Elias Bitar/GettyFrom next Monday, August 17, thousands of food delivery workers across Australia will benefit from new workplace protections – including new minimum hourly rates of pay.That’s because on Tuesday, a new minimum standards order was handed down by an expert panel of the Fair Work Commission. The order covers “employee-like” workers at digital on-demand delivery platforms.This is the first order of its kind, and as such it sets a benchmark for separate applications currently underway covering rideshare and parcel delivery workers. It is the result of almost two years of negotiations between the Transport Workers’ Union and two major platforms, Uber Eats and DoorDash, through proceedings at the Fair Work Commission. While these groups ultimately managed to reach a consensus about the new protections, the reforms weren’t always warmly welcomed.So, what’s actually changing for on-demand delivery workers? And what could it mean for the price of food deliveries?New minimum standardsThe major change for food delivery workers is that the “interim” minimum standard order will create a new “earnings floor”. This won’t work in quite the same way as a minimum wage for employees.Workers will be entitled to a minimum hourly rate for their “engaged time”: the period between accepting a delivery and completing it.These minimum rates differ slightly across different types of delivery vehicle.For pedal-powered bicycles or e-bikes, the rate is $31.30 an hour. For motorcycles it’s $31.80 an hour. For cars, $32 an hour.Platforms will have to calculate a worker’s total earnings over a 21-day period. If a worker has been paid on average less than the earnings floor for their engaged time, the platform will have to top up their earnings to meet it.This system does not compensate workers for time spent waiting for a job. But it does include the time spent waiting for an order at a restaurant, if they have already accepted it.Clearer rulesThe minimum standards order has also clarified the rules on insurance cover. Delivery workers are required to take out their own compulsory third-party insurance on their vehicles, at their own expense.But platforms must now cover the cost of offering all workers a “reasonable minimum level” of personal accident cover. Other changes include:granting workers access to a feedback forum to raise questions or concerns about platform operations that impact their delivery worka clearer procedure for resolving disputesa right to (unpaid) time away.A long roadFood delivery apps first launched in Australia in the mid-2010s. Many once-prominent platforms – such as Deliveroo and Menulog – have exited, and the market is now dominated by Uber Eats and DoorDash.While popular among consumers, there have been significant criticisms of food delivery gig work. Workers have often earned both extremely low and variable income, faced safety risks, and had limited opportunity to resolve workplace problems.According to the Transport Workers’ Union, there have been at least 23 fatalities among gig workers since 2017.Closing some loopholesFor a long time, on-demand workers didn’t receive any of the workplace protections granted to employees, because platforms such as Uber and DoorDash engaged them as independent contractors.In 2024, the Albanese government, backed by the Greens and some independents, legislated to provide some (not all) gig workers with limited protections, as part of its Closing Loopholes reforms.This included giving the Fair Work Commission new powers to regulate gig work by making legally enforceable minimum standards orders.As Tony Burke, then minister for employment and workplace relations, explained at the time:If you are an employee, you have a whole series of rights. If you’re not an employee, all of those rights – all of them – fall off a cliff. What we want to do is turn that cliff into a ramp.What does it mean for food delivery prices?In 2023, before they became law, platforms and business groups pushed back on these reforms.Uber claimed they would lead to “catastrophic” job losses.Uber also said they could increase the average cost of meal delivery by up to 85%. DoorDash went further, claiming average prices could more than triple.The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry claimed the government was taking the country backwards by decades. And based on a “back-of-the-envelope calculation”, the Centre for Independent Studies predicted consumer spending on the gig economy would shrink by A$630 million.However, with the benefit of hindsight, many of these past claims look unlikely to come true.Why? Because over the past two years, we’ve seen a collaborative process between the Transport Workers’ Union, and the two biggest platforms, Uber Eats and DoorDash. The new minimum standards order is the result of consensus.Will delivery prices rise to cover better pay and standards? Almost certainly, though we’re yet to hear by how much.However, given how actively involved both companies were in striking this deal, it would be surprising if we now saw them double or triple their prices, as they once claimed they might have to.What does it mean for other workers?For now, the minimum standards coming into effect from Monday are only applicable to those involved “on demand” food delivery, which includes supermarket grocery deliveries.There are, however, applications already underway for “last mile” parcel delivery workers and rideshare drivers.This change will give a vulnerable group of workers more rights. We’ll have to wait and see whether consumers are willing to pay more. But, from Monday, maybe that next food delivery order can come with a side of a little less guilt.Alex Veen received funding from the Australian Research Council through a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) for the project Algorithmic Management and the Future of Work: Lessons from the Gig Economy, 2021-2025. He was also a member of a research team that received a University of Sydney Business School Industry Partnership Grant, for which Uber Technologies was a partner organisation and made a minority financial contribution (2020-2022).Caleb Goods has received funding from a University of Sydney Business School Industry Partnership Grant, for which Uber Technologies was a partner organisation and made a minority financial contribution (2020-2022).Tom Barratt received funding from the Australian Research Council through a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) for the project Work fragmentation in the gig economy (2023-2026). He was also a member of a research team that received a University of Sydney Business School Industry Partnership Grant, for which Uber Technologies was a partner organisation and made a minority financial contribution (2020-2022). He submitted an expert witness statement for the on demand delivery application (MS2024/3) which was presented to the Fair Work Commission by the Transport Workers Union, he was not paid for this work.