Two major workplace law changes are incoming: a change to superannuation obligations for all employers, and a state change to work from home (“WFH”) laws for employees working in Victoria.

SUPERANNUATION

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation when they pay wages (as opposed to the previous quarterly requirement). Failing receipt by a super fund within 7 business days of payday, the super guarantee charge will apply. Furthermore, super will be based on an employee’s ‘qualifying earnings’, a new term that brings together ordinary time earnings and other payments.  You may need to speak with your financial advisor(s) and review your payroll processes to ensure you meet your obligations and avoid unnecessary charges.

VICTORIAN WORK FROM HOME LAWS

In addition, the Victorian government has introduced a bill (Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026) to provide Victorian employees with a workplace right to work from home two days per week. As drafted, requests to work from home can only be denied under set criteria (focusing on ‘reasonableness’), or where the employee is not eligible to make a request. The changes are currently slated to take effect from 1 September 2026 for businesses employing 15 or more employees, or 1 July 2027 for small business employers.

We will send out further information once the bill has passed.

UPDATED PAY GUIDES AVAILABLE

Increases to the National Minimum Wage and Award pay rates will take effect from the first full pay period of the 2026 to 2027 financial year. By way of a practical example, this means that if your pay period begins on a Wednesday, the increase must be passed on from next Wednesday (1 July 2026), while if it begins on a Thursday, the increase must be passed on from next Thursday (2 July 2026).

To assist employers, updated pay guides can now be accessed here on the Fair Work Ombudsman website. If you have not done so, we strongly recommend that you check the minimum rates applicable to your employees to ensure that they are not underpaid when compared to the revised National Minimum Wage or relevant award rates. Where assessing above award rates (such as ‘all in’ rates), ensure that you remember to take into account increases to overtime rates, allowances, and penalty rates when assessing whether an above award rate is sufficient to cover relevant award entitlements.

If you have any questions about this alert, please do not hesitate to contact one of our lawyers.