Public sector nurses and midwives across New South Wales have expressed mixed emotions about today’s wages ruling by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), fearing the pay increase awarded to Registered Nurses and Midwives will not fix the structural reform that is needed.
The Full Bench of the IRC awarded a three-year wage deal from 1 July 2025:
- 16% for Registered Nurses and Midwives – 10% in the first year, followed by 3% in the remaining two years.
- 18% for Enrolled Nurses – 12% in the first year, followed by 3% in the remaining two years.
- 28% for Assistants in Nursing and Midwifery – 22% in the first year, followed by 3% in the remaining two years.
NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said the IRC’s decision was historic but fell short of what was needed to repair the state’s public health system.
“Today’s announcement gives a record breaking pay deal for nurses and midwives in New South Wales. Yet for registered nurses and midwives it is not enough to fix the structural reform that we need in this state,” said Mr Whaites.
“Registered nurses and midwives are the backbone of this workforce. They are the majority of this workforce, and we had hoped for a better outcome for them.
“For enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing and midwifery, this is a great outcome. It recognises the undervaluation of the work that they do and gives them the recognition they rightly deserve.
“We respect the IRC’s decision in awarding these increases to nurses and midwives, but it leaves further work for the NSW government to do.
“Throughout our campaign, we had politician after politician saying that they know nurses and midwives are worth more, we just can’t afford it and yet, here again today we hear that registered nurses and midwives should be paid more, but we just can’t afford it.
“In handing down its decision, the Full Bench highlighted that our members are essential, irreplaceable and, ‘historically undervalued’ while also citing the IRC’s obligation to consider the state of the NSW economy. This isn’t a reflection on the quality of our case, but rather an outcome of the arbitration process.
“This is an outcome that says that women’s work has to remain undervalued because of the economy – that’s an appalling position for us to be in in 2026. We will continue to campaign for our registered nurses and midwives to make sure they’re valued for the work they do.”
“We welcome the return of a court of arbitration for public sector wage disputes. This has assisted us in redressing the damage done by the previous government’s wage cap which saw the real value of our members’ wages decrease.”
The NSWNMA filed the state’s largest wage case in early 2025, comprising of more than 17,000 pages of evidence, to demonstrate the work value of nurses and midwives and the historic gendered undervaluation of the professions.
NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Katrina Bough, said today’s decision would not address cost-of-living pressures and workforce challenges being felt across the state.
“Today’s decision is unlikely to assist in attracting new experienced nurses and midwives to our professions. It risks more experienced nurses and midwives leaving our public health system in coming years, which will result in increased staffing challenges in an already stressed system,” Ms Bough said.
“Nurses and midwives are struggling to pay the bills in this cost-of living crisis. While we welcome the boost to their wages, it doesn’t address the gap between male dominated industries and our heavily feminised workforce.
“The NSW Government cannot hide behind this decision. They must take responsibility for the ongoing crisis that will continue to be driven by a rate of pay that does not address gender undervaluation of nurses and midwives in NSW.
“We’d like to thank our member and expert witnesses who were part of this historic case, and the tens of thousands of nurses and midwives’ who campaigned during this two-year wage fight. We couldn’t have got this far without all our remarkable members.”
The full decision can be found on the NSW IRC website.
