A new wage increase has begun for eligible registered nurses and enrolled nurses working in Australian aged care, making this week an important time to check classifications, base rates and payslips.
The change applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 August 2026 under the Nurses Award. It is the final staged increase flowing from the Fair Work Commission’s aged-care work value decisions. For Indian Australians employed across residential aged care and home-care services, the practical question is not simply whether a pay rise was announced, but whether the correct new minimum rate has reached payroll.
Who is covered by the August aged-care pay rise?
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the additional increase covers eligible registered and enrolled nurses working in aged care under the Nurses Award.
The starting date depends on the employer’s pay cycle. If 1 August fell part-way through a pay period, the new rate starts from the next complete pay period—not necessarily on the calendar date itself.
Workers should also note several important limits:
- The change is directed at eligible aged-care nurses under the Nurses Award, not every health or care employee.
- Nursing assistants providing care to older people moved out of the Nurses Award from January 2025 and may instead be covered by the Aged Care Award or the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.
- An enterprise agreement can apply instead of an award, but its base rate generally cannot fall below the relevant award minimum.
- Someone already paid above the new award minimum may not receive an increase of the same size, depending on their contract or enterprise agreement.
Why this matters to Indian-Australian workers
Australia’s care sector relies heavily on migrants. Australian Bureau of Statistics data has previously shown that more than 40 per cent of registered nurses and aged and disabled carers were born overseas. Indian-trained and Indian-origin nurses form a visible part of aged-care teams in metropolitan and regional communities.
The federal Department of Health, Disability and Ageing says approximately 400,000 workers have benefited from the broader aged-care work value decisions. Its 1 August announcement said that, across the series of increases since 2022, a registered nurse at the commonly cited level 2 pay point 3 had received an annual increase of more than $36,000, while an enrolled nurse at the most common level and pay point had gained almost $32,000 a year.
Those figures describe cumulative changes for particular award classifications; they are not a guaranteed increase for every individual worker. Actual pay depends on classification, experience, hours, employment status, penalties, allowances and the workplace instrument that applies.
Five checks to make on your next payslip
1. Confirm the industrial instrument
Ask payroll or human resources whether you are covered by the Nurses Award, an enterprise agreement or another award. Your employment contract may refer to it, but the legal coverage depends on the work and workplace—not just the document’s label.
2. Check your classification
Compare the classification on your payslip with your duties and experience. A registered nurse, enrolled nurse and care worker can sit under different structures. The Nurses Award classification system for aged-care registered and enrolled nurses changed in 2025, so an old label may need clarification.
3. Use the current official rate
Use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool or the Nurses Award pay guide updated for 1 August 2026. Do not rely on an old screenshot, social media post or last year’s rate table.
4. Look beyond the base rate
Check whether weekend, public holiday, overtime, shift and casual loadings have also been calculated from the correct base rate. Keep rosters, timesheets and payslips so you can compare hours worked with hours paid.
5. Raise discrepancies in writing
If the rate appears wrong, send payroll a polite written query identifying the pay period, classification and rate you believe should apply. Keep a copy of the response. A delayed payroll update should still be corrected and any underpayment addressed.
Where to get reliable help
The Fair Work Ombudsman provides free information through its website and the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94. Workers who need language support can contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50 and ask to be connected to the Infoline. A union or qualified workplace-relations adviser can also help with a complex classification or enterprise agreement.
Employees are entitled to ask about their pay and workplace rights. Migrant status does not remove minimum employment protections, although visa holders should seek separate registered migration advice if an employment dispute could affect sponsorship.
The takeaway
Eligible aged-care registered and enrolled nurses should check the first complete pay period beginning on or after 1 August—not assume the update will be automatic or identical for everyone. Confirm the correct award or agreement, classification and current rate, then raise any mismatch early. For Indian-Australian nurses doing essential care work, an accurate payslip is the clearest sign that this long-awaited wage decision has been put into practice.