Workers covered by enterprise agreements are enjoying the strongest wages growth in the nation, as the Albanese Labor Government's reforms continue to help Australians earn more.
The latest Employee Earnings and Hours survey shows workers on enterprise agreements earned an average of $1,746.10 per week in May 2025, $153.30 more than in 2023. This 9.6 per cent rise is the biggest increase across all methods of setting pay.
More than 4.5 million people now have their pay set through enterprise agreements, highlighting their importance in Australia's wage‑setting system, and the effectiveness of Labor's Secure Jobs Better Pay Act reforms.
The Secure Jobs Better Pay Act was passed by the Albanese Labor Government in December 2022 to improve wages, reinvigorate enterprise bargaining, address the gender pay gap and improve job security.
Today's figures show these reforms are delivering for Australian workers.
Women on enterprise agreements earned an average of $1,542.30 each week, 12.4 per cent more than the average across all methods of setting pay for women.
This reflects the role that good faith bargaining plays in supporting better pay and financial security for women across the workforce.
The gender pay gap in hourly earnings has narrowed by 0.5 percentage points from 8.9 percentage points in May 2023 to 8.4 percentage points in May 2025, reflecting real gains for women even after accounting for differences in working hours.
This comes at a time where the labour market remains resilient, with unemployment falling to 4.1 per cent and more than 14.6 million Australians in work. These results show that under Labor, enterprise bargaining is helping workers secure fair pay rises that help families tackle cost of living pressures.
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth said the data was proof that enterprise agreements were delivering real benefits, including higher wages for Australian workers.
"The data shows the Albanese Government's reforms are helping workers on enterprise agreements experience the strongest wage growth across all pay-setting arrangements," Minister Rishworth said.
"With a record number of Australians in work, these outcomes show how bargaining helps workers get ahead, and better support their families and loved ones.
"The narrowing of the gender pay gap for hourly earnings is encouraging and helps women reap greater economic benefits and ease cost of living pressures."
