What is the Aged Care Award?
The Aged Care Industry Award is a set of rules that outline the minimum employment conditions for workers in the Aged Care industry in Australia.
The Aged Care award covers different job roles such as personal care workers, cleaners, and laundry hands, and ensures that employees are treated fairly and in accordance with Fair Work regulations.
It includes details on minimum wages, working hours, and leave entitlements for both employers and employees.
Who is entitled to the Aged Care Award?
The Aged Care Award covers employers in the aged care industry and their employees who fit within the classifications of the award.
The aged care industry means providing accommodation and care services for aged persons in:
- hostels
- nursing homes
- aged care independent living units
- aged care services apartments
- garden settlements
- retirement villages
- any other residential accommodation facility.
Examples of employees covered by the Aged Care Award include:
- personal care workers
- cleaners
- laundry hands
- drivers
- food services employees including cooks
- receptionists and administrative staff
- grounds maintenance employees including gardeners and handymen
- activity coordinators (unqualified)
- interpreters.
To determine whether your staff fall under the Aged Care Award, it’s recommended to visit the Fair Work website.
Aged Care pay rates
Workstem has developed a comprehensive guide to help compliance with the Aged Care Industry Award Rates.
If you’re uncertain about the applicable classifications, this guide can help you understand how to comply with Fair Work legislation, classify your employees correctly, and pay penalties and allowances in accordance with the Aged Care Award.
Overtime Rates
The table below outlines the penalty rates that employees are paid for all work done in addition to their rostered ordinary hours on different days:
| Full-time and part-time employees
(% of ordinary hourly rate) |
Casual employees
% of the ordinary hourly rate (inclusive of casual loading) |
|
|
Monday to Friday(first 2 hours) |
150% | 187.5% |
|
Monday to Friday(after 2 hours) |
200% |
250% |
| Saturday or Sunday | 200% |
250% |
| Public Holidays | 250% |
312.5% |
Shiftwork Penalty Rates
The table below outlines the penalty rates for shiftworkers:
|
Shift |
Penalty rate % of the ordinary hourly rate |
|
Afternoon |
110% |
|
Afternoon |
112.5% |
| Night starting between 4.00 pm and 4.00 am |
115% |
| Night starting between 4.00 am and 6.00 am |
110% |
How to make payroll efficient with Workstem?
Simplify your payroll processes with Workstem’s all-in-one platform, handling onboarding, time and attendance, award interpretation, payroll, STP 2, superannuation and more.
Customise attendance entitlements, auto-track attendance data, streamline the payment process and keep compliance with Fair Work award through our AI Engine. Workstem provides a complete solution for efficient payroll management and regulatory compliance.
FAQs
Q:Do Aged Care employers be required to pay Award minimum wage?
A: Yes, the Award minimum wage is the minimum legal requirement that an employee must be paid if they are covered through the Aged Care Award. Employers are legally bound to comply with this.
Q:How do employers pay employees not covered under an Award?
A: If a business owner is in the Aged Care industry, but a particular employee is not covered by the Aged Care Award, then either the FWC’s national minimum wage or the state minimum wage applies.
Read more: Aged Care Award Guide [MA000018]