Wage costs go up on 1 October 2026 for many Australian care providers with two awards moving under separate decisions by the Fair Work Commission. At the same time, the Commission has confirmed that another SCHADS restructure is coming next year, with the classification structure planned to be completely replaced.
For a provider running disability services alongside allied health staff, these changes could reflect 3 cost increases in the next year on top of any other legislative changes or another minimum wage increase.
SCHADS Schedule E: Home Care Employees providing Disability Care
Employees engaged under Schedule E of the SCHADS Award, Home Care Employees (Disability Care), receive an interim increase of up to 15 per cent from the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2026.
The FWC has also opted not to provide a second interim increase before the classification restructure in October of 2027. The Commission put the remaining increases at 1.97 to 6.97 per cent, median 3.7 per cent, and deferred all of them to the commencement of the new structure.
The increase is currently expressed as a provisional view. Parties had 28 days from 1 June 2026 to comment on it, and as at 27 August 2026 the Commission’s case page still listed draft determinations only. Effective HR advises that organisations confirm the final determination, or seek professional guidance before loading rates into their payroll systems.
Health Professionals Award: stage one from 1 October 2026
The new classification structure and minimum rates for health professionals under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 start a multi-stage implementation on 1 October 2026, continuing from 30 June in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030. The draft determination was revised in August to carry the Annual Wage Review 2026 increases.
Providers who employ allied health staff need to ensure that the movements under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award are also factored into their payroll systems ahead of 1 October.
Above Award Obligations
Every organisation is unique, and the obligation to pay some, or all of the increases will depend on a number of specific factors unique to your organisation including your employment contracts, your current rates of pay and your classification structure. Effective HR advises all organisations to critically review their current structure before passing on some, or all of the increases.
Vehicle allowance: a temporary increase from 1 September 2026
Ahead of the October movements, a Full Bench varied the vehicle allowance in both the SCHADS Award and the Aged Care Award on 26 August 2026. The allowance increases from $1.01 to $1.05 per kilometre from the first full pay period on or after 1 September 2026, and the variation is expressed to run for a six month period ending 28 February 2027. The increase is intended to be temporary, unless the Commission varies it again.
Whether this changes your costs depends on what your staff are currently paid. Effective HR advises organisations that require employees to travel for work to review their rates to check whether this change impacts you.
Another restructure: 1 October 2027
The Final Classification Structure replaces the current Schedules B, C, E and F in the SCHADS Award. It commences on 1 October 2027 in one step, with no phasing, and the Equal Remuneration Order will be revoked at the same time because the new minimum rates absorb the ERO rates.
With another year before the proposed changes are implemented it is highly likely that further additions or amendments will be considered before any changes are in force next October.
Why the classification question decides your October cost
The Commission found that the SCHADS Award divides residential disability service work between Schedules B and E “in a way that is not readily explicable”. Some employers pay disability support workers under Schedule B, where the Equal Remuneration Order applies. Others pay the same work under Schedule E.
The October 2026 increase aims to bring employees under Schedule E closer to those under Schedule B to establish equity between the two distinct Award sectors.
The sector of the SCHADS Award that applies to your organisation is determined by the support services you provide and the roles which you engage employees in to provide those services. If you are uncertain about your coverage, now is the time to verify this before any changes come into effect.
What this means for your payroll
This marks yet another out of the ordinary shift that applies to a large number of service providers across the country under these awards. They follow the emergency sleepovers changes implemented in June and the national minimum wage changes that came into effect on the first full pay period after 1 July.
Rates of pay must be adjusted prior to the first full pay period in October 2026 in order to meet the award obligations at that time, in addition to any future planning to prepare for the classification changes coming next year.
Sources: [2026] FWCFB 137 (1 June 2026); [2026] FWCFB 216 (14 August 2026); [2026] FWCFB 224 (26 August 2026); Fair Work Commission, Gender-based undervaluation priority awards review. Rates should be confirmed against the final determinations before use.