On this page
- Recent additions
- What changed across every sector
- SCHADS
- Aged care
- Health professionals
- Not-for-profit and community organisations
Recent additions
- 13 Oct The Commonwealth announced $630 million to help organisations it funds pass on award pay increases for health, disability and community services workers. See SCHADS.
- 8 Oct Care sector employers signed 31 of the 96 Fair Work Ombudsman enforceable undertakings published since 2019-20. See the cross-sector section.
- 30 Sep The Australian Services Union was directed to file its claim for SCHADS Award pay increases of up to 35 per cent by 21 October 2026. See SCHADS.
- 24 Sep The new Health Professionals and Support Services Award classification structure takes effect on 1 October 2026, alongside the first pay increase. See health professionals.
- 22 Sep An aged care provider back-paid $1.39 million to 335 employees after 313 individual flexibility arrangements failed the better off overall test. See aged care.
What changed across every sector
Care sector employers signed 31 of 96 Fair Work Ombudsman enforceable undertakings
On 8 October 2026 an analysis of the Fair Work Ombudsman's register of enforceable undertakings found that care sector employers signed 31 of the 96 undertakings listed since 2019-20. The 31 were signed by aged care operators, disability and NDIS providers, community services organisations, and health services. The analysis. Full review: Review of Care Sector Enforceable Undertakings.
Of the 30 care undertakings with a regulator media release, 23 name enterprise agreement problems, 22 overtime, 15 penalty rates, 15 allowances, 13 payroll systems, and seven sleepovers or broken shifts. The amounts are back-pay, not penalties.
Minimum rates increased on 1 July 2026
The Annual Wage Review 2026 increased all modern award minimum wages by 4.75 per cent from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, with an additional structural increase for around 100,000 of the lowest paid workers. The decision summary. Related: Modern award wages are rising 4.75%.
Payday Super commenced on 1 July 2026
From 1 July 2026, employers must calculate super guarantee on payday and contributions generally need to reach the employee's super fund within seven business days. The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House also closed on 1 July 2026. Employers should confirm their payroll and super payment processes have been updated for the new timing requirements. The change. Related: Payday super is coming.
Federal Fair Work Court announced
In July the Government announced a Federal Fair Work Court, the first federal industrial court since 1997, with specialist judges sitting alongside the Fair Work Commission. Design consultation is underway. The announcement.
AI disclosure required in Commission matters from 20 October 2026
From 20 October 2026, parties must disclose the use of generative AI in Commission matters. Two decisions in 2026 gave little or no weight to witness evidence drafted with AI. What the requirement covers.
Director personally liable after company liquidation
In May a sole director was ordered to pay $148,812 plus interest to 16 workers, and a further $35,308 penalty, after the company was liquidated. The decision.
13 year contractor arrangement found to be employment
In June the Federal Court held that a managing director engaged as a contractor for 13 years was an employee, rejected an estoppel defence, and found leave, superannuation, and adverse action contraventions. The judgment.
South Australian labour hire licensing extended to all industries
Licensing extended to all industries from 29 January 2026. The grace period closed on 29 July 2026. Maximum penalties are $400,000 for bodies corporate. Organisations supplying workers to another business in South Australia should confirm whether they are captured. The change.
Proposed ban on non-compete clauses below $190,100
Exposure draft legislation released on 7 September would prohibit non-compete clauses for workers earning under the high income threshold. Consultation on related restraint bans closes 2 October 2026. This is proposed law and is not yet in force. The draft.
Visiting surgeon found to be a worker for stop-bullying purposes
In September the Commission held that a visiting surgeon accredited at a private hospital for twelve years was a worker under section 7 of the Work Health and Safety Act, and could apply for orders to stop bullying, despite having no contract with the operator and receiving no payment from it. The factors relied on were the hospital's control of his accreditation and scope of practice, its by-laws, its allocation of sessions, and its supply of theatres, staff, and systems. The applications were dismissed on other grounds. The decision.
Former name checks found to be indirect discrimination
In September the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal held that sending an internal applicant's former names to the convenor of the hiring process and others in the applicant's own workplace, rather than to a centralised team, was indirect discrimination on transgender grounds. It awarded $35,000, including $10,000 in aggravated damages. The employer's written policy allocated the check to a central unit. This is a first instance decision under New South Wales legislation. The decision.
National Working with Children Check reforms
By August 2026, "banned in one, banned in all" arrangements were in place across all states and territories, meaning a person rejected from holding a Working with Children Check in one jurisdiction is rejected nationally. Governments have also agreed a national baseline of serious offences, minimum risk-assessment standards, and information-sharing requirements. The reforms.
SCHADS
Commonwealth funding for award increases in services it funds
On 13 October 2026 the Commonwealth announced $630 million to help organisations it funds pass on award pay increases for health, disability and community services workers. The joint ministerial release states that more than 128,000 organisations funded under 92 programs will receive additional funding, covering more than 460,000 workers. The Full Bench deferred the Schedule E interim increase on 11 September 2026, citing the absence of a Commonwealth funding commitment.
The funding applies to services the Commonwealth funds directly. Services funded privately or by state and territory governments are not covered. The announcement did not address NDIS-priced supports, Schedule E, or the 1 December 2026 date, and sets no dates of its own. The Schedule E interim increase continues to apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026. The announcement.
Schedule E interim increase moves to 1 December 2026
From the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026, home care employees performing disability care work under Schedule E will receive an initial increase of up to 15 per cent to their minimum Award rates. Employees at E.4.2 receive 14.96 per cent and E.5.2 receive 13.31 per cent. Any remaining increases apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2027. The decision. Related: Health Professionals rates rise in October, SCHADS in December.
Clause 25.8 24 hour care arrangement extended
The same decision extended clause 25.8 to home care employees and other employees engaged to provide personal care to a person with a disability in a private residence. The arrangement allows an agreed 24 hour availability period with up to eight hours of care, eight hours paid at 155 per cent of the appropriate rate, and additional hours paid as overtime. Equivalent extensions sought for the first aid allowance, superannuation, and higher duties clauses were refused.
First aid allowance decision reinforces the designation requirement
In September the Commission held that the allowance is payable where the employer requires the employee to hold a current first aid certificate and requires them to provide first aid. Holding a certificate and being expected to respond to a client does not meet the second requirement. The decision interprets an enterprise agreement clause drafted from SCHADS clause 20.6(a), which sets the allowance at 1.67 per cent of the standard rate per week. The decision.
New classification structure from 1 October 2027
The gender undervaluation review replaces Schedules B, C, E, and F with a single classification structure from 1 October 2027, increasing some disability support worker rates by up to 27 per cent. Existing employees will need to be mapped to the new structure. The finalised structure.
In September an application to insert High Intensity Support Worker classifications into the disability care stream was dismissed on procedural grounds, with no ruling on the merits. The dismissal.
ASU directed to file its SCHADS Award pay claim by 21 October 2026
On 30 September 2026 the President of the Fair Work Commission directed the Australian Services Union to put its claim for pay increases of up to 35 per cent under the SCHADS Award into a draft determination by 21 October 2026. The claim is the third phase of the union's 2024 application under section 158 of the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking a simplified classification structure and increases on work value grounds. The directions.
Sleepover provisions changed on 1 June 2026
Sleepover shifts can extend to 12 ordinary hours by agreement, with new rules on overtime, rest breaks, and shift allowances either side of the sleepover. What changed. Related: SCHADS Award sleepovers.
Vehicle allowance increased to $1.05 per kilometre
The vehicle allowance increased from $1.01 to $1.05 per kilometre for six months from September 2026, in both the SCHADS Award and the Aged Care Award. Details.
Coverage clause variation
A draft consequential variation to the coverage clause was published in August, following the renaming of a cross-referenced award. The proposal.
Disability support services enforcement
Disability support services is a designated priority sector. In 2025-26 nearly $24 million was recovered for 10,546 workers, including 53 compliance notices covering more than $8.1 million, and three enforceable undertakings. One disability provider back-paid $2.05 million to 1,389 workers after a compliance review identified underpayment of shift loadings and penalty rates. The enforceable undertaking. Related: FWO inquiry: what SCHADS disability providers should review now.
NDIS provider fined $675,000 over participant death
On 1 May 2026 the District Court convicted a disability services provider and fined it $675,000 over the death of an NDIS participant, in a prosecution brought by SafeWork NSW under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. On 2 February 2022 the participant was burned in a bath in which the water was too hot, and died from her injuries. The decision.
Classification decisions
In July the Commission found a facilitator was correctly classified at Level 2, holding that coordination duties do not by themselves amount to supervisory or managerial responsibility. The decision.
In February the Commission found the SCHADS Award covered a community sector chief executive at Level 8, despite earnings above the high income threshold. The decision.
Superannuation ordered under clause 23.5
In July a dismissal of an injured community services worker on incapacity grounds was found unfair, and superannuation of $3,013.68 was ordered under clause 23.5 of the SCHADS Award. The decision.
Ai Group submission on funding
In July Ai Group told the Commission that SCHADS pay increases are not viable without a government funding commitment. The submission does not change any employer obligation. The submission.
Aged care
Further Nurses Award increases from 1 August 2026
Eligible registered and enrolled nurses working in aged care received a further increase to minimum rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 August 2026. This forms part of the staged Aged Care Work Value Case increases and is separate from the 1 July Annual Wage Review increase.
Fair Work Ombudsman aged care campaign
The Fair Work Ombudsman examined 22 residential and home care businesses, found 13 non-compliant, and recovered more than $5.3 million for close to 3,600 direct care employees. The average underpayment was $1,478 per person. Six residential operators repaid 2,338 workers more than $2.17 million. Seven home care operators repaid 1,253 workers more than $3.13 million. The campaign results.
The breaches found were minimum rates of pay, broken shift entitlements, minimum engagement periods, overtime, record keeping and payslip obligations, and failure to provide the Fair Work Information Statement.
One home care employer in the campaign had underpaid casual employees by applying broken shift allowances and minimum engagement periods incorrectly. It audited its entire workforce and repaid more than $2 million to over 600 employees going back to 2023.
Cleaning and catering inspections
A further 30 employers are being inspected over pay, payslips, and record keeping for cleaning and catering employees in aged care.
Individual flexibility arrangements failed the better off overall test
An aged care charity operating in the ACT and New South Wales back-paid more than $1.39 million to 335 employees under an enforceable undertaking, after 313 individual flexibility arrangements were found to rely too heavily on non-monetary benefits and to fail the better off overall test. The arrangements were in place from July 2018 to March 2025 and the issue was identified by the provider's internal audit. A separate payroll configuration error underpaid 22 residential care employees their early afternoon shift penalties. The undertaking.
Enterprise agreement decisions
In September the Commission held that an aged care agreement prevented an employer reducing part-time nurses' guaranteed minimum hours by individual agreement. The decision.
In July a Full Bench refused to terminate an expired aged care nurses agreement, although Nurses Award minimums are $7 to $12 an hour higher. The appeal.
Record keeping
ELMO's aged care industry use case notes that audits in aged care are part of everyday operations, and that certifications, training records, and policy acknowledgements held across paper files, shared drives, emails, and spreadsheets are harder to produce for an audit.
Health professionals
New classification structure and first increase from 1 October 2026
On 24 September the Commission confirmed that minimum wages for some health professional employees increase from 1 October 2026, the date a new classification structure takes effect. Level 1 is classified by qualifications and years of experience. Levels 2, 3, and 4 are classified by the roles and duties performed. Schedule J.4 sets out how existing employees translate to the new levels. An updated version of the award is due to be published by 1 October. The confirmation. The Health Services Union stated that eligible new graduates receive up to $90 a week more with a bachelor's degree and up to $128 a week more with a master's degree. The first increase.
This is the first of five phases. The remaining phases fall on 30 June 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030. The phasing schedule. Related: Health Professionals rates rise in October, SCHADS in December.
Employers in aged care, disability, home care, and community services that engage allied health or clinical support staff under this award need to map those employees to the new levels based on their duties.
Annualised wage arrangements preserved
In September the Full Bench added a transitional provision preserving existing annualised wage arrangements under the award. The variation.
Coverage and transfer of business decisions
In July the Commission found a non-clinical dental support office was covered by the award, and that a redundancy carried out without consultation was not genuine. The decision.
In July the Commission ordered that 975 nurses transferring in a Gold Coast hospital sale move to the buyer's enterprise agreement. The order.
Training and policy records
ELMO's healthcare industry use case, drawn from more than 700 healthcare customers in Australia and New Zealand, notes that many healthcare employees have no fixed workspace, roster, or location, and limited computer access, which makes training completion and policy acknowledgement harder to track.
Not-for-profit and community organisations
Enforceable undertakings
A Queensland not-for-profit underpaid 1,008 workers approximately $4.3 million between February 2017 and October 2024, through misapplied enterprise agreements and awards. The undertaking.
A charity back-paid $5.912 million to 784 workers underpaid between 2016 and 2024 under the SCHADS Award and an enterprise agreement. The undertaking.
Trading corporation decisions
In August the Commission found a Pilbara community legal centre with around $5.7 million in government funding was not a trading corporation, and dismissed the application. The decision.
In September a Western Australian Full Bench found a Peel family violence service funded by nearly $7.5 million in fixed government grants was not a trading corporation. The appeal.
Trading corporation status determines which industrial relations system applies to an organisation's employees and which tribunal can hear their claims.
Workforce capacity
ELMO's not-for-profit industry use case, drawn from more than 300 not-for-profit customers in Australia and New Zealand, notes that many not-for-profits have one or a few people responsible for the whole people function.
This page is updated as developments are handed down. It contains general information only and does not take account of your organisation's circumstances. Specific advice should be obtained where required.