Australia's lowest-paid workers are set to get a pay rise of $24.30 a week from July 1.
The Fair Work Commission on Friday handed down its annual ruling on the national minimum wage, raising it by 3.5 per cent to $719.20 a week, or $18.93 an hour.
Unions had been calling for a $50 rise, while employers were arguing for a $13 a week increase for more than 2.3 million Australians.
President Justice Iain Ross said compared to this time last year, economic indicators now point more "unequivocally to a healthy national economy and labour market".
"The circumstances are such that it is appropriate to provide a real wage increase to those employees who have their wages set by the national minimum wage or by a modern award," he said in Sydney.
But the panel decided not to grant an increase as proposed by the ACTU and the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations, believing such a rise could adversely impact employment.
"Such adverse effects will impact on those groups who are already marginalised in the labour market and on households vulnerable to poverty due to loss of employment or hours," Justice Ross said.
The commission also decided to increase all modern award minimum wages by 3.5 per cent.
The ruling will come into effect on July 1.
"We have taken into account the circumstances of different regions, industries and sectors but for the reasons we set out in our decision, no exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated such as to warrant a deferral of the
increases we have awarded," he said.
