Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Aged Care. How is the Albanese Labor government helping aged-care workers earn more and keep more of what they earn? And what impact is that having on the quality of aged care in Australia?

Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lalor for her question and for her devoted commitment to looking after older Australians in her electorate. The cornerstone of the Albanese government's mission to lift the standard of aged care in Australia has been to recognise the value of all aged-care workers. In 2023, we invested $11.3 billion to deliver a historic increase to the award wage for 250,000 workers. But our investment in aged-care workers didn't end there. Last month we delivered a further $3.8 billion to fund stage 3 of the Fair Work decision—a decision which, importantly, included workers who were excluded from stage 2, like food service assistants, admin staff, cleaners and workers engaged in nondirect care. Those workers can expect to see an increase in their pay packets from 1 January 2025.

These pay rises are having a real impact on workers. I recently met with residents and workers at Mercy Place in Cairns in the member for Leichhardt's electorate. I spoke with a registered nurse named Kavitha who looks after clinical services there. It was only Kavitha's fourth week working in aged care; before that, she had been working in acute nursing in hospital. She told me that she'd been wanting to work in aged care for years because she was particularly passionate about caring for older people, but she wanted a career that allowed her to build stronger relationships with the people that she cared for, rather than the more transient hospital system. To be blunt, she told me that, for a long time, she couldn't afford to work in aged care, even though that was her preference—but that was until the Albanese government delivered a 15 per cent increase to the award wage for aged-care workers.

Now, a registered nurse like Kavitha can earn up to $10,000 a year more than she could have under those opposite. On top of that, they're getting a tax cut. So they're not just earning more; they are keeping more of what they earn. That bigger pay packet allowed Kavitha finally to cross over to aged care and pursue her dream career. Kavitha told me that aged care is no longer a last choice; it is a career of choice. She said our aged-care improvements had made the pursuit of a career in aged care more dynamic and more rewarding. Kavitha is not alone. Data from Seek tells us that there has been a doubling in applications for jobs for aged-care and disability carers since these wage increases began—double. That is what happens when you value aged-care workers.