Pay rise for aged-care nurses amid dire worker shortage

By Chelsea Heaney

Aged-care nurses are receiving another pay rise as the sector struggles with chronic workforce shortages.

The government has announced enrolled nurses in aged care will receive an extra $8000 in their annual income packets from August 1 – the final stage of a Fair Work Commission decision.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said on the government was proudly backing “the aged-care nurses who look after our loved ones”.

“This means that since we came to government in 2022, aged care nurses will have seen their pay increase by up to $36,000,” he said.

We’re delivering the pay that aged care nurses and carers need and deserve with a 15% rise in their award wage from today. pic.twitter.com/ijpliA6Lv0

Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said the government had backed aged-care nurses through five consecutive wage rises.

“Our record boost to wages is making it easier for aged-care homes to attract and retain nurses, ensuring older people can access higher-quality, more consistent care,” he said.

Internal departmental documents obtained by AAP in December under freedom of information laws revealed Australia would need an extra 35,000 aged-care workers this financial year as the population aged and more people required support.

AAP was told the aged care minister was not informed his department might have massively underestimated the sector’s worker shortage because the draft modelling was preliminary.

“That reporting referenced some internal draft outputs from a model and those internal draft outputs were not used in any fashion,” first assistant secretary Emily Harper told Senate estimates when asked about AAP’s report.

The document released to AAP was not identifiable as a draft.

The note stated that despite pay rises aimed at attracting new workers, almost 120,000 more staff – including nurses, nurse practitioners and personal care workers – would be needed by 2035/36 to support Australia’s aging population.

Mr Rae on Saturday backed the government’s latest funding move to retain and draw in more aged-care nurses.

“This latest pay rise builds on our work to get wages moving and strengthen the sector for years to come,” he said.

The government said the increase was the final wage rise for eligible nurses following the Fair Work Commission Aged Care Work Value Case and brought the total investment in aged-care wages to almost $18 billion.

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth said aged-care nurses deserved more than gratitude – they deserved “fair pay for the essential work they do”.

“The Fair Work Commission recognised the historical gender‑based undervaluation of work in aged care, leading to significant wage increases that our government funded,” she said.