As the new financial year gets underway, agribusiness employers across Australia must stay alert to changing employment laws and compliance requirements. Ongoing regulatory scrutiny and frequent updates to employee entitlements make it essential to review policies and stay prepared.
Compliance concerns for agribusiness
Agribusiness employers in Australia face distinctive challenges, particularly due to the nature of agricultural work and the sector’s reliance on temporary and seasonal workers. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) continues to prioritise investigating compliance within this industry, and agriculture remains one of its seven “priority areas” for the FWO’s compliance activities.
For example, in November 2024, the FWO teamed up with the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Home Affairs to conduct surprise inspections of agriculture businesses suspected of non-compliance. These investigations targeted adherence with tax, superannuation, workplace, and immigration laws, focusing on whether workers were being paid correctly, issued lawful payslips, and properly documented in record-keeping systems. We expect continuing compliance activities to continue along these lines.
The FWO has flagged issues such as workers not receiving payslips, being unable to identify their actual employer, and operating in complex supply chains as significant compliance risks. Labour hire businesses in the agribusiness sector have also been under scrutiny. It is important for employers to understand the extent of their potential liability in the event that a labour hire company underpays labour hire employees.
National Minimum Wage rate increase
As of 1 July 2025, the National Minimum Wage and all modern award minimum wage rates increased by 3.75%.
While the review directly impacts the wage rates in all modern awards, there is a flow-on impact for all employment instruments. Employers will need to ensure that all modern award covered employees are paid the revised minimum wage, even where an enterprise agreement applies.
Employers should review their records to ensure that employees are paid correctly, particularly ensuring that annualised wage arrangements are still sufficient to compensate for these increased minimum rates. By taking a proactive approach, employers will be well-positioned to minimise the risk of underpayments from this increase.
Key employment changes as of 1 July 2025
Now is a good time to review all employment contracts and payroll systems to ensure consistency with the following changes that came into effect on 1 July 2025:
- The minimum weekly wage has increased to $948
- The minimum hourly rate has increased to $24.95 for permanent employees and $31.19 (inclusive of the 25% casual loading) for casual employees
- The superannuation guarantee rate has increased from 11.5% to 12%
- The maximum super contributions base has decreased to $62,500 from $65,070 per quarter
- The employee high-income threshold has increased from $175,000 to $183,100
- The independent contractor high-income threshold has increased from $175,000 to $183,100
- The compensation cap for unfair dismissal claims is set at $91,550.
Next steps
Employers and HR teams engaged in agribusiness should take a proactive approach to managing their employment practices. Now is the ideal time to reassess existing employment contracts, upgrade payroll systems, and confirm compliance with the latest regulations.
For further guidance and support in navigating these changes, please reach out to the Workplace and Employment team at Hamilton Locke.
