Australia’s industrial umpire has approved new minimum standards requiring food and grocery delivery workers to receive hourly rates above the national minimum wage and to be covered by injury insurance while working.
Under an order issued late on Tuesday by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), gig workers will receive at least A$31.30 ($22.11) an hour, compared with Australia’s minimum wage of A$26.44. Workers will remain responsible for maintaining third-party insurance for vehicles used to make deliveries.
The new requirements will take effect on August 17 and are expected to benefit about 250,000 workers. Companies will also be required to provide “a reasonable minimum level of cover” for personal accident insurance, although the order does not specify a minimum level of coverage.
The minimum hourly rate will apply to what the FWC defines as “engaged” time. This covers the period from when a worker accepts a job until the delivery is completed, rather than all time spent available to receive potential work.
The decision comes amid growing international efforts to establish employment standards for gig workers, who are commonly classified as independent contractors rather than employees and therefore excluded from many traditional workplace protections.
In June, the International Labour Organization adopted the first binding employment standards for gig workers, potentially providing rights relating to pay, safety and social benefits. Those standards, however, still require ratification by governments before they take effect.
Australia’s new rules have been welcomed by unions and major delivery platforms, with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) describing the FWC order as “a landmark moment for the Australian gig economy”.
“Gig workers in Australia were left outside of our workplace systems for far too long. From Monday, they will be entitled to an absolute world-leading set of standards that we will build on over time,” TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said in a joint statement with Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Uber Eats and DoorDash said the new rules demonstrated that stronger protections for workers could coexist with the flexibility valued by people working in the gig economy. DoorDash has also been diversifying beyond restaurant deliveries.
The changes follow years of pressure from unions and workers for greater protection for people working through digital platforms. Because gig workers are generally treated as independent contractors, they have historically fallen outside many workplace protections that apply to employees.
Australia’s parliament introduced significant changes in 2023 and 2024 under the centre-left Labor government, giving gig workers greater rights to negotiate minimum pay and working conditions. Those laws also empowered the Fair Work Commission to establish standards covering pay and insurance.
The latest order marks a further expansion of those protections, establishing a guaranteed minimum rate for engaged delivery work while requiring companies to provide a level of personal accident insurance. At the same time, workers will continue to carry responsibility for third-party vehicle insurance, maintaining a distinction between the protections provided by platforms and the costs associated with operating delivery vehicles.
With the rules taking effect on August 17, Australia is placing new minimum standards around a sector that has traditionally relied on independent contracting arrangements, potentially reshaping the balance between worker protection and the flexibility associated with gig work.
