Following the identification and correction of a wage rate error in the Fair Work Ombudsman wage resource that resulted in the old 2024/2025 pay rates being shown as ‘current’ until this week, ACAPMA advises all Members to again review their payroll systems to ensure they are reflecting the correct rates.

Background

The Employment Instrument that will apply to an employee is the document that will outline their pay and conditions.
In most cases this will be an Award, a registered Enterprise (or Collective) Agreement or an Individual Flexibility Agreement that is made under an Award or registered Enterprise Agreement.

An Award is a document produced by the regulator the Fair Work Commission, made under the law to outline the pay and conditions that will apply to all classifications of workers in a particular industry.

The Award forms the ‘minimum pay and conditions’ for that particular type of work in that particular industry and each employee undertaking work under those specific classifications.

Each year the Fair Work Commission undertakes an Annual Wage Review and holds the National Wage Case (NWC).  The result of the Review and the National Wage Case is the ‘Minimum Wage’ is increased (usually) and the base and reference rates in the Awards are subsequently adjusted, with those adjusted rates to apply from the first Full Pay Period On Or After 1 July.

Each year ACAPMA Releases Wage Guides  to ACAPMA Members.  These Guides summarise key elements of the Awards, while providing clear links to the actual Awards and references to the clause location of all information and rates provided.

FWO PACT

The Fair Work Ombudsman website includes a Pay and Conditions Tool that allows employees and employers to answer simple questions and receive a response about the pay and conditions that apply to that particular work according to the Award.

“The FWO PACT online tool is a great resource, particularly the function that allows to explore rates as at a particular date”, explains ACAPMAs Elisha Radwanowski.

“The FWO PACT online tool does come with a disclaimer that while best efforts are made to ensure accuracy it is incumbent on employers to ensure that they are paying the correct rate.  This disclaimer is not a deflection, it is simply the reality.  As an employer ‘the buck stops’ with you when it comes to the responsibility for ensuring the rates paid to staff is correct, no matter how reputable the tool or guidance you ‘rely’ on.  Which is why it is important to check the primary source of the rates, the Award, and to check in on system compliance regularly as elements change”, continued Elisha

Issue of Concern

It is not uncommon for some businesses to use the FWO PACT to check the correct Award rate to apply to their staff work for the coming year on the 1st of July, given that the new pay rates apply from the ‘first full pay period on or after 1 July’.

This year ACAPMA identified that the FWO PACT online tool was returning guidance that the pay rates that should apply to Adult Console Operators under the Vehicle Repair Service and Retail Award was incorrectly still showing the 2024/2025 old wage rates.

 

The rates have now been updated to correctly reflect the 2025/2026 rates.

 

“While the new financial year is only a few days old, and the first full pay period on or after 1st July may not have even commenced for some employers, the risk is that the employers have checked the FWO PACT diligently on 1 July and have incorrectly assumed that as there had been no change to the rates on the FWO PACT there was no need to change their rates at all.  This assumption, left unchecked, could result in a full year of underpayments”, continued Elisha.

All employers who have utilised the FWO PACT online tool to set or confirm the 2025/2026 pay rates should take the time now to not only confirm those rates are correct by checking the tool again now that the issue has been corrected, but also by taking the time to check the rates in the Award.

Under the Vehicle Repair Service and Retail Award

“This situation should highlight two things to ALL employers.  Firstly, even government departments make mistakes from time to time, and secondly, it is important to check, and then check again when it comes to wage rates, where nothing beats going to the source”, concludes Elisha.

Here to Help

ACAPMA members are reminded that the ACAPMA Employment Professionals are available to assist with employment, safety and training compliance. For more information email employment@acapma.com.au

HR Highlights are things to consider, implement and watch out for in your business. They are provided as general advice and you should seek further advice on your situation by emailing employment@acapma.com.au  its free for members. ACAPMA membership is affordable at only $860 per year for a single site and valuable with sites gaining HR and IR advice support and representation as well as a raft of other benefits and discounts.

For more information on ACAPMA membership see; https://acapma.com.au/our-association/membership/

Elisha Radwanowski BCom(HRM & IR)
ACAPMA

 

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE: