HIGA Pay Rates 2026–27: The Official Rates Are Now Available

26 June

Earlier this month, we wrote about the 4.75% hospitality award wage increase and the issue many operators were likely to miss.

The headline increase was 4.75%, but the bigger question for HIGA was what would happen at the lower classifications, particularly Level 1, because of the new C13 wage floor.

At the time, the Fair Work Ombudsman had not yet released the updated Hospitality Industry (General) Award pay guide, so the safest position was to wait for the official rates before updating payroll.

That pay guide has now been released.

What venues should do now

Hospitality operators should now check the official HIGA Pay Guide and update payroll, rostering and wage forecasting before the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.

The key checks are:

confirm the correct HIGA classification for each employee
update full-time, part-time and casual rates
check Level 1 rates carefully
confirm Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, evening and early morning penalties
update rostering software as well as payroll software
review allowances
check that any flat rates or annualised salaries still cover the award minimums
rebuild wage forecasts using the new rates

The risk is not just missing the 4.75% increase. The bigger risk is applying a simple percentage increase without checking the official classification rates, penalties and allowances.

That is where underpayments start.