"I am proud to be part of a government that is reforming the aged-care sector after nearly a decade of neglect. I commend the work of the care sector workforce and their unions for fighting for a fairer future, and I'm proud to work with them closely."

Address to the House of Representatives, Adjournment - Aged Care

Tuesday 23 May 2023

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to host both the Treasurer and the Minister for Aged Care at Goodwin seniors village in Farrer, or 'Farrerdise' as I prefer to call it. Our visit included meeting residents and getting to know some of the hardworking, experienced staff. The residents made it clear: it is the staff who can make or break an aged-care facility, and they were incredibly grateful for the staff they see and interact with on a daily basis and who care for them, in some cases for many years.

During this visit it was announced that the federal government would provide $11.3 billion over four years to fund the Fair Work Commission's interim decision for a 15 per cent increase to minimum wages for many aged-care workers. This will support over 5,000 award based aged-care workers in the Australian Capital Territory, who will now earn between $130 and $340 more per week. Registered nurses, enrolled nurses, assistants in nursing, personal-care workers, head chefs and cooks, recreational activities officers and home-care workers will see an historic increase to their award wages. To give you an example of just how life-changing this announcement will be, if you're an assistant in nursing on a level 3 award wage in aged care you will be paid an additional $7,000 per year. This is a substantial increase, but one that is well overdue for those who look after some of our society's most vulnerable members. It's an outcome that will not only help retain staff but also attract potential employees to the aged-care sector. This funding will fix some of the structural staffing issues the aged-care sector has experienced, and hopefully it will revive collective bargaining across the sector.

There is still much to do, with other workers awaiting further Fair Work decisions, but I am proud to be part of a government that is reforming the aged-care sector after nearly a decade of neglect. I commend the work of the care sector workforce and their unions for fighting for a fairer future, and I'm proud to work with them closely.