What's the right pay?
From 1 January 2010, modern awards and national minimum wage orders set minimum wages for most employees in the national system.
While modern awards contain minimum wages, transitional arrangements have been included in most modern awards to give employers and employees time to adjust to changes to pay rates.
In most cases, the effect of these arrangements is to defer the commencement of some modern award entitlements until 1 July 2010, and provide for the gradual phasing in of changes to those entitlements over a four year period (ending on the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2014).
Most modern awards include provisions to transition employers and employees from their pre-modern award entitlements to the modern award system, and many include the Model Transitional Provisions. A small number of awards contain different transitional arrangements (such as the preservation of an entitlement for a limited period of time).
Employers and employees should check their relevant modern award(s) to determine if transitional arrangements apply. If there are no transitional arrangements, the full modern award pay rates apply from 1 January 2010.
If you believe you've been underpaid, you can complain to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
We have the power to enforce Commonwealth workplace laws, ensuring your employer pays you the amount you're supposed to get.
Find out what you should be paid. Call us or chat online with our 
Live Chat adviser.
Note: If you think your employer is not paying your superannuation, the Australian Tax Office has processes in place to help you investigate this. For more information, visit ATO - unpaid super 
.