Aged care worker pay in Australia in 2026 is a story of two very different numbers. The award rate has risen significantly following Fair Work Commission rulings on gender-based undervaluation in the sector. What workers actually take home through most agencies has not risen in proportion. Here is the honest breakdown.
Award rates from 1 October 2025
Under the Aged Care Award 2010, a Level 1 aged care worker earns $25.41 per hour permanent or $31.76 per hour casual (25% loading applied). A further increase applies from 1 August 2026 as part of the ongoing Work Value Case determinations. These are legal minimums. Many agency workers earn close to these minimums in practice.
What agency aged care workers actually take home
Most aged care agencies in Australia pay support workers $27 to $35 per hour casual. The agency charges the client $85 to $115 per hour for the same worker. The difference -- $50 to $65 per hour -- is the agency margin. It does not go into care quality, training or worker conditions. It goes to the agency.
- Support Worker through agency: $27 to $35 per hour take-home
- Enrolled Nurse through agency: $38 to $50 per hour take-home
- Registered Nurse through agency: $45 to $60 per hour take-home
What aged care workers earn on a flat-fee platform
Nest and Nurture Elder Care operates on a flat $20 per hour platform fee. The family pays a fixed rate. The worker keeps everything above $20. For a support worker, the family pays $75 per hour and the worker takes home $55. For a registered nurse, the family pays $140 per hour and the worker takes home $120.
- Support Worker: family pays $75/hr, worker keeps $55/hr
- Enrolled Nurse: family pays $100/hr, worker keeps $80/hr
- Registered Nurse: family pays $140/hr, worker keeps $120/hr
- Overnight shift: family pays $350 flat, worker keeps $280
What a full week looks like
A support worker doing 38 hours per week through an agency at $32 per hour takes home $1,216. The same worker on the Nest and Nurture platform at $55 per hour takes home $2,090. A registered nurse at 38 hours per week takes home $4,560. That is the structural difference a flat-fee model makes.
When you get paid
Every Wednesday. Clock in and out on the platform for each session. Pay for all completed sessions from the prior week is released automatically. No invoicing, no chasing, no 30-day payment cycles.
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