Through years of speaking out, taking action, sustained political pressure and organising, our members in 2024 built on their previous wins to deliver a historic wage increases up to 28.5% for aged care workers, transforming pay rates and recognition for hundreds of thousands of essential care workers who care for Australias elderly.
Union members’ industrial action and grassroots organising drove a landmark victory in March 2024, when the Fair Work Commission awarded aged care workers an historic 28.5% wage increase. The path to victory was paved by thousands of aged care workers taking collective action, including the sector’s first-ever national strikes.
The campaign saw members build power through escalating actions. In February 2023, aged care workers presented their stories directly to the Fair Work Commission in capital cities across Australia, demonstrating the urgent need for fair pay. Workers shared powerful testimonies about working double and triple shifts, facing dire conditions with personal protective equipment, and struggling with severe understaffing that left some of Australian most vulnerable waiting too long for essential care.
Our members pressure helped secure a breakthrough 15% interim increase in early 2023, backed by $11.3 billion in federal funding. But our members knew this wasn’t enough. In May 2022, workers from Perth to the Torres Strait took historic strike action across five major providers and over 120 facilities, caring for almost 10,000 residents. These actions – the first national aged care strikes in Australian history – demonstrated workers’ determination to win genuine change.
The sustained campaign of action, including strikes, rallies, and public testimonies, ultimately compelled the Commission to award additional increases in March 2024, bringing the total to up to 28.5% for many workers. A Cert III personal care worker’s wage rose from $24.76 per hour in June 2023 to $32.21 per hour – a transformative change won through collective struggle.
Our members continue fighting and advocating for change, particularly for support workers in catering, cleaning and laundry who received only a 7% increase.
“The 15 percent pay rise is a step in the right direction, but our work has not been properly valued for years… Domestic workers, cooks, cleaners and lifestyle have not been included. We can’t run without them. They need to be included in this pay rise.” – Mandy, Aged Care Member