Australia invests $2.6b to raise aged care worker pay by 2025

The pay increases will take effect from 1 January 2025.

The Australian government has announced a $2.6b (A$3.8b) investment over four years to fund pay rises for workers in the aged care sector.

This latest investment follows the government's prior commitment of $7.7b (A$11.3b) in 2023, which supported a 15% award wage increase previously mandated by the Fair Work Commission.

The pay increases will be implemented from 1 January 2025, with subsequent increases for some workers commencing in October of the same year.

In line with this, the government will raise this year’s Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) price to $191.1 (A$280.01) from 1 October, representing a 13% increase in average daily funding.

Further adjustments to the AN-ACC funding categories will align financial support with operational costs, particularly benefiting regional and rural aged care services that face higher expenses than their metropolitan counterparts.

A$1 = $0.68