Direct care workers provide personal care or recreational/lifestyle activity services to aged people. It includes personal care workers, recreational activities officers, lifestyle staff and nursing assistants.
Their duties include:
- helping with daily living activities
- looking after personal hygiene, physical, and cognitive needs
- providing emotional care and social support
- helping with participation in social and recreational activities
- helping with clinical care and providing medical treatments and procedures if they’re qualified.
Direct care workers under the Aged Care Award moved to a new classification structure from their first full pay period on or after 1 January 2025 (ppc 1 January 2025).
Please see Aged Care Work Value Case: Changes to awards for more details.
Existing employees
Direct care workers who started before ppc 1 January 2025 moved to the new classification structure in line with the table in clause I.1.1 of the award. This applied even if the descriptions in Schedule B indicate a different classification.
| Previous classification | Translated classification |
|---|---|
| Aged care employee—direct care—level 1 | Aged care employee—direct care—level 1—Introductory |
| Aged care employee—direct care—level 2 Aged care employee—direct care—level 3* |
Aged care employee—direct care—level 2—Direct Carer |
| Aged care employee—direct care—level 4 | Aged care employee—direct care—level 3—Qualified |
| Aged care employee—direct care—level 5 (without relevant Certificate IV qualification) |
Aged care employee—direct care—level 4—Senior |
| Aged care employee—direct care—level 5 (with relevant Certificate IV qualification) Aged care employee—direct care—level 6 |
Aged care employee—direct care—level 5—Specialist |
| Aged care employee—direct care—level 7 | Aged care employee—direct care—level 6—Team Leader |
*Employees moving from level 3 to level 2 are paid their December 2024 minimum pay rate until the minimum rate for their new classification becomes higher.
Nursing assistants in aged care facilities who were covered by the Nurses Award on 31 December 2024 became covered by the Aged Care Award from ppc 1 January 2025.
Nursing assistants moved to the new direct care structure in line with the table in clause I.2 of the award:
| Previous classification - Nursing Assistant | Translated classification |
|---|---|
| First year if less than 3 months’ work experience in the industry | Aged care employee—direct care—level 1 |
| First year if 3 months’ or more work experience in the industry Second year Third year and thereafter |
Aged care employee—direct care—level 2 |
| Experienced (the holder of a relevant Certificate III qualification) | Aged care employee—direct care—level 3 |
New employees
Direct care workers who start work or change jobs from ppc 1 January 2025 are classified using the classification descriptions in Schedule B of the award.
References
What to do next
- Use our Pay and Conditions Tool to calculate pay rates, allowances and penalty rates (including overtime).
- Not sure this is your award? Use Find my award to find out which award applies to you.
- Get help with pay.
- Find out about Other workplace relations help
