One in five workers aged under 25 are paid below the legal minimum wage for their age, according to data released today.

Stopping wage theft is important or extremely important as an issue in the upcoming federal election for 81% of undecided voters aged 18-24, shows ACTU analysis of ABS data along with Demos polling released on the first day of early voting for the upcoming federal election. 

From January 1, 2025, new laws criminalising wage theft came into effect following union campaigns to tackle the normalisation of wage theft in Australia.

Young people in insecure work are disproportionately impacted by wage theft, with 30% of 18- year-old casual workers paid less than what they should be under the relevant junior award rate. For an 18-year-old casual worker employed for 20 hours a week, the underpayments are worth $1,560 a year in lost wages.

Young workers face various barriers to wage justice, including the expense and time required to bring a matter to court, fears of employer retaliation, limited knowledge of workers’ rights, and the Fair Work Ombudsman’s enforcement limitations.

“The targets of wage theft tend to be those with less power in the workplace, so we see a clear pattern of dodgy bosses going after the pay packets of younger people, especially casual workers," said ACTU Secretary Sally McManus.

Audits by the Fair Work Ombudsman estimate the overall value of wage theft is between $850 million and $1.55 billion in stolen wages each year.

Young workers are increasingly turning to Australian Unions to address underpayment issues and to support them in taking legal action to recover lost wages. ABS data shows that union membership grew by almost 200,000 members from 2022 to 2024, powered by a 53% boost to union membership among workers aged 15 to 24.

“Unions campaigned and won wage theft laws because we know the difference that every dollar makes to a person’s financial security and wellbeing, particularly if you’re in the very early stages of getting into the workforce. If wage theft remained legal, the issues we’re seeing now would be even worse," said Ms McManus.