11.3 billion aged care funding

The federal Labor government has funded a 15 per cent pay increase for aged care workers. Wages in the underpaid and undervalued sector will now be brought in line with the Public Health Service and private hospitals.

Years of tireless campaigning by the NSWNMA and other unions has paid off, with the federal government allocating $11.3 billion for a record 15 per cent pay increase for aged care workers.

The government says the $11.3 billion will be paid to aged care providers to cover a 15 per cent increase to award rates over four years starting from 1 July 2023.

More than 250,000 workers will benefit, the government says.

The increase goes to registered nurses (RNs), enrolled nurses (ENs), assistants in nursing (AiNs), personal care workers (PCWs), head chefs, cooks, recreational activities officers, and home care workers.

An RN on a level 2.3 award wage will get an additional $196.08 a week – more than $10,000 a year.

An AiN on a level 3 award wage will receive an additional $136.68 a week – more than $7100 a year.

The Fair Work Commission ordered a 15 per cent increase to award rates of pay.

Pay rise is for those on EAs too

The government allocated $11.3 billion so that providers can pay this increase to workers on minimum award rates as well as those on enterprise agreements (EAs) who get above-award rates of pay.

Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, said, “There are plenty of providers out there who have already pledged to pass on the full amount to workers, whether they are on the award or above on the EA. And I absolutely welcome that.”

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said the union is pushing the government to introduce stronger accountability measures to ensure providers pass on the funding in full via an increase to both award and EA rates of pay.

“We are excited that the government is investing in the aged care workforce in a really meaningful way,” she said during an online briefing to aged care members.

“However, we need better mechanisms to make sure the money flows through to workers.

“We campaigned very strongly on transparency and accountability in the lead-up to the last federal election because we know providers don’t always pass on additional funding.

“We will be lobbying really heavily for the government to implement much stronger accountability measures so that taxpayer dollars are flowing to the places that they’re supposed to go – and that is into workers’ pockets.”

NSWNMA will fight for the full increase

Shaye said the NSWNMA will create a tool to show members what rate of pay they should receive after the 15 per cent increase.

“We encourage all aged care workers to join the NSWNMA so that we can help you to achieve that.”

Shaye said the pay increase is the result of “many years of lobbying and campaigning from unions like ours”.

“Many of our members have been campaigning for a long time – talking about the issues, talking about the work they do, and explaining to the community how important it is that we pay aged care workers what they deserve,” she said.

These efforts helped bring about the aged care royal commission and Fair Work Commission work value case that ‘recognised the historical undervaluing of nurses and assistants in nursing in the aged care sector.”

They also pushed the federal Labor government to commit to landmark reforms for residential aged care, such as mandatory minimum hours of care, requiring RNs to be employed 24/7, and better nutrition standards.

‘We will publish wage rates’  — Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells

Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, was asked at a press conference how the government would ensure that providers passed the pay increase on to all aged care workers – including those on EAs with above-award pay rates.

Ms Wells said the government was working with providers and unions to create a schedule “so that any aged care worker in this country will be able to look up what they should be getting by way of pay rise and to make sure they do get it in discussion with their employer and with their union.”

“As of 1 January next year, we will also be publishing what providers are paying their workers and they will have to attest to us in quarterly financial reports that they have passed on that full rate.”