase to $83,750 (up from $81,000 for the 2022/2023 financial year). 

Superannuation

The minimum superannuation guarantee percentage will increase to 11% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings (up from the 2022/2023 contribution rate of 10.5%).

The maximum superannuation contribution base on which contributions must be calculated will increase to $62,270 per quarter, meaning that the maximum superannuation guarantee contribution amount will increase to $27,398.80 per year.

The superannuation concessional contribution cap (above which contributions are taxed at marginal rates) for the 2022/2023 financial year is staying at $27,500. 

Australian Government Parental Leave Pay scheme

The current entitlement of 18 weeks’ parental leave pay will be combined with the current partner pay entitlement of 2 weeks’ parental leave pay.

Partnered parents will be able to claim 20 weeks’ (or 100 days’) parental leave pay between them, with single parents able to access the full 20 weeks’ (or 100 days) parental leave pay on their own. 

Redundancy payments

The base limit for the tax-free component of genuine redundancy payments will increase to $11,985 (up from $11,591 for the 2022/2023 financial year) with an additional $5,994 tax free for each year of service (up from $5,797 for the 2022/2023 financial year).