The Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) Paul Vermeesch and the Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA), as 'Joint Employers', have made submissions to the Fair Work Commission warning against the implementation of the proposed wage rises for nurses from 1 January 2025.
In October, the Fair Work Commission published its "provisional views" on the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF)'s Work Value - Nurses and Midwives case. It stated that incoming rises of between 6.9% and 17.6% for Registered Nurses (RNs), Clinical Nurses (CNs), and Enrolled Nurses (ENs), which are being granted on top of the 15% increase delivered last year, be phased in over three tranches: on 1 January 2025, 1 October 2025, and 1 August 2026.
But the AGS has warned that since the size of the increases has not yet been finalised, the Government, which has committed to funding the rise, can not determine the timing of when Government funding will flow. In an August submission to the FWC, the AGS proposed a 1 July 2025 start date.
Asking providers to fund the rises themselves, before Government funding flows, could impact some providers' financial viability, he cautioned.
"The Commonwealth is concerned about the effect that commencing substantial wage increases in advance of the Commonwealth’s corresponding funding commitment may have on the financial viability of some aged care providers, particularly ones that are already in financial difficulty," the AGS submission stated.
The latest StewartBrown data shows 51% of residential aged care homes operated at a loss in FY24.
The Joint Employers submission said the proposed period to implement the pay rises of less than two months "would present an onerous and insurmountable deadline that aged care providers will not be able to meet". They require "a minimum of four months" to implement the higher rates from the date of the final determination, and that the second and third rollout dates of 1 October 2025 and 1 August 2026 could be maintained.
In its submission, the ANMF said it would like to see the pay rises phased in in two tranches: 1 January 2025 and 1 October 2025.
Read the Commonwealth Solicitor's submission in full here and ACCPA's submission here.
