Junior Pay Rates 2026
Junior pay rates are the minimum rates for employees under twenty-one under many modern awards. A junior is paid a set percentage of the adult rate for their classification, and that percentage rises as they get older.
Most modern awards that cover younger workers set junior rates as a proportion of the adult minimum for the same job. The younger the employee, the smaller the percentage; each birthday usually moves them up a step, until they reach the full adult rate. Because a junior rate is a percentage of the adult rate, it moves automatically whenever the adult minimum changes in the Annual Wage Review.
The exact percentages are not the same from one award to the next. One award might start its youngest juniors at a little over half of the adult rate, while another sets a higher or a lower floor, and the age at which full adult pay begins can differ too. Some awards also vary the junior scale by the type of work or the classification. That is why a junior rate always has to be read against the specific award that covers the job, not taken as a single national figure.
Not every modern award has junior rates at all. In a number of industries, particularly those that need formal qualifications or licences, everyone doing the work is paid the adult minimum regardless of age. Where an award has no junior schedule, the adult rate for the classification applies from the first day, whatever the employee's age.
Apprentices and trainees sit outside the junior percentages. They are usually paid under their own training-based scales, which step up with the year of the apprenticeship and the competencies completed rather than simply with age. So a young apprentice and a young junior in the same workplace can be measured against quite different schedules.
For 2026 AwardScale shows the published junior figure beside the adult rate for each award that carries one, with the age-based steps set out in order. Where an award has no junior rates, the adult classification rate is shown instead. The figures are the Fair Work Commission minimums, so you can see the junior rate for a role and the age band it belongs to at a glance.
Work out a junior rate
Common questions
At what age do you get the full adult rate?
Under many awards junior rates step up to the full adult rate by twenty-one, but the age can differ between awards, so it depends on the award that covers the job.
Do all awards have junior rates?
No. Some modern awards have no junior schedule, and there the adult classification rate applies regardless of age.
How is junior pay worked out?
As a set percentage of the adult rate for the same classification, with the percentage rising as the employee gets older.
Rates current as of 1 July 2026. Source: Fair Work Commission — Modern Awards Pay Database. Last checked .
General information only — not legal, industrial or financial advice. These are the published minimum rates for information. Your modern award or enterprise agreement prevails if there is any inconsistency. Check the official source above or the Fair Work Ombudsman for your situation.