The Fair Work Commission's Minimum Wage Panel (Panel) handed down its 2013 wage decision yesterday, ruling that all award rates of pay will increase by 2.6%, effective from the first wage period after 1 July 2013. The national minimum weekly wage will increase by AUD15.80 a week to AUD622.20 which represents an hourly rate increase of 31 cents an hour to AUD16.37.

The Reasons For the Decision -

The Panel says the following matters were taken into account in reaching its decision:

- general economic conditions, which the Panel described as remaining reasonably strong, particularly in comparison to other OECD countries, together with the expectation that the economy will continue to out-perform most of the developed world, even despite the forecast of a moderation in growth over the next year..