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Aged Care Award Pay Calculator

Work out what a week under the Aged Care Award actually pays — the right direct care level, weekend and shift penalties, casual loading and super, calculated the way the award says.

How the Aged Care Award is applied

Minimum rates are the direct care weekly wages from clause 14.3, current from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 — the award publishes weekly rates only, so hourly figures are weekly ÷ 38.
Casuals get a 25% loading, and the weekend percentages below already include it.
Sunday ordinary hours pay 175% (200% casual) — lower than the 200% most awards charge, and one of this award’s quirks. Saturday is 150% (175%).
Overtime applies beyond 38 weekly hours: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200% — and casual overtime compounds the loading, landing at 187.5% and 250%.
Superannuation (12%) applies to ordinary-time earnings, including penalty rates — but not to overtime.
Public holidays are an election, not just a rate: permanent staff who work one choose between an extra 150% or the same hours added to annual leave — casuals are paid a flat 275%.

Who the award covers

Residential aged care facilities throughout Australia
Direct care employees — personal care workers whose primary role is caring for residents
General services staff — catering, cleaning, laundry, gardening, maintenance and administration
Cooks, chefs and senior food services employees
On-hire and group training employees placed into aged care businesses

Registered and enrolled nurses sit under the Nurses Award, home care workers under the SCHADS Award, and allied health staff under the Health Professionals Award — check before you classify.

Which level is your team member?

The Aged Care Award holds three rate tables — general services, a most-senior-food-services premium, and direct care. This calculator uses the direct care stream, the ladder for personal care workers. It’s refreshingly clear: levels follow qualifications and experience, so classify by the certificate the person holds and what the role requires of them.

Level	Per hour	Per week (38h)	Typical roles	The test
Level 1 — Introductory	$32.61	$1239.00	New personal care worker (first 3 months)	Primary role is direct care of residents, with less than 3 months’ aged care experience.
Level 2 — Direct Carer	$34.42	$1307.80	Personal care worker · Direct carer	Primary role is direct care of residents, with 3 months’ or more experience. Carers without a formal qualification sit here.
Level 3 — Qualified	$36.23	$1376.70	Qualified personal care worker	Holds a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) or equivalent. The qualification, not tenure, makes the level.
Level 4 — Senior	$37.68	$1431.80	Senior personal care worker	Certificate III-qualified, plus 4 years’ experience classified at Level 3 after 1 January 2025.
Level 5 — Specialist	$39.13	$1486.80	Specialist personal care worker	Holds a Certificate IV in Ageing Support (or equivalent) required by the employer for the role.
Level 6 — Team Leader	$40.58	$1541.90	Care team leader	Certificate IV-qualified and required to supervise and train other direct care employees.

This calculator models the direct care stream (clause 14.3). Catering, cleaning, laundry, maintenance and admin staff sit on the separate general stream — 7 levels from $27.77 to $33.65 an hour.
The direct care ladder is qualification-gated, not tenure-only: Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) makes a carer Level 3, a Certificate IV makes Level 5, and Level 6 adds supervising and training others.
Level 1 is strictly the first 3 months of aged care experience — after that, an unqualified carer is at least a Level 2 Direct Carer.
One person per site can hold the “most senior food services employee” premium — a higher rate table for general Levels 4–7, a conditional override rather than a promotion ladder.

Allowances that can apply on top

Base rates and penalties aren’t the whole pay picture. The Aged Care Award adds allowances for particular duties and situations — being the designated first aid officer, working overtime without notice, using your own car. They’re small lines individually, but they’re legal entitlements and they add up. The common ones (1 July 2026 amounts):

Leading hand allowance — in charge of 2–5 employees of similar classification$33.54/week (scales to $73.85 for 16 or more)

Meal allowance — overtime beyond an hour$17.30 first meal · $15.60 further meal past 4 hours

Uniform and laundry allowance — where uniforms aren’t supplied$1.26/shift or $6.41/week uniform · $0.33/shift or $1.53/week laundry (lesser applies)

Nauseous work allowance — soiled linen or unusually offensive work$0.63/hour, minimum $3.39 per week

Tool allowance — chefs and cooks supplying their own tools$13.41/week

Motor vehicle allowance — own car used for work$1.01/km

Sleepover allowance$65.31/night — plus free board and lodging and a separate room

Recall to work overtimeMinimum 4 hours’ pay per recall

Annual leave loading17.5% on paid annual leave

The calculator below doesn’t include allowances — add the ones that apply to your team on top of the result. The full list lives in the award’s allowances clause.

Break entitlements under the Aged Care Award

Breaks are part of the award too — and missed or worked-through breaks usually carry a penalty rate, so they belong in the roster, not just the tea room. Here’s what the Aged Care Award requires:

Meal break — more than 5 hours workedUnpaid, 30–60 minutes, at a mutually agreed time

Tea break — each 4 hours workedPaid, 10 minutes, counts as time worked (two breaks can combine into one 20-minute break by agreement)

On duty or required to stay available through the meal breakOvertime rates from when the break was due until a duty-free break is taken or the shift ends

Overtime meal breaksA paid 20-minute break to eat, plus another 20 minutes each further 4 hours of overtime

The full rules live in clause 24 of the award.

Calculate a week under the Aged Care Award

Enter the week as it’s actually rostered. Weekend, evening and public-holiday hours are paid at the award’s penalty rates; anything beyond 38 hours is priced as overtime; super is applied to ordinary-time earnings only.

Classification levelEmployment typeState or territoryWeekday daytime hoursAfternoon shift hours (commencing 1pm–4pm)Shifts commencing 10am–1pm carry a lower 10% loadingNight shift hours (commencing 4pm–4am)Shifts commencing 4am–6am carry a 10% loadingSaturday hoursSunday hoursPublic holiday hours

Rates current as of 1 July 2026 (adult minimums, MA000018) — first full pay period on or after that date.

This week’s numbers

Nothing is stored or sent — the maths runs on this page.

Are these the exact legal rates?

The weekly figures are the adult direct care minimums from clause 14.3, current at 1 July 2026. The award publishes weekly wages only, so the hourly rates are derived (weekly ÷ 38). General services staff use a different table. Treat the result as a planning number and confirm against the award or your payroll adviser.

Why is Sunday only 175%?

That’s the award, verbatim: permanent employees earn time and three quarters for Sunday ordinary hours (casuals 200%, loading included). It’s lower than the 200% many awards set — but don’t bank the difference without checking the shift loadings that apply on top of weekday rosters.

What about my cook?

A cook sits on the general stream, not direct care — and if they’re the single most senior food services employee at the site, a higher rate table applies to general Levels 4–7. There’s also a $13.41/week tool allowance if they supply their own knives and tools.

Does super apply to penalty rates?

Yes — weekend, shift and public-holiday penalties on ordinary hours are ordinary-time earnings, so the 12% super guarantee applies. True overtime is excluded. The calculator applies exactly that split.

This is a general calculator, not legal advice. It applies the award’s published adult minimums to the hours you enter — it can’t see your enterprise agreement, allowances or individual arrangements, and junior, apprentice and shiftwork rates differ. Always confirm pay against the award, your agreement or your adviser. If you believe something here is materially wrong or out of date, please contact us — we’ll review it promptly.

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Tommy applies the right award rates to every shift as you roster — penalties, loading and super included. Start with your email and your numbers come along.