We fact-checked Dan Repacholli’s claim about the rise in minimum wages and found it to be inaccurate. Fair Work did increase the minimum wage in 2023 by 5.75%. However, this increase is 3% less than the current inflation levels, which means that in real terms, wages have actually decreased.
It seems that Dan and his team may have arrived at the figure of an 8.6% increase by adding last year’s increase to this year’s increase. In 2022, the minimum wage rose by 5.2%, and in 2023, it rose by 5.75%, resulting in a total increase of 10.95% over two years. While this may appear to be an impressive 11% pay rise at face value, when we consider the inflation rate (CPI) of 7.8% and a similar projected rate for 2023, the average worker is actually worse off by about 5%.
Although these pay rises have helped mitigate the economic impact of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a significant gap to be bridged.
It remains unclear how Dan Repacholli arrived at the 8.6% minimum wage increase, especially when real wages have decreased by 5%.