Aged Care Worker Pay and Take-Home Pay in Australia
A qualified personal care worker on the Aged Care Award grade 3 earns $59,249 a year from 1 July 2026, which is $49,881 in the hand after income tax and the 2% Medicare levy. The widely quoted $91,572 figure describes a broader group of carers, and this page explains why the two numbers differ.
Australian Take-Home Pay Calculator 2026-27
Tax bracket progress
Where your money goes
Income vs deductions
Your pay, every way
| Component | Daily | Weekly | Fortnightly | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $346 | $1,731 | $3,462 | $7,500 | $90,000 |
| Income tax | −$67 | −$337 | −$674 | −$1,460 | −$17,520 |
| Medicare levy | −$7 | −$35 | −$69 | −$150 | −$1,800 |
| Super (12%) | +$42 | +$208 | +$415 | +$900 | +$10,800 |
| Take-home pay | $272 | $1,359 | $2,718 | $5,890 | $70,680 |
Aged Care Award Rates and Take-Home, 2026-27
Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018), aged care employee stream, operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. These are ordinary-hours minimums before any shift penalty, weekend rate or casual loading.
| Award grade | Hourly | Weekly | Annual (38h) | Take-home pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 Entry level, no formal qualification required | $27.77 | $1,055 | $54,881 | $46,976 |
| Grade 2 Experienced care worker | $28.87 | $1,097 | $57,054 | $48,421 |
| Grade 3 Qualified personal care worker, Certificate III | $29.98 | $1,139 | $59,249 | $49,881 |
Australian resident, super paid on top of salary, no HECS-HELP debt, private hospital cover assumed so no Medicare levy surcharge. Annual figures are the weekly award rate over 52 weeks of ordinary hours and exclude all penalties, loadings and overtime. Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018) pay guide, operative 1 July 2026.
Why the Headline Median Overstates Residential Aged Care
The figure most often quoted for aged care pay is $91,572 a year, or $1,761 a week. It comes from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, published through Jobs and Skills Australia, for ANZSCO 4231 Aged and Disabled Carers.
That occupation code does not mean residential aged care. It bundles residential carers together with home care workers and disability support workers, and those roles frequently sit under a different award with higher rates. The result is a median that is accurate for the group and misleading for a residential personal care worker specifically.
The second distortion is hours. The ABS median is a full-time equivalent, and aged care has one of the highest rates of part-time and casual employment of any large occupation. Anyone working under 38 hours earns proportionally less than every annual figure on this page.
On the grade 3 rate, the marginal tax rate is 30% but the average rate is only 15.8%, because the first $18,200 is tax-free and the next band is taxed at 15%. See marginal vs average tax rate for why picking up extra shifts costs less tax than the bracket suggests, or run your own figure through the salary calculator.
Take-Home on $59,249
Three Awards Can Cover Aged Care Work
Which one applies to you changes your legal minimum. This is the single most common source of confusion in aged care pay.
Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018)
Covers most residential aged care employees, including personal care workers, food services, cleaning and administration staff in a facility. The grade rates above come from this award.
Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034)
Covers registered and enrolled nurses, including those working in aged care facilities. Rates are higher than the aged care employee grades. See nurse take-home pay.
SCHADS Award (MA000100)
Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services. Covers home care and community support work, which is a large part of what the ABS occupation group counts.
If your payslip or contract does not name an award, ask your employer. You cannot check whether you are being underpaid without knowing which instrument sets your minimum. Current minimums across all awards are on the award rates page.
Shift Penalties, Casual Loading and Real Earnings
Very few aged care workers are paid only the ordinary-hours base rate, because the work runs across nights and weekends.
The Aged Care Award provides penalty rates for afternoon and night shifts, and higher rates again for Saturday, Sunday and public holiday work. On a rotating roster these can lift actual earnings meaningfully above the annual figures in the table, which assume ordinary hours only. Read overtime and penalty rates for how the loadings stack, or use the overtime calculator.
Casual employees receive a 25% loading on the base rate instead of paid annual leave, sick leave and notice. That loading is compensation for entitlements you do not get, not extra pay for the same job. The casual loading calculator shows the trade-off on your own rate, and casual loading explained covers what you give up.
Direct care rates in this sector have moved faster than general wage growth because of Fair Work Commission work value and gender undervaluation proceedings, which found aged care work had been historically underpaid relative to its skill and responsibility. Those decisions lifted award rates by more than indexation alone would have delivered, and the figures on this page already include the 2026 Annual Wage Review increase operative from 1 July 2026.
Common Mistakes With Aged Care Pay
Where the published numbers mislead.
Treating the ABS median as a residential carer wage
$91,572 covers aged care, home care and disability support together. A residential personal care worker on MA000018 grade 3 has a minimum of $59,249.
Assuming the wrong award
Nurses in aged care are usually on MA000034, not MA000018. Home care staff are often on SCHADS. Using the wrong award means checking your pay against the wrong minimum.
Reading full-time figures as typical
Every annual figure here assumes 38 ordinary hours a week. Aged care has a very high share of part-time and casual work, so most workers earn proportionally less.
Forgetting penalties in a roster comparison
Comparing a night and weekend roster to a weekday job on base rates alone understates the rostered role, sometimes substantially.
Counting casual loading as a pay premium
The 25% replaces annual leave, sick leave and notice. A casual on loading is not ahead of a permanent employee on the same base rate.
Including super in the salary
The 12% super guarantee is paid on top and goes to your fund. On grade 3 that is $7,110 a year that never reaches your bank account.
Aged Care Pay FAQ
Common questions about aged care worker pay and take-home pay in Australia.
Sources
The documents behind every figure on this page.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Aged Care Award 2010 (MA000018) pay guide, operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026: aged care employee grade 1 $1,055 a week ($27.77 an hour); grade 2 $1,097.20 a week ($28.87 an hour); grade 3 $1,139 a week ($29.98 an hour). Award summary.
- ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025 (catalogue 6306.0), via Jobs and Skills Australia, ANZSCO 4231 Aged and Disabled Carers: representative full-time median $1,761 a week, about $91,572 a year, median hourly about $46. JSA occupation profile.
- Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Review 2026: a 4.75% increase to modern award minimum rates, operative from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
- Fair Work Commission work value and gender undervaluation proceedings affecting aged care direct care classifications, which lifted rates above indexation.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034) and Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (MA000100), for the coverage boundaries described above.
- Australian Taxation Office, Superannuation Guarantee, 12% from 1 July 2025, and individual income tax rates and the 2% Medicare levy for 2026-27.
Take-home figures are calculated live on published ATO rates for 2026-27. Award figures are legal minimums for ordinary hours and exclude penalties, loadings and overtime. The ABS median describes a broader occupation group than residential aged care, as explained above. Last verified 31 July 2026.