Wages for Aged Care Workers to Rise 28 Percent After Ruling

An elderly man in Brisbane, Australia on April 27, 2016. AAP Image/Glenn Hunt

Hundreds of thousands of aged care workers across Australia will receive a pay rise of up to nearly 30 percent.

On March 15, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) issued a ruling on a 2020 application by the Health Services Union (HSU) to lift the wages of workers across the board by an average of 25 percent.

According to the ruling (pdf), the FWC found that the work of aged-care employees had historically been undervalued because of gender bias, and that there were “work value reasons” for the minimum wage of direct care employees to be increased by more than 15 percent.

As such, the Commission decided to raise the pay rates of personal carers by 18 to 28.5 percent (depending on workers’ qualifications) and those of nursing support workers by 18 to 24.5 percent.

In addition, home care workers who work in the aged-care sector under the SCHADS (Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services) Award will receive a boost of between 15 and 26 percent.

The ruling will be finalised after the FWC receives submissions from interested parties, with the phasing-in schedule still to be decided.

Response from Different Parties

Following the announcement, Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler, Employment Minister Tony Burke, and Aged Care and Sports Minister Anika Wells jointly issued a statement welcoming the FWC ruling.

“We are closely examining the content of this decision, which is lengthy and highly detailed,” the statement read.

“We have committed to provide funding to support increases to award wages made by the Fair Work Commission in this matter and that will help deliver a higher standard of care for older Australians.”

Prior to the latest FWC’s decision, the federal government already supported a 15 percent pay increase for aged care workers as proposed by the Commission in November 2022.

HSU national president Gerard Hayes praised the FWC’s ruling, calling it a historic improvement for aged-care employees.

“Dignity comes to aged care. Older people will not be treated as commodities,” he said.

“This decision will go a long way to ensure that people can age with dignity and people can care for people without going into poverty.”

Meanwhile, Catholic Health Australia, a major aged-care employer, urged the government to provide enough funding for the pay rises.

“We strongly support the claim to raise the wages of dedicated, compassionate and hardworking staff, especially as cost of living pressures mount,” director Laura Haylen said.

“The federal government must deliver on its commitment to fully fund these wage rises as soon as possible, including any leave entitlements.

“We believe that we can work together to ensure staff are paid as quickly as possible without diverting existing funds from quality care and support.”