UnitingCare Australia has welcomed the Albanese Labor Government’s action to give aged care workers a pay rise through a submission to the Fair Work Commission yesterday. 

“Aged care workers provide some of the most valued work in caring for our loved ones, yet they are among the lowest paid workers in our community. Older Australians deserve the very best care and an adequately remunerated workforce is critical to achieving this,” said National Director, Claerwen Little. 

“We welcome the Government’s re-stated commitment to fully fund a wages increase, as detailed in the submission.  

“We also welcome the Government’s acknowledgement that this case is about gender equality. A pay rise based on the real value of the work our aged care workers undertake will help close the gender pay gap, because the industry is staffed by a workforce which is 86 per cent women.” 

UnitingCare Australia was one of the first national bodies to explicitly support and cost the 25 per cent wage increase, detailed in a 2022 Pre-Budget Submission, Fair Work Commission submission, and 2022 Election Policy Platform.  

“A 25 per cent wage increase for aged care workers will go some way towards addressing retention and ensure that we can attract staff, which is critical,” said Ms Little. 

“We urge the Government to ensure that the wage increase is paid in full as quickly as possible, as an acknowledgement of the immense strain our aged care workforce has experienced during the pandemic. 

“UnitingCare Australia looks forward to continuing to work with the Albanese Labor Government to deliver the recommendations of the Royal Commission and ensure every older Australian has the right care, when and where they need it.” 

The UnitingCare Aged Care Network is the largest not-for-profit aged care provider nationally. We support approximately 97,000 older people, comprising 8.5% of total residential beds and 10% of Home Care Packages nationally. Over 80% of our workforce and 60% of our services recipients are women.