Australia has established a legal income floor for platform-based delivery riders. Under new rules approved by the Fair Work Commission, effective from August 17, minimum pay rates for on-demand food, drink, and grocery delivery workers will be set based on the type of vehicle used.

Riders using bicycles, e-bikes, or e-scooters will earn a minimum of $31.30 AUD per hour (approximately 149 RMB). Those using fuel-powered motorcycles will receive $31.50 AUD (about 150 RMB), while car delivery drivers will be paid $32.00 AUD (roughly 152 RMB). These rates are scheduled to increase by an additional $0.50 AUD (about 2.38 RMB) from January 2027. An estimated 250,000 people are expected to be affected by this change.

At $31.30 AUD, how does this compare to other wages in Australia? On the surface, it represents income significantly above the national minimum wage. Australia's federal minimum wage is currently $26.44 AUD per hour (about 126 RMB), meaning the new rider rate is 18% to 21% higher. If a rider completes 38 hours of "effective delivery time" per week, their annual income could reach approximately $62,000 to $63,000 AUD (roughly 295,000 to 300,000 RMB).

However, this is not considered a high salary. Ordinary casual employees in Australia receive a 25% casual loading on top of the national minimum wage, bringing their effective hourly pay to about $33.05 AUD, which is still higher than the new rider rate. Furthermore, riders must cover their own costs for vehicle purchase, fuel, maintenance, registration, and third-party insurance, and they do not automatically receive paid leave entitlements like employees.

It is crucial to understand that the $31.30 AUD rate is not paid for every hour a rider is logged into the app. Instead, it only applies to "active engagement time," which is the period from accepting an order to completing its delivery. This includes time spent traveling to the merchant and waiting for the food, but it excludes time spent logged into the platform while waiting for an order. For example, if a rider is online for 10 hours but only completes deliveries for 7 hours, their earnings would be between $219 and $224 AUD (about 1,043 to 1,067 RMB). Spread across the entire 10-hour online period, this equates to roughly $22 AUD per hour, before deducting vehicle costs. Therefore, this new rate is more accurately described as a "guaranteed minimum for active work time," which is higher than the minimum wage, rather than a true minimum hourly wage for all time spent.

The truly groundbreaking aspect of the new rules is not just the pay amount, but how Australia has circumvented the most difficult issue in platform labor regulation: the classification of workers. Riders will remain independent contractors; they are not required to be "reclassified" as employees. However, the law now recognizes them as "employee-like workers," granting the Fair Work Commission the authority to directly set standards for their minimum pay, insurance, information disclosure, and dispute resolution. Previously, platforms often used the "not an employee" argument to deny all forms of labor protection. Australia's new approach is to allow flexible work arrangements while ensuring they do not come without any basic protections.

The pay rules also provide flexibility for the platforms. They can continue to pay per delivery or offer peak-hour bonuses. However, over a maximum settlement cycle of 21 days, a rider's total earnings cannot fall below the "active engagement time multiplied by the legal minimum rate." Any shortfall must be paid by the platform. This effectively adds a safety net to the complex algorithmic pricing without dismantling the platforms' existing pay systems.

Additionally, platforms must provide personal accident insurance at their own cost. When dispatching an order, they must disclose the pickup location, the approximate delivery area, the minimum pay for the task, and the estimated time required. Records of income, active engagement time, and deductions must be kept for seven years, and riders have the right to access this data. If a platform makes changes that could significantly reduce a rider's opportunity to receive orders, it must notify the workers and solicit their feedback.

Of course, this system still has clear gaps: time spent waiting for orders is not paid, vehicle costs are primarily borne by the rider, and the platform-provided accident insurance is not equivalent to traditional workers' compensation. The rules only require "reasonable minimum protection" without specifying a uniform coverage amount. However, the value of this new framework lies in creating a middle path. It does not force platforms to abandon flexible labor models, but it no longer allows them to use "independent contracting" to evade all responsibility. Australia is essentially telling platforms that flexibility can be preserved, but workers' income baselines, occupational risks, and right to be informed can no longer be determined solely by algorithms.