The new financial year is right around the corner, and with it comes a bunch of changes hitting your wallet from July 1. From pay bumps and power bills to road rules, here’s the rundown of how your day-to-day might look a little different.
Pay boost for minimum wage workers
Almost three million Aussies are set to enjoy a nice lil’ pay bump, after the minimum wage increases by 3.5 per cent from next month.
The Fair Work Commission approved the increase in the national minimum award earlier this month, which will rise from $24.10 to $24.94 per hour. Weekly pay for a full-time employee will go up to $948 per week, based on a 38-hour work week.
“The principal decision which has guided our decision is the fact that, since July 2021, the real value of modern award wages … has declined by 4.5 percentage points relative to inflation,” said the Fair Work Commission panel.
“The result has been that living standards for employees dependent on modern award wages have been squeezed and the low paid have experienced greater difficulty in meeting their everyday needs.”
Superannuation increase
If your superannuation balance suddenly starts looking a little different next month, here’s why. The proportion of your salary that must be paid into your super account by your employer is going up, rising from 11.5 per cent to 12 per cent.
It marks the fifth such incremental increase since 2021, when the rate was 9.5 per cent, and has been going up 0.5 per cent each year.
The new rate will apply to all salary and wages paid on or after 1 July, even if the work was performed before that date.
There’s also good news coming for parents, with the federal government kicking off super payments on its paid parental scheme for the first time from July 1.
Changing power bills
Your dreaded electricity bill might be rising, depending on your state and provider, under hikes to the default market offer (DMO). Set by the Australian Energy Regulator, the DMO essentially sets the maximum price energy retailers can charge customers.
Some NSW customers will face the highest increase in bills from July, which are expected to be between 8.3 per cent to 9.7 per cent, followed by South Australia’s expected rises of around 2.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent.
South-east Queenslander could be slugged with rises between 0.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent.
According to Canstar, this will translate to an average increase of up to $228 for NSW households, $77 for Queensland households and $71 for South Australian households. (Victorians are expected to see an average bump of one per cent in bills, with some consumers potentially looking at a price drop, according to the Essential Services Commission.)
Energy Minister Chris Bowen has pledged to reform how these energy prices are set, with changes expected next year, per Sydney Morning Herald.
At least we’ve got the rebates from last year’s budget, which are set to continue in some form. While it’s lesser than last year and will apply for around six months till 31 December this year, households can expect to see $150 in energy rebates automatically applied to their electricity bills.
This will in two quarterly instalments of $75 from July 1.
Road rules
Your morning drive could change too, with Australia set to usher in a bunch of major road rule changes.
Nationally, detection of mobile phone use will be boosted with the help of AI-powered surveillance cameras being rolled out across the country, per news.com.au.
These cameras will be able to detect and identify drivers who are using, holding or touching their mobile phones behind the wheel.
Those who are caught driving while using their phone — and yup, this includes if you’ve stopped at the traffic lights — can be fined up to $1,209 and lose up to five demerit points, per the publication.
Blood donation
Plus, in a world-first move kicking off next month, gay and bisexual men in Australia will soon be able to donate blood and plasma.
Lifeblood will revoke its rule that sexually active gay and bisexual men, transgender women and sex workers cannot donate plasma if they have had sex with men within three months from July 14.
Following research and risk assessments by Lifeblood, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved its removal, with findings confirming that Australia’s blood supply would remain just as safe due to an added safety measure known as pathogen deactivation in plasma processing.
“We now anticipate an extra 24,000 donors and 95,000 extra donations of plasma to be made each year,” Lifeblood’s chief medical officer Dr Jo Pink told the Sydney Morning Herald.
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