Over recent years, nurses, midwives and care workers have helped drive significant reforms made to healthcare and the professions they work in. This has included advances in gender equity; industrial relations reforms including wage increases through the Aged Care Work Value Case, stronger delegate rights; and long-awaited improvements in aged care with 24/7 registered nurse coverage and mandated care minutes.
Meanwhile there has been health reform that has expanded scope of practice for endorsed midwives and nurse practitioners while most recently RN prescribing standard has been introduced.
While these reforms mark real progress, their full impact is yet to be fully realised by those working on the ground. For example, some aged care providers are still failing to pass on the full wage increases to staff, even though they are funded by taxpayers to do so.
The ANMF remains focused on ensuring every reform translates into meaningful, tangible improvements for nurses, midwives, care workers, and the communities they serve. In 2026, our mission is clear: enforceable standards, fair pay, safer workplaces, and health centred policies that deliver genuine change on the floor, not just promises on paper.
In 2025, the ANMF and aged care members celebrated the third and final pay rise for the aged care workforce, delivered through the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) landmark Aged Care Work Value Case.
Aged care workers received the last of three pay increases, while nurses in aged care received their second of three scheduled rises, with the final increase due in August 2026. These wage gains mark a historic milestone in the ANMF’s longstanding campaign to secure fair and just pay for aged care staff, who for decades have been undervalued and underpaid.
“It was the final outcome of the Aged Care Work Value Case commenced by the ANMF in 2021, where we argued that the work of nurses and carers in the aged care sector had never been properly valued due to gender based undervaluation and that their work had increased in complexity and skill over the last decades,” said ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler.
“The determination by the FWC finally recognised the true worth of Australia’s nursing and care workforce, respecting and valuing the essential, compassionate and quality care they provide to older Australians and ensuring they are paid accordingly.”
Fairer wages will help retain and recruit the nurses and carers urgently needed across the sector, said Ms Butler. “Fairer wages make aged care a more viable, attractive career path for workers entering the industry.” The ANMF will continue to ensure that the outcomes of the Work Value Case are fully implemented and embedded transparently by 2026.
