Care Worker Pay Rates 2026: Aged Care, Disability Support and Early Childhood Award Wages from 1 July

What changed on 1 July 2026

The Fair Work Commission's 2026 Annual Wage Review increased award minimum wages by 4.75% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. For care workers this came on top of the aged care work value increases phased in over 2023 to 2025, and the Commonwealth's early childhood wage grant that added 10% from December 2024 and 15% from December 2025. The result is that care work pays materially more than it did three years ago, though the three sectors sit on different awards and the differences matter when you are choosing between them. The working in care guide covers the roles; this page is about the money.

All rates below are award minimums. Enterprise agreements at larger providers commonly pay 3% to 10% above award, and not-for-profits offer salary packaging that increases take-home pay without changing the hourly rate.

Aged care workers: Aged Care Award 2010

Classification (direct care)	Hourly, permanent	Hourly, casual (25% loading)
Level 2 - direct carer (Certificate III or working toward)	$34.42	$43.03
Level 3 - qualified personal care worker	$36.23	$45.29
Level 4 - senior / experienced	About $37.68	About $47.10
Level 5 - specialist	About $39.12	About $48.90
Level 6 - team leader	About $40.58	About $50.73

Level 2 full-time is about $1,308 a week. Penalties under the Aged Care Award are 150% for Saturday, 175% for Sunday and 250% for public holidays for permanent staff, with evening and night shift loadings on weekdays. Home care workers employed under the SCHADS home care stream are aligned to these direct care rates. Qualification guides: Certificate III in Individual Support and aged care courses.

Disability support workers: SCHADS Award

Social and community services employee	Hourly, permanent	Hourly, casual	Saturday	Sunday	Public holiday
Level 2, pay point 1 (support worker)	$36.22	$45.28	$54.33	$72.44	$90.55
Level 3 (senior support worker, team leader)	About $38.60 to $41.40 by pay point	About $48.25 to $51.75	150%	200%	250%
Level 4 (coordinator, case manager)	About $42.50 to $45.60 by pay point	About $53.10 to $57.00	150%	200%	250%

Level 2.1 full-time is about $1,376 a week. SCHADS also pays sleepover allowances, broken shift allowances and a first aid allowance, and the 2022 changes introduced minimum two-hour shifts for most part-time and casual work, which matters for people building a roster across several providers. Qualification guides: Certificate III in Individual Support, Certificate IV in Disability Support, Diploma of Community Services.

Independent support workers on platforms set their own rates, usually between the award and the NDIS price limit for the shift ($73.58 an hour weekday daytime in the 2026-27 arrangements), but carry their own insurance, superannuation and gaps between bookings.

Early childhood educators: Children's Services Award plus the wage grant

Classification	Award hourly, permanent	With 15% wage grant
Level 1 - introductory (unqualified)	$28.81	About $33.10
Level 3 - Certificate III qualified educator	About $29.50	About $33.95
Level 4 - Diploma qualified	About $32 to $33	About $37 to $38

The Early Childhood Education and Care wage grant is a Commonwealth payment to services, not an award change: a service that opts in and agrees to limit fee increases receives funding to pay eligible educators 10% above the award from December 2024 and 15% from December 2025. Most large providers and the majority of centres have opted in. When comparing offers, ask whether the service is in the grant, because the difference is worth around $5 an hour. Casual loading is 25%. Qualification guide: Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Comparing the three

	Aged care (level 2)	Disability (SCHADS 2.1)	Early childhood (Cert III, in grant)
Weekday hourly, permanent	$34.42	$36.22	About $33.95
Casual hourly	$43.03	$45.28	About $42.40
Sunday, permanent	175%	200%	Mostly weekday work
Typical roster	Shifts incl. weekends and nights	Flexible, often weekend-heavy	Weekday, daytime
Progression	Levels 3 to 6, Cert IV Ageing Support	SCHADS 3 to 4, Cert IV, Diploma	Diploma, then teaching degree

The headline is that base rates have converged. The real differences are in penalties (disability and aged care workers who take weekend shifts earn far more than the base rate suggests), hours (early childhood is the only one with a predictable weekday week), and enterprise agreements, which vary by employer more than by sector.

Superannuation, packaging and the things that change the number

• Superannuation is 12% from 1 July 2025, on top of the rates above.
• Salary packaging at not-for-profit and charitable providers lets you pay up to $15,900 a year of living expenses (plus a meal entertainment cap) from pre-tax income, which is worth several thousand dollars a year to a full-time worker and is the main reason a lower hourly rate at a charity can beat a higher one at a for-profit.
• Enterprise agreements - ask for the agreement, not the award, when comparing employers.
• Travel - home care and community roles pay per-kilometre allowances between clients; confirm whether travel time between clients is paid.

Employers by suburb are listed in the aged care directory and the NDIS provider directory.

Course structures are from training.gov.au and pay rates are award minimums from 1 July 2026, current as at August 2026. Fees, subsidies and fee-free eligibility change by state, provider and intake, so confirm with the provider and your state training authority before enrolling. Employers often pay above award. This guide is general information, not careers or financial advice.