Aged care providers are facing the biggest shake-up to awards and pay since the 15% wage increase in 2023. From January 2025, further increases and reclassifications are being implemented under changes to key industrial awards. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman has signalled that it will be targeting aged care providers for compliance checks in 2025. This means that now is the time to check that you’re up to date with workers’ entitlements and classification changes — and that your systems are keeping pace. 

This article outlines the key changes to aged care awards in 2025 and what providers need to know to stay compliant. 

Additional wage increases from 1 January 2025 

From 1 January 2025, many aged care workers will receive further wage increases in addition to the 15% boost introduced in 2023. These new increases apply to workers under the Aged Care Award 2010 and the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award). 

The increases apply to a wide range of roles, including: 

• personal care workers 

• Assistants in Nursing 

• home care workers 

• recreational activities officers 

• administration staff 

• drivers 

• maintenance staff and gardeners 
• laundry hands, cleaners, and food services assistants. 
  

Some specific increases include: 

• A 3% increase for general and administrative employees under the Aged Care Award. 

• A 6.96% increase for Level 2 laundry, cleaning and food services staff, who are reclassified to Level 3. 

Two-stage rollout for some roles 

For some workers, the wage increases are being phased in across two stages: 

• Stage 1: from 1 January 2025. 

• Stage 2: from 1 October 2025. 

Providers should review the applicable awards to determine which roles are affected by this two-stage implementation and ensure payroll systems are updated accordingly. 

Award coverage changes for assistant nurses 

The 2025 changes also involve transitions in award coverage for some direct care roles. Depending on their work setting: 

• Assistant nurses and nursing assistants may move from the Nurses Award 2020 to either the Aged Care Award 2010 or to Schedule F of the SCHADS Award. 

The award a worker falls under depends on whether they work in residential aged care or in home care. These changes will impact minimum pay rates, allowances, and working conditions for many staff.  

Why this matters for providers 

These changes are more than administrative updates — they carry real legal and financial consequences. If your payroll systems or classification processes are out of date, you risk underpaying staff and facing enforcement action by the Fair Work Ombudsman. 

To avoid this, aged care providers should: 

• audit current employee classifications and pay rates 

• review the latest versions of the relevant awards 

• update payroll systems to reflect the staged wage increases 

• train HR and rostering staff on the award changes 

• document your compliance efforts as part of broader governance systems 

• consider engaging external payroll audits or legal review, especially if you have complex staffing structures. 

More information

For further details, refer to the following resources: 

• Better and Fairer Wages for Aged Care Workers – Department of Health and Aged Care 

• Aged Care Wages Guidance Document – Department of Health and Aged Care