The NSWNMA has launched Federal Court action against for-profit aged care provider, Opal Healthcare, for breaching an enterprise agreement by failing to meet care minute targets and misreporting care minutes.

The Union is seeking civil penalties for serious breaches of clause 58 of the Opal Healthcare (NSW) Enterprise Agreement 2023.

The NSWNMA says that despite misclassifying laundry and kitchen tasks to try and reach its mandated minutes, Opal failed to meet its mandatory 215 minutes of direct care per resident per day across more than 50 NSW facilities between November 2024 and March 2026.

NSWNMA General Secretary Michael Whaites said, “We have been raising concerns with Opal on behalf of our members for an extended period to no avail, which is why we’ve now filed in the federal court.”

The NSWNMA took the issue to the Fair Work Commission in June last year, after members found that non-direct care duties were being misreported to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing as direct care. Despite an updated Care Minutes Responsibility Guide being released by the department, which clarified that tasks such as kitchen, laundry and lifestyle duties must not be counted as direct care, the NSWNMA believes Opal has done little to rectify the issue, which reduces staffing and the levels of care given to residents.

“We need all aged care providers to be adhering to legislative reforms… and those who are non-compliant to be held to account.” – Michael Whaites