Opal HealthCare Pay Rates 2026: Carer, Nurse & Support Staff Pay
What Opal HealthCare workers should be paid in 2026 — the Aged Care Award floor by classification, casual loading, penalties, and where the Opal HealthCare enterprise agreements sit.
Leave & Entitlements Specialist · JD, Monash University — Admitted in Victoria (non-practising)
Who covers Opal HealthCare workers — award or agreement?
Opal HealthCare is one of the largest private residential aged care providers, running more than a hundred care communities across the eastern states, South Australia and Western Australia. Its workforce is dominated by personal care workers and assistants in nursing, with registered and enrolled nurses, lifestyle, catering, cleaning and laundry staff.
Opal bargains state by state, and our corpus holds a large set of Opal enterprise agreements (below). Underneath them sit the Aged Care Award 2010 for care and support staff and the Nurses Award for nurses — and since the aged care work value case lifted direct-care rates, the award floor is now a serious benchmark rather than a formality.
The federal awards relevant to Opal HealthCare roles:
- Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018)
- Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, DAC Finance Pty Ltd declared 20,984 employees — 16% casual and 78.6% women, with 393 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 Opal HealthCare enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements set rates above the award, with their own classification structures and allowances. Current Opal HealthCare agreements in our corpus (17 in total):
- Opal Fibre Packaging National Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved December 2025, nominal expiry 30 September 2028.
- Opal Paper Botany – B9 Machine – Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved September 2025, nominal expiry 30 June 2028.
- Opal Paper Botany – B9 Machine – Enterprise Agreement 2025 — approved September 2025, nominal expiry 30 June 2028.
- Wood BW Opal Offshore Maintenance Services Greenfields Agreement 2024 — approved February 2025, nominal expiry 30 June 2028.
- OPAL HEALTHCARE (SOUTH AUSTRALIA) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 — approved April 2026, nominal expiry 30 June 2028.
- John West Logistics Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement (Opal Drivers) NSW 2025-2028 — approved February 2025, nominal expiry 5 January 2028.
- Opal Cartons Regency Park Enterprise Agreement 2024 — approved October 2024, nominal expiry 26 August 2027.
- Opal B9 Warehouse Enterprise Agreement 2024 — approved July 2024, nominal expiry 16 July 2027.
Plus 9 more — search "Opal HealthCare" in our agreements database.
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 Opal HealthCare
The patterns worth checking on a Opal HealthCare 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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Former Fair Work Commission Associate (2021–2024) after two years as a plaintiff-side employment paralegal in Melbourne. Juris Doctor from Monash University (2020). Writes about unfair dismissal, leave entitlements, termination, and enterprise bargaining. Admitted in Victoria, currently non-practising. Based in Fitzroy North.