Your wages, workplace rights, entitlements and safety are a priority for the SDA every single year, and in 2025 we achieved significant protections and improvements to your working life.
This year we pushed back against the big business attacks on your workplace conditions, advocated for a genuine living wage increase for workers, supported meaningful research to benefit our advocacy for retail, warehouse and fast food members, negotiated better conditions in your Agreements and campaigned for positive change in workplaces across Australia.
A pay rise for millions of workers
Since 1 July, millions of Australian workers have received a 3.5% pay rise following the Annual Wage Review decision. This wage increase was the result of union efforts – alongside the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the SDA filed a submission to the Fair Work Commission, advocating for better pay and a genuine living wage increase. This year’s pay rise was above inflation and gave Australian workers like you a much-needed boost to your take home pay.
New Agreements securing improved conditions
In 2025, new SDA-negotiated Agreements have secured better pay and conditions at:
- Wattyl
- Freedom Furniture
- Luxottica
- Endeavour Group (BWS & Dan Murphy’s)
- Jaycar
- Tasty Trucks
- Primary Connect BRDC
The SDA continues to negotiate with employers nationwide to lock in above-award entitlements and wages at work.
Research to help deliver better rights & safer work
In 2025, several important studies were published, either by the SDA Union or with its help. Workers in Transition – Automating Retail by Monash University explored the issues of technological change in the retail sector and how it impacts workers.
The McKell Institute Report Achieving the Productivity Promise investigated the mismatch between productivity growth in the Australian retail sector and workers’ living standards. Retail productivity gains have outstripped wages by 27% since 2007. The research confirms the SDA’s argument that productivity gains should benefit your prosperity, not just the businesses, and it proposed solutions to address the problem.
The UNSW Report Next steps for managing psychosocial risks in retail discussed the measures employers should take to protect workers from hazards like high workloads, low job control, role conflict, poor supervision and support, and violence and abuse.
The SDA Union commissioned “Under Pressure: The Hidden Cost of Retail” which discussed psychosocial hazards and unveiled issues with understaffing, excessive workloads, customer abuse, and unsafe work conditions in retail.
Campaigning for real change
In August, the SDA Union launched the new Under Pressure campaign in response to alarming psychosocial hazards facing Australian retail workers. “The campaign was supported by the Under Pressure: the Hidden Cost of Retail” report. To tackle the risks, we have proposed a 5-point plan calling for safe staffing levels, sustainable workloads, support for frontline workers, consultation on workplace change and collaborative work design.
The Adult Age = Adult Wage campaign was another highlight of 2025 – the SDA ran a big advertising campaign on social media, catch-up TV, radio and university campuses to raise awareness about the unfair junior rates for workers aged 18 and over. Opposed by the employer lobby groups, our case in the Fair Work Commission seeks to abolish these discriminatory rates. Hearings commenced on 27 October.
Likewise, our Retail Workplace Rights Under Attack campaign has defended retail workers’ interests from big business lobby groups. When the Australian Retailers Association had filed an application to change the Retail Award to the detriment of workers, we opposed their unfair proposal in the Commission. We also invited SDA Union members as witnesses to speak up against employers’ attack on your rest & meal breaks and other hard-won entitlements.
Throughout the year, the SDA Union has continued to build on our No One Deserves a Serve campaign, calling out customer abuse and violence, and advocating for respect towards retail workers. In September, we launched another survey to better understand the problems faced by the SDA members in 2025.
These achievements are only a glimpse of what the SDA has delivered this year. Across Queensland, SDA Organisers, Industrial Officers, Information Officers, Shop Stewards and Delegates have been there for members, helping with unfair dismissals, securing back pay, and resolving rostering issues.
Your SDA team is here for you every day, and we’ll keep standing up for you in 2026.