What the work value case was
The Aged Care Work Value Case was a proceeding before the Fair Work Commission in which unions, employer associations, and the Commonwealth argued that the work performed by direct care workers in aged care had been undervalued in the industrial awards over many years. The Commission agreed and issued a series of determinations that progressively increased the minimum pay rates for direct care roles.
These determinations operate above and separate from the Annual Wage Review. The Annual Wage Review increases award minimums across all awards. The work value case increases are specific to aged care direct care roles and sit on top of the base award structure.
The key risk: Providers who set wages by looking at the base Aged Care Award MA000018 or SCHADS Award MA000100 minimums and have not applied the work value case determinations are likely underpaying direct care workers. The base award rates are not the operative floor for these roles.
How the increases were staged
The Commission issued increases in three stages to allow providers time to adjust:
Initial Fair Work Commission determination. Recognised that aged care work had been systematically undervalued. Applied an interim increase to direct care rates across both residential and home care settings.
Second determination further increased rates for direct care roles. Covered personal care workers, assistants in nursing, and equivalent home care roles.
Final stage of increases flowed through. The operative rates are now those set by the full sequence of work value case determinations, not the pre-2022 base award rates.
For the precise percentage increases at each stage and for each classification level, refer to the Fair Work Commission's published determinations in the Aged Care Work Value Case proceedings. fwc.gov.au
Who it applies to
The work value case increases apply to direct care roles in both home care and residential aged care. This includes:
- Personal care workers
- Assistants in nursing (AINs)
- Lifestyle coordinators and equivalent roles
- Home care workers delivering personal care and other direct support services
Not covered: Administrative, finance, and non-direct-care roles do not have work value case determinations. Those roles remain at the standard award minimum as adjusted by the Annual Wage Review. If your organisation has a mix of direct care and non-direct-care roles, payroll classification must distinguish between them.
Home care vs residential care
Both the SCHADS Award (which covers most home care workers) and the Aged Care Award (which covers residential aged care personal care workers) were subject to staged increases under the work value case for their respective direct care roles.
This means the work value case applies regardless of which sector your organisation operates in. Home care providers under SCHADS, residential providers under the Aged Care Award, and dual-sector providers under both are all affected.
For guidance on which award applies to which setting, see the worker classification guide and the SCHADS pay rates reference.
What to check
Verify your payroll rates are based on the work value case determinations
The base Aged Care Award (MA000018) and SCHADS Award (MA000100) rates as they stood before the work value case are not the operative rates for direct care roles. The determinations set higher minimums. If your payroll system was not updated after each stage, there is underpayment risk.
Review any enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements must not sit below the applicable minimum set by the work value case determinations. If your EBA was negotiated before the case concluded, it may need to be reviewed to confirm it meets the new floor.
Check which roles are covered
The work value case increases apply to direct care roles: personal care workers, assistants in nursing, and equivalent home care roles. Administrative and non-direct-care roles remain at the standard award minimum. Ensure your payroll classification distinguishes between direct care and support roles.
Update your rostering software pay rate references
If your rostering or payroll system holds a reference rate for each classification level, those reference rates need to reflect the work value case determinations, not just the base award. After each determination, update the data.
If you are unsure whether your rates comply: Check the Fair Work Commission's published determinations for the Aged Care Work Value Case directly, or seek advice from an employment law specialist. Self-identified underpayment remediated proactively is treated differently by the Fair Work Ombudsman than underpayment discovered through investigation.