In a submission to the independent workplace tribunal regarding the ongoing nurses and midwives work value case, the federal government is calling for any wage increase over 3 per cent to be phased-in over a period of up to three years.
The government’s 26 August submission to the Fair Work Commission reads: “The commonwealth notes that further wage increases for registered and enrolled nurses in the aged care sector is not without cost to the commonwealth and requires significant additional funding to be provided to the aged care sector.”
While some aged care providers already pay market rates in line with those proposed by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the government notes “this is not true of all providers”.
Therefore, “any further increases to award wage rates for aged care nurses will increase the funding required of the commonwealth in respect for all providers, and therefore the overall cost to the commonwealth.”
As a result, the government is submitting to the FWC:
- for any wage increases up to 3 per cent to be introduced on 1 July 2025
- for any increases up to 6 per cent to be introduced on 1 October 2025
- for any wage increases up to 13 per cent to be introduced on 1 October 2026
- for any wage increases up to 20 per cent to be introduced on 1 October 2027.
“For the reasons previously submitted, the commission need not consider whether it would be theoretically possible for the commonwealth to fund any aged care nurse wage increases sooner than it has decided,” says the government.
In its latest FWC submission, the Aged & Community Care Providers Association appears to support the phasing-in of any wage increases. “Time is required to prepare for implementation of any variations,” reads ACCPA’s submission.
This is consistent with previous statements from ACCPA. In May, the provider peak backed the government’s proposal to phase-in next year’s stage 3 wage increases for viability and administrative reasons.
“It would be irresponsible for us to take a position to the Fair Work Commission which supports a start date for the increases that is not linked to the commencement of additional funding,” ACCPA CEO Tom Symondson told Australian Ageing Agenda at the time.
To back up its support for a staggered rollout of wage increases, ACCPA submitted to the FWC its continuing concerns of the “vulnerable financial position of the sector absent funding”.
“The sector lacks the economic framework of other industries in that it cannot respond to major cost pressures by increasing prices or simply reducing labour to save costs,” reads the submission.
It also highlights the precarious financial position the sector finds itself in with the following stats: “Residential aged care has experienced significant operational losses over the last four years with the operating deficit for the 2022-23 financial year of $1.05 billion.”
Elsewhere in its submission, ACCPA includes number-crunching from benchmarking firm StewartBrown “that supports a conclusion that absent the increases being fully funded by the commonwealth, the sector will not have the ability to absorb the increases”.
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