A strong voice for Aged Care workers
The ANMF NSW Branch / NSWNMA is proudly the only union that covers all nursing and care workers in residential aged care across NSW, with thousands of new members joining every year!
It is this collective strength that enables your union to fight for better pay and conditions for aged care workers. Together with members, we have secured some massive wins for the sector through persistent campaigning for better pay and conditions.
We will continue campaigning to ensure all these historic reforms are implemented so we can create a better aged sector for all aged care staff, residents and their families who deserve the best care.
Join your union and make sure your rights and conditions are protected.
Care you can count on - pledge your support to the campaign!
Right now, Australia’s aged care system is under significant pressure.
Despite important reforms and billions of funding dollars, nurses and carers are still reporting workforce shortages, excessive workloads, and ongoing concerns about how public funding is translated into better care.
Every day, nurses and carers are doing their best to provide safe and high-quality care, but too often they are held back by employers who are misreporting care minutes, using hybrid roles, and cutting staff to make a profit. We need stronger regulation from the government to help members address staffing on the ground. This includes:
- Mandated staffing ratios and skill mix
- Funding you can see through greater accountability and transparency
That’s why we’re launching a federal campaign to fix aged care and ensure workers have the support, resources, and legislation they need to deliver the care our community deserves and the care we’re proud to provide.
We need passionate people like you to stand with us and pledge your support.
At the heart of this campaign is our community. These changes will help create an aged care system that delivers care you can count on, now and into the future. As Australia’s population continues to age, it’s vital that we get this right.
No matter how much time or support you can offer, every action makes a difference. Pledge your support today and help us build the power to fix aged care.
Key reforms won by NSWNMA members
A registered nurse to on duty 24 hours a day in all aged care facilities by 2023 |
Federal government support for the NSWNMA and ANMF’s Fair work Commission application for a 25% pay rise for aged care nurses |
Introduction of a minimum of 215 minutes of care per day to be provided to residents, with 44 minutes of this care to be provided by a registered nurse |
Better food quality standards for aged care residents |
How staffing in your aged care facility should look
From October 2024, all aged care facilities will have a minimum 215 care minutes per resident per day with 44 minutes provided by Registered Nurses (10% of which could be delivered by Enrolled Nurses).
Aged Care Wins
In recognition of the long-term challenges facing aged care workers, the Association has been running a sustained campaign to reform aged care. We’re already seeing some of this work paying off.
In partnership with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), we’ve successfully lobbied the federal government to overhaul the sector, through both improvements to worker pay, and safer staffing measures across aged care settings.
In 2022, the ANMF and other unions submitted a landmark application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) Aged Care Work Value Case callingfor a significant boost to the pay of aged care workers. A historic 15% interim pay increase was handed down and funded by the government in June 2023. This finally recognised the long undervaluation of employees in the aged care sector.
In mid-2024, the FWC awarded additional pay increases to Assistants in Nursing and Personal Care Workers, with some being awarded an increase of up to 23% (including the 15% increase from June 2023). Payments are set to begin in January 2025. More recently, the FWC has awarded a further increase to the minimum Award rates for Registered and Enrolled Nurses working in aged care. This decision concludes the 2020 national legal case initiated by the ANMF and other unions. Further details about these additional increases will be provided to members in 2025.
The Association formed a partnership with the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) and the United Workers Union (UWU) to ensure employers are doing the right thing by workers. Employers have been legally obliged to comply with the new minimum award rates from the first full pay period on or after the 30 June 2023 under the Fair Work Act, meaning they must pass on every cent of the pay rise. Unions are committed to holding them to account.
To help strengthen these accountability efforts, the Association spends time in workplaces, meeting members and prospective members, hearing their concerns and uncovering local issues. Workers cannot simply rely on bosses to do the right thing, that’s why your union is here to support you.
The Association has long advocated for the interests of both members and the residents in their care. We understand nurses need greater support, and it starts with reforming the rules that govern this sector. Thanks to the sustained efforts of unions, in October 2022, federal parliament passed new aged care laws to increase the amount of direct-care that residents receive: 200 minutes including 40 from RNs – from 1 October 2023, and 215 minutes – including 44 from RNs – from 1 October 2024.
This measure, alongside the commitment to have a registered nurse onsite 24/7 from 1 July 2023, amounts to a $2.5 billion investment in aged care reform over four years.
The Association is working with other unions to ensure the government monitors and enforces these new requirements.
Click here to see how staffing in your aged care facility should look.
The Association, alongside the ANMF, UWU and others, has worked with the government to establish a unique Labour Agreement that helps address worker shortfalls. This includes special access rights to foreign workers who have been brought in to fill staff shortages, enabling an accelerated pathway to permanent residency. A Memorandum of Understanding introduces expanded labour market testing, meaning employers must offer local staff the maximum 76 hours of work per fortnight, before using overseas workers.
It also requires local workers to identify their desire for increased hours. The changes also ensure employers offer staff predictable rostering with set hours, decent wages and good working conditions.
These are big steps forward in meeting the shortfall of workers in aged care, and also ensure local workers currently deployed across the sector are given the best opportunity to develop a work schedule that suits their availability.
These improvements have been secured together and are because of the persistence of members over many years. There is still more work to do to continue improving outcomes for aged care workers. Together as a union, we are stronger. United, we can secure the changes needed to safeguard the aged care sector.
