Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsSetting minimum wages and the casual loading
(1) A national minimum wage order:
(a) must set the national minimum wage; and
(b) must set special national minimum wages for all award/agreement free employees in the following classes:
(i) junior employees;
(ii) employees to whom training arrangements apply;
(iii) employees with a disability; and
(c) must set the casual loading for award/agreement free employees.
Note: A national minimum wage order must be made in each annual wage review (see section 285).
Requiring employers to pay minimum wages and the casual loading
(2) The order:
(a) must require employers to pay employees to whom the national minimum wage applies a base rate of pay that at least equals the national minimum wage; and
(b) must require employers to pay to employees to whom a special national minimum wage applies a base rate of pay that at least equals that special national minimum wage; and
(c) must require employers to pay, to award/agreement free employees who are casual employees, a casual loading that at least equals the casual loading for award/agreement free employees (as applied to the employees' base rates of pay).
What employees does the national minimum wage apply to?
(3) The national minimum wage applies to all award/agreement free employees who are not:
(a) junior employees; or
(b) employees to whom training arrangements apply; or
(c) employees with a disability.
What employees does a special national minimum wage apply to?
(4) A special national minimum wage applies to the employees to whom it is expressed in the order to apply. Those employees must be:
(a) all junior employees who are award/agreement free employees, or a specified class of those employees; or
(b) all employees to whom training arrangements apply and who are award/agreement free employees, or a specified class of those employees; or
(c) all employees with a disability who are award/agreement free employees, or a specified class of those employees.