The start of the new financial year has marked the latest in a series of wage increases for aged care workers, as minimum modern award rates rise by 4.75 per cent.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down its annual wage review earlier this month, determining that award-reliant aged care workers
Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae said in a press conference on Tuesday that the pay increase will roughly equate an extra three to four thousand dollars a year.
“That’s on top of the nearly $28,000 of wage rises that your average aged care registered nurse has received since we came to office,” he said.
“If we want older Australians to receive the very best care, they need to receive it from the very best people. We’ve got to value those people, and we’ve got to pay them properly.”
The National Minimum Wage that applies to Australian workers not covered by an award or enterprise agreement will also increase by 4.75 per cent from July 1. This means employees will earn $26.44 per hour or $1,004.90 per week for a 38-hour work week, before tax.
Health Services Union (HSU) national secretary Lloyd Williams said the decision to boost the pay of critical frontline award-reliant workers will make “a real difference”.
“Women working in low-paid and part-time jobs make up the majority of those members,” he said.
“Surging inflation has been especially felt by health, aged care and disability workers who don’t have the option to work from home and cut down on fuel costs.
“The Commission has made an important step forward in making a decision that means award-reliant workers are not worse off in real terms than they were a year ago.”
Pay day super
Also significant is the introduction of pay day super. From July 1, all Australian employers will be required to pay their employees’ superannuation at the same time as their wages, rather than quarterly.
The change aims to reduce unpaid and late super and help employees build their retirement savings sooner. The concessional contributions cap to superannuation will also increase from $30,000 to $32,500 as a result of indexation in line with average weekly earnings.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said workers have missed out on their super entitlements for “too long”.
“This payday super change will mean thousands of extra dollars at retirement for workers. It will be particularly good for younger workers, more vulnerable workers and lower-paid workers to make sure that they get that super that they’ve worked so hard for,” he said.
Parental leave
Paid parental leave will increase from 120 days to 130 days (24 to 26 weeks), under the government-funded scheme. The change will only apply to children born or adopted from July 1, and the number of days reserved for partners will also increase from 15 to 20 days.
The Parenthood chief Georgie Dent, while welcoming the increase, wants to see Australia delivering 52 weeks of paid parental leave at a replacement wage rate.
“Paid parental leave gives parents time to care for their babies, recover from birth, establish feeding and adjust to life as a family without being forced straight back to work by financial pressure,” she said.
“The increase to 26 weeks is real progress. But it does not mean Australia has reached the recommended minimum of six months’ paid leave for mothers. The scheme is shared between parents, with four weeks reserved for the Dad and partner paid parental leave, and it is still paid at the minimum wage.
“Twenty-six weeks is an important foundation. Now we need the ambition to finish the job.”
Email: rebecca.cox@news.com.au
