Victorian Nursing Staff to Receive 28.4 Percent Pay Increase

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan (centre) speaks to media during a visit to Frankston Hospital in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 3, 2024. (Diego Fedele-Pool/Getty Images)

Victorian nurses and midwives will receive a wage increase of 28.4 percent by November 2027 as part of a new deal struck between their union and the Allan Labor government.

The change was announced after Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) members took industrial action for 51 days since May 7, including shutting down one in four hospital beds, to call for better pay and conditions.

The pay rise comes while the Victorian government grapples with its spiralling debt, set to reach a record $187.8 billion by 2027-28.

Servicing that debt could force the government to take tougher action on spending including budget cuts to health, which the opposition has warned will have a “devastating impact” on hospitals already struggling.

Following pressure from union members, the Allan government announced a four-year agreement which would deliver a wage increase of 28.4 percent by 2027 for all nurses despite their classifications, saying it would contribute to “a better health system.”

For example, a graduate nurse’s hourly base rate is $34.17 (US$22.76). By 2027, the figure will be $43.88 (US$29.23).

Meanwhile, a clinical nurse specialist’s hourly base rate will improve from $50.23, to $64.49 by 2027.

Other Benefits for Nurses

The deal, which was voted on June 26 by the ANMF, introduced more than 17 changes to allowances, penalties, and terms and conditions.

Some of the changes include raising night shift penalties and increasing qualification allowances by 92 percent for permanent nurses and midwives.

It also seeks to incentivise permanent work through a new change of ward allowance to compensate nurses and midwives when they are moved from their base ward.

This is supposed to prevent employers from “using redeployment and casual workers as a business-as-casual rostering practice,” the government said.

The agreement will also support a “right to disconnect,” allowing workers to ignore calls and messages from employers outside working hours.

However, at the federal level, the right to disconnect has faced pushback from business groups, who argue it would be “a further handbrake to productivity,” and add more complexity to business operations.

Meanwhile, the Victorian government’s new deal will also reduce the qualifying period for parental leave from six months to zero, and give nurses and midwives improved access to flexible working arrangements.

Additionally, interstate public sector nurses and midwives relocating to Victoria will be recognised for personal leave and long service leave.

The previous offer, which was rejected by the union, included a 12.55 percent wage increase, cash bonuses, and an “additional gender equity uplift of between 5.5 and 13.3 percent.”

Union Hails New Deal

ANMF Secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said the new pay rise and improved allowances are designed to “retain early career and experienced nurses and midwives, recruit and nurses and midwives and start to rebuild our health system.”

“We’ve secured a significant gender equity wage increase for a nursing and midwifery workforce that is 89 per cent female,” she said in a statement on June 26.

“There is still much work to do to acknowledge nurses and midwives work through the pandemic and address current workforce and staffing pressures so that nurses and midwives can start to love their work again.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said nurses and midwives deserve better pay and improved conditions.

“It’s a win for all Victorians because better-paid nurses and midwives mean a better health system,” she noted.

Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas described the pay rise as “once-in-a-generation,” saying it would help “strengthen and grow our existing and future workforce.”

The change came against a backdrop of Victoria’s crippling healthcare system, with several hospitals enacting hiring freezes, cutting back on elective surgery, and delaying new construction.