Know your worth
Are you being paid enough?
Underpaying international students is common — and illegal. Here's the floor your pay can't legally go below, and exactly what to do if it has.
This compares against the National Minimum Wage — the absolute floor. Your Modern Award usually sets a higher rate, plus penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays. Confirm your exact rate with Fair Work's calculator below.
How casual pay works
Most students work casual jobs. Casuals get a 25% loading on top of the base rate — that's meant to make up for having no paid leave or sick days.
On top of that, you're usually owed penalty rates — higher pay for nights, weekends and public holidays — set by the Modern Award for your industry.
Being paid cash in hand doesn't change any of this. You're still owed at least the minimum, plus a payslip within one day of being paid and superannuation on top of your wage.
Find your exact rate
Your job sits under a Modern Award that sets the real minimum. Look yours up in Fair Work's free calculator — figures change every July 2025.
Red flags you're being underpaid
- A flat rate below the minimums above, with no penalty rates for weekends or nights.
- No payslips, or being paid in cash with nothing in writing.
- No superannuation being paid on top of your wage.
- Long unpaid “trials” or “training” — a genuine trial is a short, paid, supervised demo.
- Being told international students or students on a visa can be paid less. That is false — you have the same pay rights as anyone else.
If you've been underpaid
Start with the Fair Work Ombudsman — it's free, you can ask anonymously, and they can recover money owed to you. The phone line is 13 13 94.
It is illegal for your employer to punish you — cut your shifts, threaten your visa, or fire you — for asking about your pay.
Worried because you worked more than your visa allows? The Fair Work Ombudsman has an assurance that it won't share your details with immigration when you report exploitation — your right to be paid correctly stands regardless.
General information only, current as at 1 July 2025— not legal advice. Minimum rates rise on 1 July each year; always confirm your current rate with Fair Work's calculator.