If you work in the WA state system, the National Employment Standards do not apply to you. Your minimum pay and conditions come instead from the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 (WA) (MCE Act), the State Minimum Wage set each year by the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC), the Long Service Leave Act 1958 (WA) (LSL Act), and a few Fair Work Act entitlements that reach state system employees.
These minimums apply to every state system employer and cannot be contracted out of. Any term of an award, agreement or contract that gives you less is replaced by the minimum (MCE Act s 5). A WA award or agreement that covers your job may give you more. This page sets out the floor; for the full list of figures with their sources, see Key Figures and Time Limits.
Underpaid? Claims for unpaid minimum wages, leave or long service leave go to Wageline or the Industrial Magistrates Court, and must be made within 6 years. See Underpayments and Enforcement.
Who This Applies To
The WA state system covers employees of sole traders, partnerships of individuals, trusts with individual trustees, non-trading associations and charities, WA local governments (since 1 January 2023) and the WA public sector. See Am I in the State or Federal System?. Long service leave is different: the LSL Act covers most private sector employees in WA in both systems.
Minimum Wage
The State Minimum Wage is set each year by the WAIRC in the State Wage Case. From the first pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026 it is $998.30 a week for an adult aged 21 or over who is not an apprentice (2026 State Wage order, [2026] WAIRC 00400, cl 3). That is a 4.75% increase on the previous $953.00, and equals $26.27 an hour for a 38-hour week (wa.gov.au).
- Juniors receive a percentage of the adult rate: 90% at 20, 80% at 19, 70% at 18, 60% at 17, 50% at 16 and 40% under 16 (MCE Act s 13). See Key Figures and Time Limits for the dollar amounts.
- Adult apprentices (21 and over) receive at least $828.90 a week (State Wage order cl 6).
- Employees with a disability assessed under the Supported Wage System are paid according to their assessed capacity, and never less than $113 a week (State Wage order cl 4; MCE Act s 17).
The rate changes every 1 July, so check the date of the period you are asking about.
Casual Loading
Casual employees receive the hourly minimum plus a 25% loading (MCE Act s 11), which is $32.84 an hour for an adult from 1 July 2026. The loading was 20% before 31 January 2025. WA awards that had a lower loading moved to 25% from 26 April 2025 (wa.gov.au casual employment).
Whether you are really a casual depends on the real substance of the relationship, not just the label (IR Act s 7B). Unlike the federal system, the WA state system has no right to convert from casual to permanent employment, although an award may provide one.
Hours
Where no award or agreement sets your hours, your ordinary hours are 38 a week, and you cannot be required to work more than that plus reasonable additional hours (MCE Act s 9A). Whether additional hours are reasonable depends on factors including health and safety risks, your personal and family circumstances, the needs of the business, how much notice was given, whether the hours fall on a public holiday, and how many hours you have worked recently (s 9B).
Pay Requirements
Your pay must be paid in full, in money, and into an account you nominate or as your award or contract allows (MCE Act s 17C). Deductions are allowed only if you authorise them in writing, an award or contract authorises them, or the law requires them (s 17D). Your employer must not require you to spend or pay money in an unreasonable way that benefits the employer (s 17BA). You must receive a pay slip within 1 working day after being paid (IR Act s 49DA).
Leave
| Leave | Minimum | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Paid personal (sick and carer's) leave, not casuals | Your ordinary hours over 2 weeks each year, up to 76 hours; accumulates | MCE Act s 20 |
| Unpaid carer's leave | Up to 2 days each occasion | s 21 |
| Paid annual leave, not casuals | Your ordinary hours over 4 weeks each year, up to 152 hours; accumulates | s 23 |
| Paid bereavement leave, including casuals | Up to 2 days for each death of a family or household member | s 27 |
| Unpaid family and domestic violence leave, including casuals | 5 days a year | s 39B |
| Paid family and domestic violence leave, including casuals | 10 days a year | Fair Work Act s 757B |
| Paid time off for job interviews after being told you are redundant | Up to 8 hours | s 43 |
Annual leave your employer cannot refuse. If you and your employer have not agreed when you will take leave, your employer must not refuse leave you became entitled to more than 12 months earlier, at a time that suits you, if you give at least 2 weeks' notice (MCE Act s 24). Unused annual leave is paid out when you leave, with limited exceptions (s 26). You can agree in writing to cash out up to half a year's annual leave, but it cannot be a condition of getting the job (s 8).
Personal leave is not paid out when you leave (s 22). Your employer can ask for evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person (s 22A).
Parental leave. The MCE Act no longer contains parental leave. Since 31 January 2025, unpaid parental leave for WA state system employees comes from the Fair Work Act, which extends the National Employment Standards parental leave provisions to them (Fair Work Act s 744).
Public Holidays
WA has 11 public holidays: New Year's Day, Australia Day, Labour Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Western Australia Day, the King's Birthday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day (MCE Act Schedule 1).
You are entitled to be absent on a public holiday. Your employer can ask you to work if the request is reasonable, and you can refuse if the request is unreasonable or your refusal is reasonable. The factors include the nature of the business and your work, your personal and family circumstances, whether you could expect to be asked, whether you are paid penalty rates or a salary that reflects public holiday work, your type of employment, and the notice given (MCE Act s 30). If you are absent on a public holiday you would ordinarily work, you are paid for your ordinary hours (s 31). The MCE Act itself does not require penalty rates for working on a public holiday, but many awards do.
Consultation About Major Change and Redundancy
If your employer has decided on a change likely to significantly affect you (for example a major restructure, a big change in hours, retraining or relocation) or to make you redundant, you are entitled to be told as soon as reasonably practicable and to discuss the likely effects and ways to avoid or reduce them (MCE Act ss 40–41). This does not apply to casuals or apprentices. If you are made redundant, you are entitled to up to 8 hours' paid leave for job interviews (s 43).
A failure to consult can make a redundancy dismissal unfair. See What Makes a WA Dismissal Unfair?
Notice of Termination
The MCE Act does not deal with notice. Instead, the Fair Work Act extends the National Employment Standards notice periods to WA state system employees (Fair Work Act s 759):
| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| 1 year or less | 1 week |
| More than 1 year, up to 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 years, up to 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Add one week if you are over 45 and have at least 2 years' continuous service. Casuals, fixed-term and seasonal employees, some trainees, and people dismissed for serious misconduct are excluded (wa.gov.au minimum notice). A longer period in your award, agreement or contract applies instead. See also our page on notice and final pay.
Long Service Leave
Under the LSL Act, which covers most WA private sector employees whether they are in the state or federal system:
- after 10 years' continuous employment with the same employer, you are entitled to 8⅔ weeks' paid leave, and then 4⅓ weeks for each further 5 years (s 8(2));
- if your employment ends after at least 7 years but less than 10, you are entitled to a pro rata payment, unless your employer dismissed you for serious misconduct (s 8(3)); resigning does not stop you getting it;
- your employer cannot refuse leave that fell due more than 12 months earlier, if you give 2 weeks' notice (s 9(1a)–(1b));
- you can ask to take double the time at half pay, or half the time at double pay (s 9(1C)–(1D));
- a public holiday during your leave extends it by a day (s 9(4)).
The LSL Act does not apply if you have a separate long service leave entitlement under an award, agreement or other law that is at least equivalent overall (s 4A). Construction workers are covered instead by a separate portable scheme. Disputes go to the Industrial Magistrates Court, within 6 years.
What the WA Floor Does Not Include
Compared with the National Employment Standards, the WA state system floor has some gaps:
- No statutory redundancy pay. It comes only from an award, agreement or your contract. See our page on redundancy pay.
- No casual conversion right.
- Personal leave is capped at 76 hours a year, rather than 10 days.
- No notice or parental leave in the MCE Act; both come from the Fair Work Act instead.
Flexible Working Requests
If you are pregnant, a parent or carer, have a disability, are 55 or older, or are experiencing (or supporting someone experiencing) family and domestic violence, and have 12 months' service, you can request flexible working arrangements. Your employer must respond in writing within 21 days and can refuse only on reasonable business grounds (MCE Act Part 4A). See Damaging Action and Other Protections for how requests and disputes work.
For Employers
If your business is a sole trader, partnership or trust with individual trustees, or a non-trading organisation, these are your minimum obligations, not the National Employment Standards. The State Minimum Wage and junior rates change on 1 July every year. Check whether a WA award covers your employees, because it will usually set higher rates and extra conditions. Keep the records the IR Act requires and issue pay slips within one working day; penalties for underpayments rose sharply on 31 January 2025.
How MKI Legal Can Help
We advise WA employees and employers on what the state system minimums require, whether an award applies, and how the rules differ from the federal system. If you think you have been underpaid, or you want to check your own payroll, contact us for a free, no-obligation and confidential discussion about your circumstances.