Estia Health Pay Rates 2026: Carer, Nurse & Support Staff Pay
What Estia Health workers should be paid in 2026 — the Aged Care Award floor by classification, casual loading, penalties, and where the Estia Health enterprise agreements sit.
Senior Workplace Relations Writer · GradDip Employment Relations, Griffith University
Who covers Estia Health workers — award or agreement?
Estia Health operates residential aged care homes across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, and since its 2023 takeover has been privately owned. Care staff — personal care workers, assistants in nursing, enrolled and registered nurses — make up most of the workforce, alongside hospitality and lifestyle teams.
Estia has enterprise agreements covering its homes (listed below where our corpus holds them), sitting above the Aged Care Award 2010 and the Nurses Award. The direct-care award rates below reflect the work value increases and are the floor any Estia agreement must beat.
The federal awards relevant to Estia Health roles:
- Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018)
- Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Estia Investments Pty. Ltd. declared 10,815 employees — 16.4% casual and 78.6% women, with 234 in management roles. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).
Aged care award floor — direct care (1 July 2026)
After the aged care work value case, the Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018) direct-care ladder (personal care workers, assistants in nursing, care team leaders) is:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| Direct care level 1 — Introductory | $32.61/hr | $40.76/hr |
| Direct care level 2 — Direct Carer | $34.42/hr | $43.02/hr |
| Direct care level 3 — Qualified | $36.23/hr | $45.29/hr |
| Direct care level 4 — Senior | $37.68/hr | $47.10/hr |
| Direct care level 5 — Specialist | $39.13/hr | $48.91/hr |
| Direct care level 6 — Team Leader | $40.58/hr | $50.72/hr |
The FWC publishes these direct-care rates weekly; hourly figures are the weekly rate ÷ 38, matching the Fair Work pay guide presentation.
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
Aged care award floor — general stream (1 July 2026)
Catering, cleaning, laundry, maintenance, lifestyle and administration staff sit on the general stream:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| General stream level 1 | $27.77/hr | $34.71/hr |
| General stream level 2 | $28.87/hr | $36.09/hr |
| General stream level 3 | $29.98/hr | $37.48/hr |
| General stream level 4 | $30.34/hr | $37.92/hr |
| General stream level 5 | $31.36/hr | $39.20/hr |
| General stream level 6 | $33.05/hr | $41.31/hr |
| General stream level 7 | $33.65/hr | $42.06/hr |
Weekend, shift and public holiday penalties apply on top — the aged care penalty schedule is not tabled here, so check a specific roster with the penalty rates calculator.
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
The Estia Health enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements set rates above the award, with their own classification structures and allowances. Current Estia Health agreements in our corpus (4 in total):
- Estia Health Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved August 2025, nominal expiry 30 March 2028.
- Estia Health Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024 — approved February 2025, nominal expiry 30 June 2027.
- Estia Health NSW Enterprise Agreement 2024 — approved September 2024, nominal expiry 3 July 2026.
- Estia Health SA Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2022 — approved December 2023, nominal expiry 30 November 2025.
We don't reproduce agreement dollar figures here — the agreement covering your site, state and stream is the document to read. Find your agreement, then your classification, then your pay point, and compare it with your payslip. The award tables on this page are the floor every one of these agreements must beat.
Common aged care pay issues at Estia Health
The patterns worth checking on a Estia Health payslip:
- Wrong direct-care level — Cert III personal care workers sit at direct care level 3, not level 1 or 2; medication-competent and senior carers higher again.
- Unpaid handover and documentation before and after the rostered shift.
- Sleepovers, broken shifts and short-notice changes paid without the award's allowances.
- Agreement rates frozen below the award's post-work-value floor — the award now overtakes some older agreement grids.
What to do if your pay looks wrong
Match your payslip to your classification in the agreement (or the award tables above), and price any gap with our back-pay calculator. Raise it in writing with payroll or your manager first — most underpayments are fixed at that step. Unresolved, the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) recovers underpayments at no cost, up to six years back, and your union can run the claim for you. Not sure which instrument covers you? Ask our AI advisor with your role and location.
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Official resources
General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.
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Nine years in Australian workplace relations — Queensland hospitality HR, then retail ER in Brisbane and Northern NSW. Graduate Diploma in Employment Relations (Griffith University, 2018). Writes about award interpretation, underpayment recovery, and casual conversion. Member of the AHRI since 2019. Based in Paddington, Brisbane.