Healthcare — Awards, Pay Rates & Compliance
Healthcare is one of Australia's largest employment sectors with over 1.8 million workers. Multiple awards apply depending on role: the Nurses Award covers RNs, ENs, and assistants in nursing; the Aged Care Award covers personal care workers and assistants; the Health Professionals and Support Services Award covers allied health (physio, OT, speech, dietetics) and dental practice staff; and the SCHADS Award covers community and disability support workers. Each award has its own penalty rate structure for night shifts, weekends, and on-call duty.
1.8M
Workers covered
3 stages
Aged care wage rises since 2023
176
SCHADS tool clicks/mo
Awards covering healthcare
Modern Awards set the minimum pay rates, penalty rates, allowances, and entitlements for each industry. Click through for full details and the interactive calculator.
Common healthcare roles
Compliance focus areas
The 5 most common compliance issues in healthcare. Get these right and you avoid 90% of underpayment claims.
Night shift loadings
Most healthcare awards include night shift loadings (typically 15-20% extra) for hours worked between specific times. Nurses Award uses a 12.5% loading on shifts ending after midnight.
On-call and recall allowances
Workers on-call between shifts are entitled to an on-call allowance per period. If recalled to work, minimum payment is typically 4 hours at penalty rates regardless of actual time worked.
Sleepover provisions (SCHADS)
Workers who sleep over at a residence overnight are paid a flat sleepover payment plus any disturbance / active hours at the appropriate rate. Significant compliance issue area.
Aged care wage rises (Stage 1, 2, 3)
Following the Aged Care Work Value case, rates increased significantly across multiple stages from 2023-2025. Many employers have not fully implemented all stages.
Casual conversion in healthcare
Many healthcare casuals work regular patterns and are eligible for conversion. The aged care and SCHADS sectors have particularly high casual conversion eligibility.
Calculators for healthcare
Free, instant calculators covering pay rates, penalty rates, casual loading, and eligibility checks for the healthcare industry.
Nurses Award Pay Rates
RN, EN, AIN classification rates.
Aged Care Pay Rates
Personal care worker rates by level.
SCHADS Pay Rates
Disability and community support rates.
Health Professionals Pay Rates
Physio, OT, speech, dental.
Penalty Rate Calculator
Night shift, weekend, public holiday rates.
Shift Pay Calculator
Calculate any shift including overnight.
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Related Articles
Aged care worker pay rates for 2026 including the recent work value pay increases. Rates for personal care assistants, AINs, enrolled nurses, and registered nurses under the Aged Care Award and Nurses Award.
SCHADS Sleepover Shifts Explained: New Rules for Disability & Aged Care Workers (2026)The FWC clarified SCHADS sleepover shift rules — overtime thresholds, shift loading splits, and the single-shift rule. Practical breakdown with worked examples.
Aged care underpayment 2026: Southern Cross Care's $11.7M bill and what workers should checkSouthern Cross Care NSW & ACT signed an $11.7M enforceable undertaking in April 2026 — covering 5,500 underpaid aged-care workers. Aged care is now one of the most-penalised industries in Australia. Here's the pattern, the SCHADS award checks every aged-care worker should run, and what to do if your payslip doesn't match.