Health Professional and Support Services Award

What is the health professional and support services award?

The health professional and support services award is a set of rules that outline the minimum employment conditions for workers in the health industry in Australia.

The health professional and support services award covers different job roles such as medical receptionists, cleaners, and dental assistants, 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 Health Professional and Support Services Award?

The health professional and support services award covers employers and employees working in the health industry across Australia.

Examples of health professionals and support services include the delivery of:

• health care;
• medical services; and
• dental services.

The health professional and support services award also covers:

• on-hire employees – who are employees that are supplied to the employer’s client to work under them; and
• employers who provide group training services for apprentices and trainees engaged in the children’s services industry.

To determine whether your staff fall under the Health Professional and Support Services Award, it’s recommended to visit the Fair Work website.

Health Professional and Support Services Award rates

Workstem has developed a comprehensive guide to help compliance with the health professional and support services award

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 Health Professional and Support Services Award.

Full-time and part-time employees

• Ordinary hours and penalty rates

	Support services employees	Health professional employees
	% of minimum hourly rate
Ordinary hours	100%	100%
Between midnight Friday and midnight Sunday	150%	150%
Public holiday	250%	250%
Shiftwork	115%	115%

*Shiftwork means any shift where ordinary hours commence between 6.00 pm and 6.00 am or finish between 6.00 pm and 8.00 am.

• Overtime rates

	Support services employees	Health professional employees
	% of minimum hourly rate
Monday to Saturday First 2 hours	150%	150%
Monday to Saturday After 2 hours	200%	200%
Sunday	200%	200%
Public holiday	250%	250%

Casual employees

• Ordinary hours and penalty rates

	Support services employees	Health professional employees
	% of minimum hourly rate
Ordinary hours	125%	125%
Saturday or Sunday	175%	175%
Public holiday	275%	275%
Shiftwork	140%	140%

• Overtime rates

	% of minimum hourly rate
Monday to Saturday First 2 hours	187.5%
Monday to Saturday After 2 hours	250%
Sunday	250%
Public holiday	312.5%

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 Health Professional and Support Services Award 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 Health Professional and Support Services 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 health industry industry, but a particular employee is not covered by the Health Professional and Support Services Award, then either the FWC’s national minimum wage or the state minimum wage applies.

Read more: Health Professional and Support Services Award Guide [MA000027]