Australia’s Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently announced an increase of 5.75 per cent to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and all Minimum Modern Award wage rates, effective from the first full pay period on or after July 1, 2023.
The new national minimum wage is $882.80 per week for a 38-hour week, $23.23 per hour and $29.04 for a casual employee. The national minimum wage order applies to award/agreement-free employees, but not award-covered employees.
Businesses should ensure employees who are paid in accordance with a modern award (eg: the Timber Industry Award) or the national minimum wage have received the appropriate pay increase by the first full period on or after July 1, 2023.
Businesses who do not pay in accordance with the award terms and pay over award, annualised salaries or flat rates, should check their rates of pay will still satisfy all their obligations under the relevant award/minimum wage once the increases apply.
TTIA further provided members with a comprehensive summary of the decision and updated award summary sheets.
If you are not a member of TTIA and require assistance with the new rates of pay, contact the association for further information about membership on the National Timber Employers’ Hotline – (02) 9264 0011.
Paid parental leave: more changes
With the election of the federal Labor government a year ago, more change to the government’s parental leave pay scheme commenced recently.
Specifically, the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Act 2023, which was passed by both houses of parliament on March 6, 2023, introduced changes to the government’s Parental Leave Pay (PLP) scheme effective from July 1, 2023. The changes aim to provide better, greater flexibility and eligibility to the scheme.
Previous provisions
Under the PLP scheme prior to July 1, 2023, eligible individuals who were the primary carer for a child who was born or adopted received up to 18 weeks’ pay at the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
The first 12 weeks of PLP instalments must have been received in one continuous period within 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child. The remaining 30 payable days could be taken flexibly within 24 months of the birth or adoption of a child. This coincides with an employee’s rights under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) to return to work after parental leave and the ability to take a maximum of 30 days parental leave flexibly within 24 months of the child’s birth or adoption date.
Eligible fathers and other partners could receive up to two weeks payment (one-off) at the NMW under the Dad and Partner Pay (DAPP) scheme.
Individuals had to claim PLP or DAPP through Centrelink as eligibility for the schemes is assessed by Services Australia (formerly the Department of Human Services) in which relevant work, income and other eligibility tests under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cth) (PPL Act) must be met.
New changes
From July 1, 2023, PLP and DAPP has been combined into one scheme which will provide eligible parent couples or single parents up to 20 weeks of PLP at the NMW. DAPP will no longer exist as a separate scheme. Eligible parents must not be working during this time or must be on leave (paid or unpaid). Additionally:
• The whole 20 weeks of PLP instalments can be received flexibly in multiple blocks within 24 months of the child’s birth or adoption date (removing the requirement of the 12 weeks of PLP instalments being received in one continuous period and the 30 days cap previously mentioned);
• Parents will be able to access PLP even when on paid leave (eg: employerfunded parental leave, annual leave or long-service leave), and in between periods of paid work;
• Birth mothers or first adoptive parents will have to give approval to share any PLP days, and if shared with a partner, parents will be able to access PLP at the same time;
• For PLP shared between a couple, at least two weeks will be reserved for each partner to use with any unused amount of PLP days lost if not used within 24 months of the child’s birth or adoption date;
• If a person does not meet the individual income limit of $156,647 (ie: earns more than this amount), there will be a combined family income limit of $350,000 which will be applied instead (this limit will be used whether a person is single or partnered); and
• There will be special-circumstance exceptions to the work test for individuals whose ability to work during the ‘work test period’ are impacted by family and domesticviolence leave, a serious medical condition (for either you or an immediate family member you care for), or a natural disaster declared by the Commonwealth or a state or territory.
These changes apply to parents with a child born or adopted on or after July 1, 2023.
There are further proposed changes to PLP including increasing the total PLP to 26 weeks by 2026, however, this is subject to legislation passing at some point in the future.
Changes to the Fair Work Act
At this stage, there are no changes to the rules for when an employee can take parental leave under the Fair Work Act, which means the 30-day cap on an employee’s ability to take their 12-month unpaid parental leave flexibly (up to 24 months from the birth or adoption date of a child) still applies.
In summary, the PLP and DAPP will be combined into one scheme which will provide eligible parent couples or single parents up to 20 weeks of PLP at the NMW. There are no changes to the rules for when an employee can take parental leave under the FW Act at this point.
In order to be compliant with the changes, it would be wise to ensure your current parental-leave policy and payroll system are updated for the changes implemented from July 1.
For further information, log on to servicesaustralia.gov.au. To stay up to date with legislation within Australia’s timber industries, log on to ttia.asn.au.
