Employees aged 18, 19 or 20 working in the retail and fast-food industries may currently be paid a minimum award rate equivalent to 70%, 80% or 90% of the applicable adult minimum award rate.
On 31 March 2026, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) determined that modern awards covering the retail and fast-food sectors should progressively remove these junior rates for adult employees.
Under the changes, once an adult junior employee has completed 6 months of service with their employer, they must be paid 100% of the applicable adult rate. For those with less than 6 months’ service with their current employer, the existing percentage-based junior rates will continue to apply.
Junior rates for employees under the age of 18 will remain unchanged.
The changes will be implemented gradually, which is currently proposed to come into force on 1 December 2026, with full implementation by 1 July 2029. However, this is currently a provisional view.
In its decision, the FWC noted that the traditional rationale for junior rates – namely, to support younger workers who may face barriers to employment such as restrictions on child labour, limited availability, inability to hold a driver’s licence, and lower levels of maturity, life experience and work experience – does not apply to employees aged 18 and over.