Union Members campaigned to make much needed changes to the federal Health Professionals and Support Services Award (Award) for Allied Health Professionals under the Gender-based undervaluation priority Awards review. Most members will already be paid above the rates defined in the Award because Members have fought for better wages and conditions through their union negotiations.
Now, because of strong and sustained union advocacy, from 1 October 2026, Health Professionals employed and paid under the Award will be classified in accordance with:
- the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level required for entry to the profession (formerly Level 1 employees under the Award);
- the employee’s years of experience in their profession (not just with the current employer) (formerly Levels 2, 3 and 4 employees); and/or
- for more senior classifications, the nature and level of responsibility of the role, including specialist, supervisory and managerial responsibilities (formerly Levels 2, 3 and 4 employees).
You can check the translated classification in Schedule J of the Award. Importantly, minimum pay rates will be maintained so no one is worse off. This means if you were paid at an Award rate prior to 1 October 2026, your pay will either be maintained or increased under the new classification system. There are five stages of pay increases scheduled up until 2030 (on 1 October this year and then on 30 June each year until 2030) to fully implement the new system.
The pay and conditions set out in the Award are the ‘safety net’. This means it is unlawful for a Health Professional employee’s base pay rate (for the classification level) to be lower than the Award rate, irrespective of what may be set out in a contract of employment or enterprise agreement. Employers should have been doing an assessment and mapping of classifications leading up to this change. Remember to check your pay slips and get in contact with us if you have any questions, especially if your current pay rate is based on or close to the Award rates. Congratulations to the HSUWA Members who will be receiving increases!
You can read the Fair Work Commission’s Determination here.
You can download the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay Guide here which was published on 1 Oct 2026.
The decisions to all of the Priority Awards Review are published here.
