The Australian Government is investing a further $2.6 billion to deliver another pay rise for 60,000 aged care nurses across Australia.
This brings the government’s total investment in support of award wage increases for aged care workers to $17.7 billion.
This funding will support aged care providers to meet the Fair Work Commission’s Aged Care Work Value Case decision to increase award wages for registered and enrolled nurses caring for older people in Australia.
Registered and enrolled nurses will see their award wage increase by an average of around 12% as a result of this decision. These increases will be provided across three largely equal instalments on 1 March 2025, 1 October 2025 and 1 August 2026.
The Albanese Labor Government is delivering pay rises for workers to ensure the aged care sector delivers a higher standard of care for older Australians.
It is already having a positive impact on retention and recruitment in the sector and relieving cost of living pressures for these workers.
Since 2022, a registered nurse who was on level 2, pay point 3 will have seen their award-wage rate increase by around $430 per week, an increase of more than $22,000 a year.
An enrolled nurse who was on pay point 2 will have seen their award wage increase by around $370 per week, an increase of more than $19,000 a year.
More information is available at the Department of Health and Aged Care website: Better and fairer wages for aged care workers.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Aged Care and Sport, Anika Wells:
“Aged care nurses are experts in their field and they deserve to be rewarded for the crucial role they play in delivering safe and quality care to older people in Australia.
“Under a decade of Coalition governments, aged care workers, who are predominantly women, were systemically underpaid and undervalued. That ended with the Albanese Labor Government.
“Under the Albanese Labor Government, registered nurses working in aged care on the award wage are $430 a week better off, and enrolled nurses are $370 a week better off.
“Our government has delivered better award wages to recognise the value of all aged care workers to lift the standard of aged care in Australia."
Quotes attributable for the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Murray Watt
“Increasing the award wages for aged care nurses is part of the government’s mandate to rebuild our aged care workforce and close the gender pay gap.
“We are focused on making sure aged care nurses are paid fairly and are valued for their important work.
“This is another example of the Albanese Government’s actions to get wages moving again, which have seen Australians’ wages rising above inflation for five quarters in a row.
“In contrast, Peter Dutton and the Coalition never once supported pay rises for aged care workers and voted against every step Labor has taken to lift wages.”