Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2025)

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QUEENSLAND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION

CITATION:

Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2025) [2025] QIRC 229
PARTIES:

Queensland Council of Unions

and

Together Queensland, Industrial Union of Employees
(Applicants)

v

State Of Queensland (Office of Industrial Relations)

and

Local Government Association of Queensland Ltd

(Respondents)
FILE NOS:

B/2025/49; B/2025/50
PROCEEDING:

Application for Declaration of General Ruling
DELIVERED ON:

1 September 2025
HEARING DATE:

19 August 2025

MEMBERS:

Davis J, President, O'Connor VP, Hartigan DP
ORDERS:

1.       The wages or salaries for full-time adult employees in all state awards shall be increased by 3.5%.

2.       Monetary allowances (other than expense related allowances) in all state awards that relate to work or to conditions which have not changed, and service increments, are to be increased by 3.5%.

3.       The minimum wage rate per week for all full-time employees in Queensland is $948.00.

4.       The above increases operate on and from
1 September 2025.
LEGISLATION:

Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), ss 3, 4, 141, 142, 143, 145, 458, 459, 459A, 460
CASES:

Annual Wage Review 2023-24 [2024] FWCFB 3500
Annual Wage Review 2025 [2025] FWCFB 3500
Application for Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2014) [2014] QIRC 129
Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2020) [2020] QIRC 131
Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2022) [2022] QIRC 340
Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2023) [2023] QIRC 263
Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2023) (No 3) [2024] QIRC 111
Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2024) [2024] QIRC 244
APPEARANCES:

Mr N. Tosh for the Queensland Council of Unions

Mr C. Massy, Counsel, directly instructed by Mr M. Thomas for Together Queensland, Industrial Union of Employees

Mr C. Murdoch KC, Counsel, instructed by Crown Law for the State of Queensland

Ms E. Ackland for the Local Government Association of Queensland

Reasons for Decision

State Wage Case 2025 – Introduction

  1. The Queensland Council of Unions ('QCU')[1] and Together Queensland, Industrial Union of Employees ('Together')[2] have each applied to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission ('the Commission') seeking the following:

    (a)a general ruling[3] to amend all state awards to increase wages by 3.5%;

    (b)a general ruling to amend all state awards to increase the existing allowances which relate to work or conditions, which have not changed by 3.5%;

    (c)an increase to the Queensland Minimum Wage ('QMW') as it applies to all employees to $948.00 per week or $24.95 per hour; and

    (d)a determination that the operative date for these amendments be 1 September 2025.

    [1]    Application of the Queensland Council of Unions filed 4 June 2025.

    [2]    Application of Together Queensland, Industrial Union of Employees filed 4 June 2025.

    [3]     Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld) s 458 ('IR Act').

  2. The applications were heard together. The State of Queensland ('the State') and the Local Government Association of Queensland ('LGAQ') are respondents to both applications.

  3. The State's response to the applications sets out that it is supportive of the following:

    (a)a fair and reasonable increase to all State award rates of…

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Details
Case
[2025] QIRC 229
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2025) involved the Queensland government and the LGAQ (Local Government and Allied Workers Union) seeking a wage increase for full-time adult employees in state awards. The case was heard by the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The primary dispute centred on the determination of an appropriate wage increase for low-paid workers in Queensland, taking into account economic conditions and the cost of living. The parties agreed on certain economic indicators and wage growth metrics but differed on the interpretation and application of these data points in the context of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the court were whether the proposed 3.5% wage increase was fair and just, and if the Full Bench should adopt the FWC's determination or conduct its own independent assessment. The court had to balance the need for fair and reasonable wages with the legislative mandate to maintain a safety net of fair minimum wages and ensure employees could participate in society. The Full Bench considered the overarching responsibility to ensure that employees, particularly those not benefiting from collective bargaining, were not left behind.

The Full Bench exercised its discretion to independently assess the matter, taking into account the economic indicators and wage growth data provided by the parties. The court acknowledged the importance of maintaining the real value of minimum wages in line with productivity growth but recognised the immediate economic circumstances might necessitate deviations from this principle. The Full Bench concluded that a 3.5% wage increase was fair and just, considering the economic conditions in Queensland and the need to support low-paid employees in managing rising living costs. The court thus determined that the wage increase would allow employees to participate more fully in society.

The final orders of the Full Bench mandated a 3.5% increase in wages and monetary allowances for full-time adult employees in all state awards, effective from 1 September 2025. The minimum weekly wage for all full-time employees in Queensland was set at $948.00, reflecting this increase. This decision aimed to provide a fair and reasonable wage that supported the economic well-being of low-paid workers in Queensland.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. The wages or salaries for full-time adult employees in all state awards shall be increased by 3.5%.

2. Monetary allowances (other than expense related allowances) in all state awards that relate to work or to conditions which have not changed, and service increments, are to be increased by 3.5%.

3. The minimum wage rate per week for all full-time employees in Queensland is $948.00.

4. The above increases operate on and from

1 September 2025.

Background

Background to the litigation

The parties, consistently with the above approach, have structured their individual cases recognising the FWC determination as being a significant factor to be considered but also recognising the evaluative exercise that the Full Bench must undertake.Statement of Agreed Facts A Statement of Agreed Facts was jointly filed by the parties for the purpose of the hearing of the 2025 State Wage.[14] The parties agreed that the Statement of Agreed Facts is relevant to the Full Bench's assessment of the prevailing economic conditions in the national economy as well as facts relevant to the assessment of the needs of low paid workers.[14] Filed in the Industrial Registry on 10 July 2025. Subsequent to the filing of the Statement of Agreed Facts, the parties identified further information relevant to the Full Bench's assessment of the prevailing economic conditions in the national and the state economy.[15][15] Amended Statement of Agreed Facts filed 18 August 2025. Matters relevant to the Full Bench's assessment of the prevailing economic conditions in the national economy and the state economy for the purposes of the SWC include, inter alia: In its Annual Wage Review Decision 2025 ('AWR 2025'),[16] the FWC assessed economic conditions relevant to the national economy.[17] The Full Bench has previously held that this assessment is generally relevant to the determination of the SWC,[18] although the parties do not contend it can be a substitute for a proper forensic inquiry into the impact of economic factors upon the wage of workers in Queensland who are not national system employees.[19] The precise information outlined in the AWR 2025 that is of relevance to the Full Bench was detailed in the parties' submissions.[16] [2025] FWCFB 3500 ('AWR 2025 Decision').[17] Ibid [24]-[54].[18] SWC 2023 (n 12) [157]; Declaration of General Ruling (State Wage Case 2024) [2024] QIRC 244, [50] ('SWC 2024').[19] SWC 2022 (n 10) [58]. Amongst other things, the information available at the time of the AWR 2025 decision as well as more recent data and commentary are relevant to the Full Bench's assessment of the matters set out in [26] in the context of the national economy, state economy or both. The Statement of Agreed Facts identified the following key economic indicators:(a)Queensland annual Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings ('AWOTE') growth of 5.9% exceeded the national figure of 4.8%; (b)Queensland's Wage Price Index ('WPI') grew by 3.6% slightly higher that the national figure of 3.4%; (c)Queensland's Consumer Price Index ('CPI') of 2.7% was marginally higher than the national CPI of 2.4%; (d)State Final Demand grew by 2.2% outpacing the national GDP of 1.2%; (e)Queensland's Gross State Product ('GSP') grew by 2.1%, while the national GDP grew by 1.2%; (f)Queensland's labour force participation rate was 67.6%, with the national rate of 67.1%; and (g)Underemployment in Queensland was 5.8% with the national rate of 6.0%.[20][20] Amended Statement of Agreed Facts filed 18 August 2025, Table 1.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

The two applications filed in this matter, seek an increase of 3.5%. The State and the LGAQ submit that an increase of not more than 3.5% to the QMW is fair and just.Consideration Notwithstanding that there is general agreement amongst the parties in these proceedings as to the desired outcomes, it is within the discretion of the Full Bench to arrive at a decision it believes is appropriate after considering the matter within the required statutory parameters. Whilst the relative positions adopted by the parties are important, they are not, by themselves determinative. As this Commission has said previously, we cannot adopt a rubber stamp approach. In exercising our statutory function, we must bring an independent mind to the task of determining whether, in all the circumstances, the FWC's determination ought to be properly adopted. The parties accepted that employees within the Queensland jurisdiction should be paid a wage that is fair and reasonable. As was observed by the Commission in its State Wage Case 2023, there is an:… overarching responsibility to ensure, amongst other things, that employees are covered by fair and reasonable wages that allow them to participate in society and that those who do not benefit from bargaining are not left behind.[63] In the AWR 2025 decision the FWC expressed the view that:[131] In both the AWR 2023 decision and the AWR 2024 decision, the Expert Panel affirmed the principle that, in the medium to long term, it is desirable that modern award minimum wages maintain their real value and increase in line with the trend rate of national productivity growth. This principle operates subject to the qualification that in the immediate circumstances of particular Reviews, as they apply themselves to the mandatory considerations in ss 284(1) and 134(1), it may not be possible to adhere to that objective. We again affirm this principle as one central to the maintenance, over time, of a safety net of fair minimum wages.[64] As was noted by the Commission in its decision in 2024, such a principle accords generally with this Commission's functions including those pursuant to ss 141, 142 and 143(1)(i) of the IR Act. The purpose of the IR Act and how that purpose is to be achieved is set out in ss 3 and 4 of the IR Act. Therefore, consistently with the legislative framework including the functions required to be undertaken by ss 141 and 142 of the IR Act, the Commission is mindful of its overarching responsibility to ensure, inter alia, that employees are covered by fair and reasonable wages that allow employees to participate in society and to ensure that those who do not benefit from bargaining are not left behind. In determining this year's SWC, the Full Bench has also taken into account data with respect to the relative wage growth and the cost-of-living expenses of those living in the state of Queensland. Moreover, these are factors that arise at both a national and state level. It remains the case that declining real wage growth is a significant problem in an environment where employees, particularly low-paid employees, are faced with rising cost of living expenses.