Aged Care Facilities Back-Office Services

The Award: typically the Aged Care Award 2010, with nurses under the Nurses Award 2020 and allied health under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020

Which award applies depends on the business, the work each employee actually performs, their classification and whether they are full-time, part-time or casual. The Fair Work Ombudsman's coverage summaries place residential aged care — hostels, nursing homes, retirement villages and other residential facilities — under the Aged Care Award 2010 for personal care workers, nursing assistants, cleaners, cooks, drivers and reception and administrative staff. Nurses are covered by the Nurses Award 2020, allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists by the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020, and home care delivered to older people in their own homes by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010, not the Aged Care Award. Check coverage for your own business rather than assuming one award covers everyone, and use the Fair Work Pay Calculator for the current rate for a given award, classification and shift.

Classifications: Personal care workers and nursing assistants (Aged Care Award), registered and enrolled nurses (Nurses Award), allied health professionals (Health Professionals and Support Services Award), reception and administrative staff (Aged Care Award). Multiple awards simultaneously.

Ordinary hours: 38 hours per week, 24/7 shift roster operations.

Penalty rates: the award sets separate rates for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and for overtime, evening, night or shift work where it provides them, and they vary by classification and by whether the employee is full-time, part-time or casual — casual employees have their own rates in the award's penalty table. Rather than work from a remembered percentage, look up the current rate for the specific classification and shift on the Fair Work Pay Calculator and apply the rate in effect on the day worked.

Minimum engagement: check the current Aged Care Award clause for any casual minimum engagement; the Nurses Award 2020 sets a 2-hour minimum for casual nurses (award text, read 8 September 2026).

Key allowances: shift allowance (afternoon/night), on-call, laundry/uniform, broken shift allowance, sleepover allowance.

Getting these provisions wrong creates systematic underpayment that compounds with every pay period. The Fair Work Ombudsman actively monitors compliance in this sector, and the penalties for deliberate underpayment were significantly increased under recent legislation. Valont's payroll specialists configure your payroll software with the exact award rules for each employee classification, eliminating manual interpretation errors.

Sources: award coverage — the Fair Work Ombudsman's summaries of the Aged Care Award [MA000018], the Nurses Award [MA000034], the Health Services Award [MA000027] and the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award [MA000100] and the award text of the Nurses Award 2020 [MA000034] (read 8 September 2026); pay and award rules — Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission; superannuation, BAS and tax — the Australian Taxation Office.