Home care nurses receive further funding for wage increase
The government has confirmed more funding for the aged care nurse wage increase, bringing the total investment to $17.7 billion.
The Albanese Government has announced it is investing another $2.6 billion to fund the second pay rise for 60,000 aged care nurses across Australia.
This will bring the government’s total investment in support of award wage increases for aged care workers from $15.1 billion to $17.7 billion and will see an increase of around 12 per cent for registered nurses and enrolled nurses in aged care.
The value and timing of the three-stage wage boost is the result of the work value cases for nurses and midwives (ongoing) and aged care (concluded) with final details decided by the Fair Work Commission decision on 6 December. The matched funding will be provided across even instalments on 1 March 2025, 1 October 2025 and 1 August 2026.
Since 2022, an RN on level 2, pay point 3 will see their award-wage rate increase by around $430 per week, an extra $22,000 a year by August 2026, while an EN on pay point 2 will see their award wage increase by around $370 per week, an additional $19,000 a year.
“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,” said Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells.
“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.
“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,” she said.
COTA Australia – the leading advocacy organisation for older people – said the funding is an important step in the ongoing push to improve Australia’s aged care system and chief executive officer Patricia Sparrow said it will play a significant role in attracting and retaining necessary workers.
“Our aged care workers have been taken for granted for far too long. To build a sustainable workforce, we must ensure they are compensated fairly for the essential care they provide,” Ms Sparrow said.
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.
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