Critical Changes to Employment Awards – Effective 1st Jan 2025

Please see below update pushed through by Fairwork & notified today:
From January, new pay rates and new rules about how long employees can stay at the lowest classification level in modern awards will come into effect.
The awards will be updated to say that:
- employees can only remain at the lowest classification level for a certain period of time, after which they must progress to the next classification level;
- and/or the minimum pay rate for some of the lowest classification levels in a number of awards will increase.
For the vast majority of the impacted awards, the changes will take effect on 1 January 2025
The affected awards fall into three categories:
Group 1: Where there are new rules about how long employees can stay in the lowest classification
Group 2: Where there are increases to pay rates for employees at some of the lowest classification levels
Group 3: Where the award contains both new rules about length of time in the lowest classification and new pay rates
GROUP 1: Below are awards that have new rules for introductory classifications from 1 January 2025 or 1 April 2025 |
Effective – 1 January 2025 |
Airline Ground Staff Award |
Amusement Award |
Animal and Veterinary Services Award |
Australian Government Award |
Dry Cleaning and Laundry Award |
Fitness Award |
Food and Beverage Manufacturing Award |
Funeral Award |
Graphic Arts and Printing Award |
Joinery Award |
Live Performance Award |
Manufacturing Award |
Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award |
Meat Award |
Pest Control Award |
Port Authorities Award |
Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award |
Timber Award |
Travelling Shows Award |
Vehicle Award |
Effective – 1 April 2025 |
Horticulture Award |
GROUP 2: New rates of pay for employees at some of the lowest classification levels |
Effective – 1 January 2025 |
Architects Award |
Business Equipment Award |
Children’s Services Award |
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award |
Group 3: Where the award contains both new rules about length of time in the lowest classification and new pay rates |
Effective – 1 January 2025 |
Air Pilots Award |
Aquaculture Industry Award |
Architects Award |
Business Equipment Award |
Cement, Lime and Quarrying Award |
Children’s Services Award |
Concrete Products Award |
Cotton Ginning Award |
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award |
Rail Industry Award |
Seafood Processing Award |
Seagoing Industry Award |
Sugar Industry Award |
Wine Industry Award |
Wool Storage, Sampling and Testing Award |
Effective – 1 April 2025 |
Pastoral Award |
Some employers and employees may be covered by an enterprise agreement and not an affected award.
HOWEVER, If an employee is covered by an enterprise agreement and paid introductory rates, they will still be required to be paid in line with the new classification rate under the award that would otherwise apply to them.
This change will apply from 1 January or 1 April 2025.
The industry the enterprise agreement sits in will determine when this rule applies from:
- for industries listed above (except for horticulture and pastoral) this will apply from 1 January 2025
- for the horticulture and pastoral industries, this will apply from 1 April 2025.
What does this mean?
Group 1 – For example, under the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (‘Manufacturing Award’) the lowest classification is currently the “C14 – Engineering/Manufacturing Employee—Level 1” classification.
Wording will be inserted into the Manufacturing Award to say that an employee will only be able to work in this classification for a maximum of 3 months. After that they will need to be classified at the next level up, ie the “C13 – Engineering/Manufacturing Employee—Level 2” classification.
One of the consequences of these changes will mean that where an employer currently has employees who have been employed under the lowest classification level for longer than the new maximum period, they will need to be automatically re-classified at the next level up (and receive the appropriate pay rise) from 1 January 2025.
Group 2 – For example, under the Children’s Services Award 2010, the Level 1.1 classification currently has a minimum rate of pay of $910.90 per week or $23.97 per hour.
As of the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2025, this rate will increase to $915.90 per week or $24.10 per hour.
If you are an employer covered by one of the impacted awards, it will be vital that you increase the rates of pay for any employee classified at any of the levels which are increasing.
For further information https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/award-changes/changes-to-entry-level-classifications-in-awards
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