Key Findings

Increase in wages for aged care staff post Fair Work Commission aged care wage increase taking effect in June 2023. In the quarter following (Q1 2024), Registered Nurses received an average hourly wage of $48, Enrolled nurses received $38 per hour and support carers recieved $31 per hour.

56% of residential aged care providers operating expenses were staffing costs for care delivery. 3 roles comprised 80% of this expenditure. Nursing Assistants and Personal Care Workers (53.4%), Registered Nurses (21.5%) and Enrolled Nurses (5.1%).

Despite improvement in average daily care minutes per resident from 194 to 196 there is still a shortfall of approximately 761,844 minutes to reach the target set by Department of Health and Aged Care. 380,922 of these additional care minutes must come from Registered Nurses.

Average salary by job title

Job Title	Average Salary (hr)	Salary Range (hr)
Registered Nurses	$48.00	$20 - $193
Enrolled Nurses	$38.00	$21 - $134
Personal Care Workers	$31.00	$13 - $114

Types of care staff employed in residential aged care

Category	Percentage care staff spend (%)
Assistants in Nursing and Personal Care Workers	53.42%
Registered Nurses	21.49%
Enrolled Nurses	5.15%
Care management staff	3.23%
Allied health	3.07%
Lifestyle and recreation staff	2.53%
Other	7.35%

Top Registered Nurse Pay

Rank	Company	Average Salary (hr)	Salary Range (hr)

Top Enrolled Nurse Pay

Rank	Company	Average Salary (hr)	Salary Range (hr)

Top Care Worker Pay

Rank	Company	Average Salary (hr)	Salary Range (hr)

Data sources

1. Department of Health and Aged Care ACFR (Reporting period FY 2023)

2. My Aged Care

3. Department of Health and Aged Care QF (Reporting period: Quarter 1 FY 23-24)