Section 294 — Fair Work Act 2009: Content of national minimum wage order—main provisions

Setting 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.