The Australian Services Union (ASU) is advocating for a historic 35% pay rise for thousands of community and disability support workers across the country, marking the sector's most significant wage push in over a decade.
Unprecedented Wage Claim
The ASU will present its case to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on Wednesday, arguing that base wages need to be increased to reflect the growing complexity and demands of the work. If successful, this would be the largest wage claim in the sector in more than 14 years.
ASU NSW & ACT secretary Angus McFarland emphasized that the proposed increase is essential to ensure support workers feel valued for their contributions. "Community workers are being squeezed but their wages don't reflect the workload," he said.
Changing Nature of Work
McFarland highlighted how the role has evolved over the past 14 years, becoming more complex, intense, and demanding. Workers are now supporting more clients with increasingly complex needs while managing heavier workloads with fewer resources.
"Our members are the glue that holds communities together in NSW and the ACT. Community workers support people through crisis, trauma, poverty and disadvantage, helping them get through the worst periods of their lives," he added.
Impact on Workers
The ASU, representing about 185,000 workers in the support, transport, travel, and IT sectors, estimates that the average annual wage for full-time workers affected would be around $80,000. However, this figure would be lower for the many part-time and casual workers in the women-dominated sector.
The case comes shortly after the Fair Work Commission restructured the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award last week, closing a wage theft loophole in the NDIS.
Funding and Retention
If the pay rise is approved, it would be funded by state and federal governments. McFarland believes the increase would help boost employment and retention in the sector, which currently suffers from high staff turnover.
"Workers are leaving the sector because they're undervalued and underpaid. This sector is a leaky bucket with one of the highest staff turnover rates," he said. "It's putting pressure on remaining workers and costing employers time and money as they constantly replace staff. Fair pay will mean better outcomes for the people of NSW and the ACT. It will mean secure jobs, less staff turnover, better services and stronger communities."
